by Sam Wolstenholm
Kung Fu Kenny, A.K.A. King Kunta, A.K.A. K.Dot, A.K.A. Kendrick Lamar. He doesn't really need much of an introduction. His fourth official album, DAMN was released April 14th, 2017. I always thought it was an interesting title and some interesting artwork. I still don't exactly get the meaning of either one, but I don't think there is one. It's just life. This album is just Kendrick Lamar, plain and simple. However, you will see that there is nothing simple about Kendrick Lamar.
1. "BLOOD."
Um alright, so this album opens up with a very interesting skit/story/thing. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me on its own because there isn't a narrative going on throughout the project like there is on good kid, m.A.A.d. city or even To Pimp A Butterfly. The story is just Kendrick walking and then getting shot by an old lady for no reason. Like, there really isn't any reason. Fake deep? The sound of the gunshot made me jump the first time I heard it though because the whistle and strings that come before it kind of lull you to a hypnotic state while Kendrick is telling the story. It introduces the idea of "wickedness or weakness" that kind of runs through the album. I'll mention it now, but I think this album is supposed to be a sort of circle. The last track is about decisions and how they can have massive effects on the world & individuals. The end of that track rewinds back to the start of this one, and I think that means this story is supposed to be seen in two ways. The first time, this time, the lady shoots Kendrick (still don't get why). The second time, after it rewinds, I think we are supposed to assume that a different decision was made by either Kendrick (to not approach and help the lady) or the lady (to, ya know, not kill somebody that's trying to help her). Anyway, this track serves simply as an album intro and isn't to be taken as a song on its own. Skip it or don't, but it doesn't add anything to the album's listening experience in my opinion.
2. "DNA."
We should all be well-aware of this song already at this point. It's an absolute banger that sees Kendrick on a sort of trap beat. This almost sounds too easy for him as he's rapping from front to back with catchy flows, especially after the beat switches at the end. He truly goes bananas, opening this album with a blaze of fire to hook in the listener. It works. Speaking of that beat switch, it's pretty bass-heavy with a sporatic sample of Rick James yelling "give me some ganja!" It's pretty cool actually. Lyrically, Kendrick is touching on a lot. It's a response of sorts to the criticism of hip-hop from those not familiar with the culture and specifically this interview of Geraldo Rivera (that's sampled in the song):
Now, I am a white man criticizing a hip-hop album. Yea, I know. Literally, this song can applied to me directly. Kendrick has been vocal his entire career about racial issues, especially on To Pimp A Butterfly, so its fitting of him to address this topic aggressively on the opening song of DAMN. He's talking about the relationship between black culture and hip-hop culture. If you watched the video of Geraldo Rivera, you can see that he too is trying to explain that relationship. If you can't tell the difference, Rivera is not black. He is not a part of the culture, but he goes on television to criticize it for what he perceives as its cultural damage. Kendrick is calling out him and those like him by saying that that culture is not part of their DNA, but it is part of his. It is not part of mine either (though I'd like to think I know more about it than Geraldo Rivera), but I'm also not criticizing the culture. I'm criticizing the music itself. Of course, that comes with analysis of themes and lyrics, so it is impossible to completely avoid implicit biases. One problem (of many) with Rivera's comments is the fact that he groups all hip-hop together as problematic, even saying it's been more destructive than racism. Bro, shut up. Hip-hop is a form of empowerment. He's just being racist. In fact, this is an example of racism being destructive (much more so than hip-hop). Him saying these things provokes other racists into associating hip-hop with negativity. They will think it's okay to think like this because they saw it on TV. On this song, Kendrick does a good job explaining that he raps about his life and his heritage. That culture is actually part of his DNA. It is stupid of people like Rivera to criticize it in a purely negative light because they are the same kind of people that have historically allowed racism and cultural isolation to occur. They are mad at black culture for being different, so they call it destructive and paint it as a negative experience. However, this divide only persists and is worsened by behavior and attitudes like Rivera's.
Okay I'll get off my high-horse now. Kendrick Lamar does a better and much more entertaining job of digging into this topic in the song, so listen to that. It's really good.
3. "YAH."
