Kendrick Lamar's New Album Celebrates Black Culture
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Kendrick Lamar's New Album Celebrates Black Culture

A review of Kendrick Lamar's new record "Black Panther: The Album."

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Kendrick Lamar's New Album Celebrates Black Culture
Aftermath Records

Kendrick Lamar is a name that will go down in history as the one that started the upcoming revolution against everything that is evil in the world. Only last year, he released "DAMN.", his fourth full-length album, rapping about topics like life, death, free will, love, lust, fear, god, and himself. His albums have not only sold millions but have affected millions. He is a voice for the ones struggling to get by and a reminder for those who need to listen. He is, objectively, the best rapper alive.

This year, two "Black Panther"s were released. The more well-known one is the Marvel movie, but the one that hit #1 in the Billboard Charts was the Kendrick Lamar curated album release. It goes under the name "Black Panther: The Album. Music From And Inspired By" and it is just what we needed.

This is an interesting album because Kendrick Lamar is all over the record but it doesn't feel like a Kendrick Lamar album completely. The reason being that there are at least 10 other artists on this, each contributing their own aspect to the album, almost making it like a compilation album, a collection of hits. Kendrick Lamar curated this album, which means he has full reign over it and a final say but it seems he lets these artists be free because each song does not have the same style.

When I say that Kendrick Lamar is all over the record, I am not referring to his direction. He contributes one verse on a track, he adds the chorus to another, and even just adds background vocals to some. We call this a Kendrick Lamar record because you can hear his influence on all of it, even with the songs that he doesn't perform on. And Kendrick Lamar would be the only rapper to create his own soundtrack to "Black Panther." I would have been surprised if he didn't release this album just because of his performance at the Grammy's and his overall opinion on Black culture and the subject matter surrounding the movie.

This doesn't make any of the other artists appear less than any other one. There is a huge collection of talent here from singers like The Weeknd, SZA, and Zacari to rappers like 2 Chainz, Vince Staples, and Jay Rock and even world singers like Babes Wodumo, and I've just named half of them. The great part about having all these artists in one place is that they all feel like they belong and contribute something beneficial to the project.

The Weeknd's track, "Pray For Me," lets him be in his comfort zone and Kendrick rapping with him allows for more context with the beautiful singing. SZA's awesome performance accompanied with fire from Kendrick doesn't even need explanation. The song titled "King's Dead," is an amazing show of force from Kendrick, Jay Rock, Future, and James Blake (minus a part where Future tries to sing, you'll know it when you hear it) and contains one of Kendrick's best moments on the album near the end of the song. Another amazing moment is his opening to the album, preparing us so that we can enter this world of his.

A personal favorite of mine is "Bloody Waters" because of its inclusion of Anderson. Paak, a soulful singer, and a worldly vibe with the steel drums. "Redemption" is another world song on the album, having the chanting of Babes Wodumo. The purpose was to create the feeling of Wakanda, the fictional world in the movie. Having a mixture of South African artists along with American artists was the right decision by Kendrick, uniting them through self-love in the Black community and the power of music.

Unfortunately, not all the of the songs were the greatest. "The Ways" by Khalid lasts a little too long and "Big Shot" was a turnoff because I didn't feel the verses talked about the issues the other songs talked about. None of the songs seemed out of place, more just like B-sides compared to the music the artists usually put out. There were a lot of awesome, feel-good moments on the album, but not all songs were exactly perfect.

In the context of "Black Panther," it is the perfect match. Listening to the album on its own is an amazing experience without the movie and is a nice collection of songs curated by Kendrick. Worth a listen to those wanting to celebrate Black History Month and just Black culture in general. Or, if you already love Kendrick, this will only make you love him more. As it did for me.

4/5 Overall, a great collection of songs that feels right at home in Kendrick's discography and as a celebration of Black culture with only a few missteps in songwriting.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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