Kendrick Lamar is better than Soundgarden

[E.H. Ruddock]

Kendrick is from Compton, Ruddo. Kanye is from Chicago.

I was being sarcastic, but thanks for the info. I didn't know that about Kendrick, actually.

I just figured you'd like to know.

Also, I am from Cabrini Green.

Old or new Cabrini Green?

[Kevin Davis]

Whichever one produces the most loquacious gangsters.

[LoathedVermin72]

I'm not sure why "new" matters here. To Pimp a Butterfly, and especially "Alright," is a celebration of, and testament to, the resiliency of the (black) human spirit in the face of constant adversity. His coming out in chains and then doing a set that conveyed the depths of perseverance and optimism in his culture is not "new," but it bears repeating...

I think "new" definitely matters if we're talking about sociopolitical statements. If you're making a statement that's already been made, why are you making it? It's been said. It's been done. We know it already. Breaking free of chains is on-the-nose and trite at this point. It's become a cliché. Nothing about how Kendrick delivered that made it seem fresh or insightful.

Holy shit, LV. Are you just trolling at this point? Show me one single social movement that was realized because some proponent said something once.

I'm not sure what he did was "a celebration of resiliency," since I don't think that really matches up with his lyrical content.

That's the whole point. His whole album is a juxtaposition of the sadness and desperation of his community with the capacity for joy and perseverance. I thought that would be obvious to anyone who's listened to the record, but if you hear it differently, I'm all ears.

Kanye's not doing anything new either, LV. While his production is bordering on cutting-edge for popular music, it's been done before. And his megalomaniacal ranting has also been done before. As someone else mentioned, the power of his performance of the terrific Ultralight Beam on SNL the other night was severely diminished by both the ending shoutout to his website, and his antics over the last couple weeks.

First of all, his production has not been done before. Show me another artist who sounds like him, and I'll shut up. But you won't, because there aren't any. He has influences, and has influenced many, but no one truly sounds like him.

Well, a huge portion of his music is based on samples of other artists' previously recorded works, and he's not editing them to the point of non-recognition (like, say, a Matmos record or something). When you hear an Otis Redding sample, it's clearly an Otis Redding sample. A lot of his sounds -- drum sounds, synth sounds, etc -- are stock sounds run through the same effects that every other producer is using right now.

The greatest strength of his productions is, I believe, his ability to layer sounds or conversely, to allow for the power of minimalism. Whether it's an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink production, or a super stripped down song like Love Lockdown, he has a great sense of space.

But some producers/songwriters whom I think he sounds like: the Dust Brothers, J Dilla, Sly Stone, The Ummah, Steve Reich. There are lots more. It's great when an artist can pull from a number of disparate influences and make something sound fresh, and Kanye does that, to be sure. But he's really not reinventing the wheel. He's a terrific curator of other people's work, but I'm not so sure that he's much of an innovator. I hear "fresh," but I never hear "new."

What he's saying through his music is definitely new and insightful. The connections he makes between contemporary black experience, black history, white oppression, consumerism, corporate culture, hip-hop bravado, personal identity, religion, sexuality, and artistic expression are dazzling, profound, and fiercely modern. He is doing things no one else has ever done, because no one else could have - they are of and about modern times.

I'm happy you get all that from him, LV. Seriously -- it's great to be inspired by an artist, and I'm not trying to deny you that pleasure. But I believe you're drawing connections from different ideas that Kanye isn't even necessarily trying to make. The dude is on autopilot; he throws everything against the wall to see what sticks. If the public reaction to the Bill Cosby tweet had been more positive, I bet he'd still be going on about that; he'd maybe even release a song called "Bill Cosby Innocent." But the reaction was negative, so he moved on to the next thing that might get people excited. It seems like with every Kanye event --every song, every tweet, anything he does -- you are jumping through mental hoops to frame it in such a way that is fits your own narrative of Kanye Is the Best. And your comments on "Kanye as a millenial artist" help me understamd this -- you seem to like ego, bravado, bigness in art (hence the love for Michael Bay); the grandiosity of spectacle seems to excite you.

