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Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. |OT| Damn! Good Friday.

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Catvoca

Banned
Finished first listen. I like it.
Definitely less of a concept album then GKMC and TPAB and it's less out there sonically than TPAB. I anticipate I will end up liking it less than those because of that. Really like some of the songs so far, Pride, DNA and XXX are immediate standouts. Loyalty is wack though, didn't feel GOD much either. Hoping I uncover more depth lyrically and thematically after more listens. Overall really dig it, and excited to start it over again (which I will do after I stop blasting XXX on repeat)
 

Sane_Man

Member
Just finished up my first listen. SO different to what I was expecting and thankfully that's a positive here. Really love it. Loyalty was the only track I wasn't fussed about but maybe it'll grow on me. Kendrick can't be stopped.
 

Catvoca

Banned
listen to it again, it's there
I mean it's there in the intro and ending but I don't feel like it has as clear of a core concept to it? It's a first listen so I'm sure it'll change but you could tell generally what GKMC and TPAB were going for from a first listen but other than the rewind stuff I didn't feel any particular thematic flow from song to song.
 
lol at all the tpab heads itt hating

not all projects have to be super cohesive

its obvious kdot wanted to have fun this time after releasing two fully conceptualized albums and wanting to put this album out "urgently"

enjoy it for what it is
 

Bookoo

Member
I mean it's there in the intro and ending but I don't feel like it has as clear of a core concept to it? It's a first listen so I'm sure it'll change but you could tell generally what GKMC and TPAB were going for from a first listen but other than the rewind stuff I didn't feel any particular thematic flow from song to song.

Yea, I agree with you. If there is a concept it is extremely vague and only around the edges. Probably the only reason I am little disappointed, but I still enjoy the majority if not all of the tracks on the album.
 
Yeah? Sonically, conceptually, or both?
Its a good album. I just don't feel like I'm going to go back to it much.

There's not much in the way of structure on this. This feels like a tape full of vibe out joints rather than traditional songs. The hooks are pretty blegh to me and I love Kendrick's songs. There's no Alright, You aint gotta lie, levitate, sing about me, and so on and so forth songs on here.

Sidebar but Humble sounds out of place on this album. Its nothing like i where out of context it was aight but on the album was great. Humble is a hard ass record crammed between a smooth record and followed up by some Love Below sounding joint. Completely threw my expectation off.
 

Lemaitre

Banned
lol at all the tpab heads itt hating

not all projects have to be super cohesive

its obvious kdot wanted to have fun this time after releasing two fully conceptualized albums and wanting to put this album out "urgently"

enjoy it for what it is

So far it's just...boring and a bit uninspired. I'm on Pride and it's becoming a bit grating so far. I can't see myself bumping any of the tracks so far, even though it's still super early.

Edit: Re-listening to Humble on my first full play through but it's my favorite song off the album still. I hope they didn't release the best track first....
 

phanphare

Banned
I mean it's there in the intro and ending but I don't feel like it has as clear of a core concept to it? It's a first listen so I'm sure it'll change but you could tell generally what GKMC and TPAB were going for from a first listen but other than the rewind stuff I didn't feel any particular thematic flow from song to song.

I feel it has two or three main concepts, one is the narrative of what's going on which is alluded to with the intro and outro, the second is the self reflection aspect, and the third is the meta reflection on the world and people in general. he gets shot and sees his life flash before his eyes before going to either heaven or hell.
 

mortal

Gold Member
The leak is no more than a few hours old. How about ya'll actually listen to the music and let it sink in for awhile before making comparisons and comparisons, like damn.
 

sanstesy

Member
Yeah after two listens definitely his weakest yet for me. Too inconsistent and half of the tracks are too simple and one-note for what you expect from Kendrick.

But it's not as bad as expected after HUMBLE came out. A solid listen overall with ELEMENT being the best track by a wide margin.
 

Lemaitre

Banned
The leak is no more than a few hours old. How about ya'll actually listen to the music and let it sink in for awhile before making comparisons and comparisons, like damn.

You can have initial impressions with music, what's the issue? Of course that initial impression will change but not by much. After my first listen for Humble I was already a fan. Rest of the album so far not so much.
 

Catvoca

Banned
The leak is no more than a few hours old. How about ya'll actually listen to the music and let it sink in for awhile before making comparisons and comparisons, like damn.

I mean a lot of us are prefacing "hey this is my first impression". I think there's value in putting that stuff out there now, it's fun to look back on that stuff after the dust has settled and shake your head at how wrong everyone was lol. It's also a fucking thread for discussing the album so people are gonna talk about the album dude 😀
 
So far it's just...boring and a bit uninspired. I'm on Pride and it's becoming a bit grating so far. I can't see myself bumping any of the tracks so far, even though it's still super early.

Edit: Re-listening to Humble on my first full play through but it's my favorite song off the album still. I hope they didn't release the best track first....

DNA is boring? Element is boring? XXX is boring? yikes....

let it grow on you
 

ZeoVGM

Banned
ALMOST TIME TO EAT, BREHS

nXtNePQ.jpg


who bringin the sweet rolls tho

Is there a good wallpaper size version of this? Or something similar where everyone is sitting?
 

mortal

Gold Member
You can have initial impressions with music, what's the issue? Of course that initial impression will change but not by much. After my first listen for Humble I was already a fan. Rest of the album so far not so much.

Sure, that's all good. Obviously everyone isn't going to feel the same. In most cases listening to an entire music project, especially one as dense as Kendrick's tend to be takes some time to even form an impression. This is addressed to those rushing to make album rankings.
 

Lemaitre

Banned
DNA is boring? Element is boring? XXX is boring? yikes....

let it grow on you

Haven't listened to XXX yet but yes I am not a fan of Element or DNA. I find the sampling on DNA pretty annoying especially on the second verse.

Edit: Love is also dull to me. Not a fan of this one either. Sounds like something that could be off a Drake album.

Edit 2: Bout to start XXX. I'll get back to you on that one soon.
 
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