This song is pretty boring actually, especially after the last one. It's the same beat from front to back. Good thing the track is less than three minutes long. The beat itself is cool though. There's an airy drum loop going on with some kind of reverse bass sound. The chorus features some swirling synth keys, but it doesn't happen much. The drums don't change at all either. I'd be able to get past these gripes if Kendrick delivered a dynamic and interesting performance, but he really doesn't. The chorus isn't too catchy. He isn't giving much energy at all across the track. He's not dropping crazy bars either. "Yah" is supposed to be a reference to Yahweh, God's name in Hebrew (the closest thing to it, at least). I take this track as Kendrick describing the spiritual world he lives in. He, just like the rest of us, are navigating the world inside our own heads. Some of us allow God (or a version of God) to help guide us in this. Personally, I would not say I am a spiritual person, so maybe that's why I'm not connecting with this one very much.
4. "ELEMENT."
This is my favorite track on this album for sure. It's catchy. It's got some cheeky bars. The beat is smooth and not too complicated, but it does switch up a good amount in order to keep it engaging. The instrumental is allowed to breath too while Kendrick raps with some of his best flows on the album. Contrasting the last track, it addresses the same topic without the spirituality. He is rapping from a much more grounded perspected. Instead of inside his head, we are getting the real, physical world (hence "element"). He doesn't have the looming thought of God holding him back from dominating hip-hop. If you haven't noticed by now, I'll point it out: every two tracks are paired together (E.g. "BLOOD" & "DNA", "YAH" & "ELEMENT", "FEEL" & "LOYALTY", "PRIDE" & "HUMBLE", "LUST" & "LOVE", "XXX" & "FEAR", "GOD" & "DUCKWORTH"). He's showing how one can live two different truths. You'll be able to see the theme a little more with every song. This track though, yea it's amazing.
5. "FEEL."
A smooth beat carried by a weird, chopped vocal sample and some splashy ride cymbals deeper in the mix is set up as more of a canvas for Kendrick to paint with his lyrics. The bass line is also good but understated. Toward the end of the track, there's a weird break where he changes his voice to something more intense and a ringing sound plays at the same time. It doesn't last long, but it's a good switch-up. Conceptually, Kendrick is feeling a lot of things. If I had to sum it up, I'd say he's feeling lonely and like there's a lot of weight on his shoulders. He really hits on the other idea that runs across the whole album: "Ain't nobody praying for me". He feels like there is nobody in his corner. Everyone wants to take, but nobody wants to give or help him out. He should be just fine right? He's Kendrick Lamar! Clearly, as he explains in this track, he still has a lot of negative emotions that doesn't seem to really get addressed. If nobody is praying for him, then how is God supposed to know to help him out? The concept of purgatory (that I learned from Dante's Purgatorio — I didn't read it, just about it) includes the idea that your time spent there is reduced if the living continue to pray for you. That way, you get to Paradise (Heaven) faster. Maybe Kendrick feels like he's in a sort of purgatory and is stuck there because nobody is praying for him. Just something to think about. As far as the actual song goes, I don't really like how often he says "I feel like". There isn't really a chorus, which is fine, but that makes it a little harder to return to this track. The beat is fairly basic too. Honestly, nothing blows me away here, and it can be pretty boring if you don't listen to everything he says.
Kendrick Lamar can't actually sing. Let's get that out the way. Rihanna can, but Kendrick cannot. He is good at using vocal inflections and whatnot, but he cannot actually sing (we'll see a clearer example of this later in the tracklist). I do like how these two go back and forth a few times, but the chorus is honestly annoying. The triplet flow doesn't really fit the beat in my opinion. Plus, they just say the title over and over again. He was clearly going for a radio hit here (it worked though). That's even more apparent knowing he sampled Bruno Mars's "24k Magic" for the beat. It sounded cool at first but got to be too much by the end of the song. The rest of the beat isn't really anything special either. I'll say it. I don't like this song.
7. "PRIDE."
A better song, this is. Steve Lacy was a main producer on this song and actually provided some vocals too (look out for a review of his latest album in the next few weeks). There's some cool guitar (I beleive it's live guitar) and a simple drum pattern just riding the quarter notes of the beat. Some of the gaps are filled with a groovy little bass (I think it's a bass guitar), and it sounds pretty good for how simple it is. The chorus also has a bunch of bird noises, which is weird, but it kind of works. I think a different sound would've gotten the job done, but I'm not Kendrick Lamar or Steve Lacy so what do I know? In the first verse, Kendrick's voice goes through a back-and-forth wavy effect of being pitched up and down slowly. I don't really see this as necessary either, especially because they don't do it in the second verse and it sounds fine. The chorus is really good though. It's hypnotising and features good vocals from Anna Wise as well as Steve Lacy and Kendrick Lamar. It's slow, smooth, and pretty damn emotional (which is something that I find somewhat rare in the performances across this album). The content of the lyrics are about pride, obviously. He's discussing the negatives of pride, but also admitting his own pride, almost defending it. He's describing what a perfect world would do to him, but at the same time acknowledging that this definitely isn't one. I like the line "seems like I point the finger just to make a point nowadays". He knows he isn't perfect, but he's using outside examples instead of himself...think about that.
