The Intensity of Kendrick Lamar's "We Cry Together"

I quite like Kendrick Lamar's new album, but "We Cry Together" may be the hardest song to listen to off it. So, of course, I had to explore why that is. My essay is live over at MEL. 

The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar - "Pray for Me"

That bouncy, ping-pong-y beat is so great.

Kendrick Lamar - "These Walls"

It's only late September, but if I had to make a prediction about the front-runner for Pazz & Jop, I'd have to go with Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly. (Of course, considering how poorly I did with my last Pazz & Jop forecast, maybe you should ignore me.)

"These Walls" hasn't been released yet as a single from the album, which surprises me. Smooth, melodic but no less lyrically complex than Pimp's other tracks, "These Walls" is a change-of-pace highlight of the disc, moving between sex and incarceration to examine different types of "walls."
 

Flying Lotus (featuring Kendrick Lamar) - "Never Catch Me"

As I'm focusing on movies for end-of-the-year voting, I'm also taking some time to catch up on some must-hear records in order to be ready for Pazz & Jop. Next up: You're Dead! from Flying Lotus. Here's the single "Never Catch Me," which features Kendrick Lamar, a man whose voice enlivens everything it's on. (Compare this track to, say, Schoolboy Q's "Collard Greens." Totally different sonic worlds.)

Pusha T (featuring Kendrick Lamar) - "Nosetalgia"

My Name Is My Name, the new album from Pusha T, may be the first piece of entertainment I've enjoyed that had anything to do with Chris Brown. (He guests on one track.) But I'm gonna focus on a song with another guest, Kendrick Lamar. I miss Clipse, but Pusha T is killing it fine solo. (Warning for those at work: strong language.)

Kendrick Lamar (featuring Dr. Dre) - "The Recipe"

Because I don't listen to much commercial radio anymore, I mostly hear new music through albums. There are lots of advantages to this approach, but the one downside is that I deprive myself of the opportunity to let a song blow my mind randomly on the radio. Take Kendrick Lamar's super-good Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. I totally was digging on the album for months before hearing "The Recipe" on the radio. I had always liked the song a lot, but I had liked it as part of a collection of great songs. Hearing "The Recipe" isolated on the radio, though, I was stunned by just how astoundingly fantastic it was -- and in a way I had never realized before. Now I love it in a whole different way. That's what the radio can do.