This is a recurring series that delves deeply into a specific artist, featuring a different artist each time. The series explores their most popular albums, delves into the rationale behind the album’s aesthetic, the album’s title, the album cover, the artist’s name origins, their musical influences, genre, impact within the industry, and notable achievements. Lastly, after conducting thorough research and listening to the entire album, I will provide my opinion on the best, most relatable song that you can enjoy on repeat. I will consider all aspects and recommend a song specifically for YOU!

Kendrick Lamar Ducksworth, his actual name, is the American rapper and songwriter we all know. Kendrick was born June 17, 1987, in Compton California, the first child of former gang hustler Kenneth “Kenny” Duckworth and hairdresser Paula Oliver. Lamar was named after singer-songwriter Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations. He was an only child until the age of seven when his mother had two more kids, and was described as a loner by his mother. Kendrick is currently signed to Interscope, although releasing his top songs and albums with Top Dawg Entertainment, like “All the Stars” with SZA. Although Kendrick released popular albums with Top Dawg Entertainment like Mr. Morale, he parted ways with them.

In today’s issue I will be discussing Kendricks first major album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Released in 2012 with Interscope, this album is his most notable one as it has songs that would later come out to be singles, like “Swimming Pools (Drank)”, “Poetic Justice”, “Backseat Freestyle”, “B**** Don’t Kill My Vibe” and “The Recipe”. This album would lead Kendrick Lamar to receive 4 Grammy nominations and become ranked 115th on the Rolling Stones “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” The tracklist for the album is:

1. Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter
2. B****, Don’t Kill My Vibe
3. Backseat Freestyle
4. The Art of Peer Pressure
5. Money Trees (Ft. Jay Rock)
6. Poetic Justice (Ft. Drake)
7. Good Kids
8. m.A.A.d city (Ft. MC Eiht)
9. Swimming Pools (Drank)
10. Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst
11. Real (Ft. Anna Wise)
12. Compton (Ft. Dr. Dre) Lyrics
13. B***, Don’t Kill My Vibe (Remix) (Ft. JAY-Z).

Now, let’s review 3 songs of the album. The story behind this album talks about Kendrick’s life in Compton, how it affected him physically, emotionally, and spiritually, how it really shaped him as a man, and the need to want something better for oneself.  With Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter, it is a real life story that did happen in Kendrick’s life. This is written about a girl in his life named Sherane, who Kendrick had known for a couple of months by this point. He met her at a party where they flirted and exchanged numbers. They kept in contact with each other over the summer and got to know each other pretty well. He also talks about her family’s history with gangs that made him wary but didn’t stop him from seeing her. At the end of this song, K.Dot is driving to Sherane’s house in his Mother’s van, and he has her on his mind. But when he turns up, Sherane is outside waiting with two dudes in black hoodies (possibly her two younger brothers, or her cousins, one of which could be Demetrius). This isn’t the first time Kendrick has evoked the humanoid rat father-figure of the Teenage Mutant Turtles, Master Splinter. The “Master Splinter” part of the title likely signifies Sherane’s “hoodrat” status, and the fact that she’s well known in the community for the wrong things.

The next song is a complete change in perspective for Kendrick who has a realization that he no longer wants to settle for the life in Compton but wants to get out of there, by any means. He goes into the changes he encountered while trying to stick to that lie, being wrongly affiliated with the gangs in Compton by the police. The song “m.A.A.d city” is an acronym for “My Angels on Angel Dust” and “My Angry Adolescence Divided.” In this song he really goes into the details of violence he saw as a kid, really telling vivid and gruesome stories of seeing his family members shot and his experiences with drugs being laced, and having a near death experience.

The third to last song is called “Real.” In this song he stresses the importance of loving yourself, being able to be by yourself, and feeling comfortable and being real with other people and with yourself. In the lines “Real is responsibility. Real is taking care of your family. Real is God,” he really digs into the idea that realness is the key to everything.

Overall, I think that this album is one of Kendrick’s best albums, and I have a handful of personal favorites in this album. But after reviewing this album I have come to the conclusion that the best song on this album, the one that I recommend to you is, “Real.” This is a song unmatched and very unique compared to his other songs, its upbeat nature and talks about loving himself and his realness, which is a key trait to make relationships in life and to make them last.