8. "HUMBLE."
Dark horse. Just kidding. This song sucks. Also kidding. It's pretty much a brag rap track. it's definitely better than the standard one because it's Kendrick Lamar, but it's just him showing why he's the best rapper there is. It's funny because this is the song where he's exemplifying pride, and "PRIDE" is where he was being more humble. This is him lyrically pointing fingers instead of reflecting. It absolutely knocks though. Turn the volume as high as your ears can take and bang your head as hard as your neck can take because this one sounds crazy. There's a piano loop playing low notes that just makes the whole thing sound menacing. The trap drums give it the upbeat feel it needs and boom! We got a hit. And that's exactly what this is.
9. "LUST."
The drum beat for this song is completely in reverse, and it sounds dope. It's a cool idea that really hasn't been done before (at least not by an artist as high-profile as Kendrick). Around halfway through the song, they'll play in non-reverse for parts (it mixes between the two, and I think it's even cooler). There's also some dark, almost creepy guitar swaying left and right in the headphones. The melody sounds like something scary is around the corner. A distorted guitar solo thing happens later in the song too. It only adds to this offputting atmosphere. Lyrically, Kendrick is more of a storyteller here as he describes the effects lust has on daily life. Every day is going to be the same if we succumb to our strong desires for the same things. Whether that's sex, fame, or drug-induced peace of mind, life doesn't get any better if you consistently follow the path your lust lays out for you. This song is my dark horse pick. It sounds phenomenal instrumentally, it's catchy, and it actually has a good lesson if you choose to look for it.
This track frustrates me because I want to like it, but I don't. It's not Zacari's fault. In fact, I think he's the best part of this song by far. The chorus is really good until Kendrick comes in with that annoying "I wanna be with you, aye, I wanna be with" line. It's mixed louder than Zacari's part too which makes it even more annoying. It isn't the beat's fault either because I honestly think it's not bad. It's sweet. There's a slow tempo filled with some nice chords and unique drum sounds. It's really just Kendrick that ruins this song for me. Again, he can't really sing, but he tries to for this entire track (believe it or not, we aren't even at the worst example of this yet). He's fine when he raps melodically, but that's different from singing. This song is just a big facepalm to me.
Woah. This was definitely the wild card of the tracklist considering its ambiguous title and the U2 feature. It definitely all works though. There are three different beats too, all of different intensities (if you don't count the first 23 seconds as its own beat). The first part is some lowkey hip-hop drums and bass. There's some record scratch sounds and stuff like that too. In this section, he's talking about the current reality of parts of America (specifically about gun violence). The second part features some siren sounds and more upbeat drums. Kendrick also changes his voice to be more high-pitched. He talks here about his friend that called him and told him that his son was shot and killed. Kendrick responds honestly by telling his friend that, if he were in that situation, he would essentially seek revenge and kill in retaliation. He realizes that killing in general is not a good thing, but admits he would do it if he had to. I see this point of view. I'd be thinking the exact same thing if somebody shot and killed one of my loved ones (especially one of my children if I had any). Kendrick then tells his friend that he's got to go speak at a convention where he ironically says "alright kids, we're gonna talk about gun control". Here is where we cut into the third section of the song. This is the one that features U2 and lead singer Bono singing a very good hook. "It's not a place. This country is to me a sound, of drum and bass. You close your eyes to look around". This is also a lyric from the U2 song "American Soul" (which features a brief Kendrick Lamar appearance in the beginning). The beat in this section is literally just drum and bass, but it sounds so good. Kendrick raps here about how America basically sets up black Americans to be stigmatized as gun-bearing monsters. "You overnight the big rifles, then tell Fox to be scared of us. Gang members of terrorists, et cetera et cetera". Amazing song. I know there is more that I missed, but that's the beauty of a track like this.
12. "FEAR."
