and you know, only Kendrick would release a record that simultaneously has some great, fascinating production choices and yet leave them intentionally unpolished enough to highlight the looseness of the project. Granted, some of that comes into the instrumentation and production. yeah, there's a reason I probably liked 'Untitled 4' the least. On the flip side, while I liked hearing SZA on 'Untitled 4', I do wish that track had been fleshed out a little more beyond the punchline we later hear Kendrick create on the lo-fi final third of 'Untitled 7', and Jay Rock's singing on that song. And look, I get why he was hopping on Drake's flows on 'Untitled 2' and part of '7' - he's making one of many points on how he can do this same sort of thing and do it better while satirizing much of the hollow bragging that has coloured that material in recent years - and while I appreciate that it's here instead of on a record, I'm not exactly wild when Drake uses those flows either! Now to his credit, Kendrick's complicated lyricism often plays as well if not better on tracks with a bit more of a jazzy feel - one of the reasons I really dug 'Untitled 5' and '6' - and he knows enough to bring on guest stars who can compliment him, with Jay Rock and Punch setting up great parallels on the former and Cee-Lo Green of all people bringing some great, low-key soul to the latter. All of that said, you can also tell that outside of certain moments on 'Untitled 1' and '5', Kendrick isn't nearly as visceral as he could be. but really, what is there to say about him at this point? Excellent multi-syllabic flows and bars that he can change up without warning, a really expressive delivery that can bring both fire and smoothness when necessary - again, these are leftovers that still have more memorable lines and concepts than most entire albums, the sort of lyrical hip-hop I've always loved. I wouldn't put this up with any of his best projects, but it certainly is good, maybe even great, easily outstripping what many rappers could do with their best efforts. And yes, on some level, they still are, but points must be given to Kendrick for being able to create something not just workable, but genuinely thought-provoking with this project, if only in fragments. It wasn't set up to be as elaborate or cohesive as To Pimp A Butterfly - it's looser, rougher around the edges, with the sort of track fragments that in the hands of a lesser rapper would feel like leftovers. Okay, here's the thing: almost by design, this album sets itself up to hedge expectations - hell, it's indicative in the title. To me, I had significantly lower expectations - not just that these might not capture the spark of performance, but might just end up being a collection of glorified b-sides not good enough to land on To Pimp A Butterfly or good kid, MAAD city. Well, now it's time to test that theory, because out of nowhere Kendrick released a surprise record called untitled unmastered containing eight of these mysterious unnamed tracks, and because it's Kendrick Lamar, everyone online lost their minds. well, would the energy be the same, would they have the same magic? There's something intangible in the live spontaneity of the performance that felt truly special, and to put it on wax. And while I doubted they were free-form pieces that Kendrick was coming up with off the top of his head mid-performance, they were very much unique in their presentation, to the point where it might have been inevitable for them to be bundled and sold eventually, I almost didn't want it. They had no name or recorded version, the only time you could hear them was if you found a live video - in other words, the definition of modern performance art.
Untitled 3 kendrick lamar series#
For those of you who aren't aware, through a series of live shows Kendrick has been slipping in tracks that nobody recognized from any album. You could easily make the argument that Kendrick takes his live performances as opportunities to craft unique and incendiary artistic statements outside of just the music, showing a rare gift for theater that I really appreciate.Īnd nowhere is that more apparent than the 'untitled' series. To put it another way, very few artists would ever dare to perform a song as visceral as 'The Blacker The Berry' at the Grammys.
Indeed, one thing that has always stood out for me is how strong a live performer he is, bringing the same sort of visceral energy he has on record into some pretty potent songs with impressive stagecraft. Now I don't think anyone can deny, even if you're not a Kendrick Lamar fan, that he hasn't made a considerable impact in modern hip-hop, and not just on record. Let's talk a little bit about performance art, and Kendrick Lamar specifically.
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