kendrick lamar untitled unmastered tracks

Kendrick’s first verse is delivered with an intense amount of vigor, directly contrasting the somewhat somber vibe that chorus gives off, while simultaneously complimenting Jay Rock’s rough and rugged aesthetic. It’s alive, as though you can feel the instrumental breathing. A sprinkling of soft keys and playful brass gives the song so much character. The symbols on the drums are just so heavy and noisy when coupled with Thundercat’s unmistakably erratic bass line. Track 5 features more of the gorgeous jazz and funk infused density that makes this project special. Thankfully the same can’t be said about what follows immediately after. It’s okay but ultimately fails to leave any form of a distinct mark. The track itself is still incredibly skeletal and simplistic with no more than some female vocals spliced with some synthetic flourishes towards the tracks climax. When you realise though, that this same guitar refrain was utilised and brought to life on untitled 04 it leads to a fairly mild buzz for however little that’s worth. It’s just Kendrick throwing out some basic ideas for a track over a repeating guitar line which all feels almost completely innocuous and uninspired. The 7th song in the listing features a rather arduous and drawn-out jam session which carries a sort of hazy vibe to it. There is one notable connection between tracks which I found interesting enough to mention however. There’s very little tying the tracks together but you shouldn’t allow that to detract from any of these 8 songs as individual pieces. Yes, unlike Kendrick’s other output, cohesion isn’t this projects strong suit. Just because an artist is known for a certain something, doesn’t mean that doing something slightly different can’t still be beautiful in it’s own right. I was messy but I didn’t care because if I did (much like some of the reactions I’ve been hearing) that’d be missing the point. No doubt the news had me practically running home from work for fear of choking on the foam leaking out the upturned corners of my mouth. 8 new studio recordings from inarguably the biggest and arguably the best emcee in the game right now. In classic Kendrick fashion though, naturally I was given far more than I initially anticipated. Lebron James himself to make that dream of mine a reality and regardless of the reasons why or how it happened, I’m just so glad that my wish was granted. Oddly enough, all it took was a tweet from Mr. Kendricks ‘untitled’ series of live performances had me begging for studio versions from the get go and not to gloat, but I always had the feeling that they’d receive that kind of treatment eventually.

Kendrick lamar untitled unmastered tracks