An interesting track. I could understand people loving this track and I can understand people hating it. I'd consider myself somewhere in between. The beat is really good. It's got a vibe to it that is smooth and easygoing (a complete juxtaposition to the last track) even though he's rapping about fear. There's a cool vocal sample, some nice guitar, good bass, etc. I can't really ask for much more instrumentally. Though it is funny and quotable, I don't really enjoy the chorus. It's just weird. Like I said, it's interesting. The first verse is Kendrick rapping about his childhood from the perspective of his mother. She's talking about beating his ass a lot. I get the point, but I think he just says that phrase too much and it loses its meaning. It's like when you say a word over and over again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again...it looks weird now doesn't it? The second verse also features a frequently repeated phrase in "I'll prolly die...". He's talking about his fears as a teenager. These exist because they are actually ways people have died before and are situations one is reasonable to be fearful of. His third verse is probably my favorite as he discusses his fears as a successful adult. The point he's trying to make with this track is that fear is not something that ever goes away. Fears just evolve. You can get over one, but where you go from there will just leave you with a new one. The fourth verse is awesome because he references all the topics he's touched on with the album. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's referencing this album directly. "Fear, what happens on Earth stays on Earth. And I can't take these feelings with me, so hopefully they disperse within fourteen tracks, carried out over wax". This album has fourteen tracks on it, and I think he's saying that he is expressing his fears across the project in hopes of leaving them behind when he dies and leaves Earth (if you will). Then, there is an outro that I personally deem unnecessary. However, it is religious and leads well into the concept of the next track (even though I hate the next track).
13. "GOD."
This song sucks. Straight up. The beat is nothing special, mainly just chords and an out-of-place drum pattern. I can't stand Kendrick's singing, especially in the chorus. "This what God feel like!" Maybe the song is bad on purpose. I theorize that because of the line "Laughin' to the bank like ah-ha!" He's proving in a meta way that he's godly in that he can make a shitty song like this and people will eat it up no matter what. He's reached that level. I hope that's what he was going for. Awful song.
14. "DUCKWORTH."
Big-time storytelling song here. Kendrick describes how Anthony (A.K.A. Top Dawg) attempts to rob a KFC that Ducky (Kendrick's father) was working at. Instead of letting everything go to shit, Ducky just gave him free food whenever he came in. That way, nobody got hurt and nobody went to jail. The conclusion is that Ducky was able to raise Kendrick right and Anthony ended up signing him and turning him into the Kendrick Lamar we all know today. It's actually a pretty crazy story and goes to show you how every decision you make can have massive effects. Oh yea, the beat is good too. It isn't anything crazy, but it switches around a bit and has a cool vocal sample chopped out of the part played in the beginning of the track (from Ted Taylor's track "Be Ever Wonderful"). The end of the song, and the album, sees the entire project reversing and landing back on the first line of the first track, "BLOOD". Remember what I talked about there when it comes to choices? Well, it all comes full circle here. The duality of the tracks show the different paths you can take regarding different areas of life. It all depends on you and your decisions. Now, how different would this album be if the lady at the beginning DIDN'T shoot Kendrick (this didn't actually happen, as far as I know, but it just shows the power of choices and connects to the last track)? How different would it be if Anthony DID shoot Ducky (this did actually happen)? In either case, what we know as Kendrick Lamar likely wouldn't exist. This is a good song and provokes thought. A quality closer to the project.
Overall
The highs of this album aren't as good as even some of the mid tracks from To Pimp A Butterfly or good kid, m.A.A.d. city. The lows of this album are probably the worst songs I think I've ever heard Kendrick Lamar make. I get the theme of the album I'm pretty sure. I detailed it in my review of the first and last tracks. However, that doesn't make the actual songs sound good. That takes good music, good lyrics, and good performances. Usually, Kendrick excels in all these categories and more, but that isn't the case here. The good songs are just that: good. Not great. I would consider the only great song on here to be "ELEMENT". However, there is more than one bad song and a few boring ones. Of course, the content itself is going to be thought-provoking, but so is pretty much every song he makes. DAMN overall just kind of disappoints me. I expect Kendrick Lamar to provide a good album experience. This one just has a few songs on it that I can add to my playlist. I'm not going back and listening to this thing from front to back. Again, it isn't horrible. I'd say it's still good. But this might be Kendrick Lamar's worst album.
6.3/10
If you've read my review, I assume you have already heard DAMN, so I want to hear what you think. What'd I miss? Did I tear apart your favorite song? Or give too much credit to one that doesn't deserve it? Any questions or comments? I'd love to respond. Feel free to drop review requests too! I will strongly consider them.
Peace and love.
I'd say I'm in agreement w your score I have different lows and highs but overall yeah it's like a mid 6 to 7 for me