kendrick lamar untitled unmastered dopefile

Kendrick struggles with his faith in God and in America, but also continues to struggle to rectify his experiences in Africa with the “first-world” problems of North America. Untitled 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 are all stunning, and they have enough depth that I suspect we’ll be talking about them for the rest to come. That’s not to say the album is a mixed bag: when Kendrick is on fire, he’s on fire. Untitled 3 and untitled 8, already performed on late-night TV, differ from their televised versions in significant ways, but also lose much of their urgency and immediacy on record.

Untitled 7 feels like four songs instead of one. It’s also riskier, often more flawed, clearly unsure even of its own edits. It’s jazzier than TPAB, and more free-form with its ideas too. The messaging is clear: this album is Kendrick giving us something new while avoiding the weight that comes with an “official” new record.Īnd it’s pretty clearly a project, not a record, something Kendrick has just experimented with. Each track is simply called “untitled” and given a date, which often don’t coincide with events Lamar will specifically mention in the songs, rendering them totally meaningless. Who saw this coming? Kendrick’s latest record doesn’t feel like a follow-up to To Pimp a Butterfly, nor does it feel like a collection of B-sides.

Kendrick lamar untitled unmastered dopefile