I value those aspects sometimes, but not when it's a grandiosity of something ultimately hollow. You can frame the Bill Cosby tweet, the Taylor Swift "bitch" comment, or anything else he does however you want; that's your right as a consumer of art. But you are grasping at straws if you think there's anything more to those comments than empty hype.

Perhaps I should have framed the sociopolitical comment more clearly: I meant sociopolitical statements in art. An important political statement is one thing. An insightful piece of sociopolitical art is another.

Dude, which version Kanye are we talking about? Because J Dilla sure as hell sounds nothing like modern Ye. And are we really going to have a discussion about whether sampling is merely lifting or making something new? That's a tired argument.

Your last paragraph is just one big sigh, man. If I see anything beyond empty hype I'm grasping at straws? Okay, dude. Whatever makes you feel superior.

[Mecca]

Alright, Kendrick.... I'm listening.

Spoiler: show

[epilogue]

Alright, Kendrick.... I'm listening.

Spoiler: show

[Mecca]

Alright, Kendrick.... I'm listening.

Spoiler: show

https://www.google.com/search?q=anna+ke ... 2QlDEiM%3A

[LoathedVermin72]

Okay, so, for the record, I'm listening to TPAB right now and I can feel my mind changing. It's clicking for me finally. I feel like I'm getting what he's doing/saying for the first time.

[jwfocker]

I'm enjoying the humanity and passion in Kendrick Lamar's music. Two items that are very difficult to find in present day pop music.

[LoathedVermin72]

"How Much a Dollar Cost" sounds so much like "Pyramid Song".

[4/5]

"How Much a Dollar Cost" sounds so much like "Pyramid Song".

It does and I really love that he sampled Radiohead.

[LoathedVermin72]

"How Much a Dollar Cost" sounds so much like "Pyramid Song".

It does and I really love that he sampled Radiohead.

Oh, is that actually a sample? I just figured they were similar piano parts.

[4/5]

Okay, so, for the record, I'm listening to TPAB right now and I can feel my mind changing. It's clicking for me finally. I feel like I'm getting what he's doing/saying for the first time.

That's really awesome, glad you're enjoying it.

I think most people in this thread like both Kendrick and Kanye, so it obviously doesn't have to be a mutually exclusive thing. They're very different artists but both immensely gifted and talented in their own ways. Obviously everybody has their preferences but both guys are pushing boundaries and are among the best at what they do well.

[4/5]

"How Much a Dollar Cost" sounds so much like "Pyramid Song".

It does and I really love that he sampled Radiohead.

Oh, is that actually a sample? I just figured they were similar piano parts.

I originally wrote "....if it really is a sample" but then deleted it. I don't know honestly, but I'm not good at that kind of thing. It sounds very similar but when I listened to Pyramid Song immediately after I couldn't find a part that was exactly that same progression. It seems like it was at least inspired by it, but I really don't know.

[LoathedVermin72]

Kanye is Superman and Kendrick is Batman

[verb_to_trust]

Kanye is Superman and Kendrick is Batman

What a dumb thing to say

[VinylGuy]

Taylor won over Kendrick...can we already said he was robbed because he is black?

[4/5]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... l-20160216

"I got a chamber of material from the album that I was in love [with] where sample clearances or something as simple as a deadline kept it off the album," Lamar said in an interview with Grammy.com that was continued on 2 Dope Boyz. "But I think probably close to ten songs that I'm in love with that I'll still play and still perform that didn’t make the cut."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... z40RVb7t1d
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

[LoathedVermin72]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... l-20160216

"I got a chamber of material from the album that I was in love [with] where sample clearances or something as simple as a deadline kept it off the album," Lamar said in an interview with Grammy.com that was continued on 2 Dope Boyz. "But I think probably close to ten songs that I'm in love with that I'll still play and still perform that didn’t make the cut."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... z40RVb7t1d
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

[4/5]

Wait, what?

[Orpheus]

The unreleased/bonus stuff I've heard from him is usually pretty solid, as one would expect.