’ tackles racial stereotyping in the most perfect way possible. ’ is where things get really interesting, being a take on his current state of mental limbo, where he’s now a household name worldwide, while his peers are going through the cyclical ghetto lifestyle. ’ is put in place to give a little perspective to everything going on in the world, just in case you missed it. To go into depth about each track on this collection would require an article of its own, as the subjects Lamar covers with extreme poise and grace are dark but completely necessary. ’untitled unmastered’ is littered with free jazz, funk, soul and ominous, haunting soundscapes. Lamar is in no doubt at the forefront of this. What separates those who are destined to write timeless rhymes from those who are in it for the gold and glory is respect for what came before – those who laid the foundations upon which this new generation can build their art form. Either way this collection of cuts just goes to prove that Lamar is one of the generations greatest rappers. Which leads us back to untitled unmastered, either a masterfully planned release or a spontaneous drop on a hype-whim. Lamar fully rolled the hype train out of the station after his Grammys performance, which didn’t just touch upon racial stereotypes, but completely slapped the captivated audience, both at home and in the room, into having to actually acknowledge these issues.
#Kendrick lamars untitled unmastered review full
The fact that each track and the album itself have no solid names or identifications implies that this is not quite the tangible coherent piece we’ve been lusting for, but more of a potential thirst quencher until we have full on new material. It’s a “New record” in the loosest sense though, a collection of unreleased demos and tracks from sessions between 20, namely recorded through the release of ‘ To Pimp…’. For a while the sequel to 2015’s ‘ To Pimp A Butterfly’ has been more rumoured than a Frank Ocean follow up, until out of nowhere like a spitting star, we suddenly find ourselves with a new record. Kendrick Lamar is one of those rare talents that can seemingly disappear and reappear as if nothing happened.