It is near unanimous opinion that Kendrick Lamar is the dignitary and perhaps the redeemer of hip-hop. He has revitalized its intellectual properties and fluid spirituality. Fusing funk, jazz, trip-hop, and other influences and offspring of the genre. Paralleling music and culture with symphonic eclecticism and idiosyncratic narratives. Each line that is pushed between his lips provides impressionistic introspection of life in the ghetto — perhaps the foundation of hip-hop.

I hope to God that all of you have heard or are aware of Lamar's surprise album, "untitled unmastered," that nearly slipped through the music commentary cracks earlier this month. Despite its unprecedented appearance and lack of erupting anticipation, Kendrick still maintained his masterful quality, providing potent spirituality and personal narrative. I can go on, I could write a dissertation on the importance of Lamar's new album or his anthology of poetic music and its importance in hip-hop. Praise you have already heard. What if I told you that there is more than just intelligence in his lyrics? What if I told you there is a living spirit in every pronunciation, syllable, and reference he makes?

"untitled 02 | 06.23.2014"

All it takes is one song to understand the dense expression and criticism that Kendrick makes in his music. At first the lyrics, if you are not familiar with the urban dialect of Kendrick Lamar, seem brash and uncouth. Yet with a greater ear and a greater perspective of the lifestyle he describes, one can hear the echoes of Rosecrans. He presents what feels like the ether of the grimy hazardous nights of Compton. Loose-lipped vibrato, the constant change in key and pitch in every lyric seems to mirror the unpredictability of life on the streets. As well as the unique and boundless energy of the people living in those streets.

"Pimp-Pimp, Hooray! Pimp-Pimp, Hooray!"

A play on the celebratory "hip hip hooray", this reinvented chant sets the tone for his rhetoric. Pimp is often a shallow affectation used in the ghetto and music and media designed to reflect the ghetto. Pimpin' is often glorified, meaning the mastering and materializing of female sexuality as well as materialistic idealism. Hooray is used as a sarcastic approval of this dehumanizing flaw. This creates a precedence for the entire song and perhaps the album in which Kendrick wittingly criticizes the perpetual vice and stereotypical culture of Black America or, more specifically, Compton.

"Get God on the phone, Said it won't be long, I see jiggaboos, I see Styrofoam."

He cries for the grace of God to save his friends and family as well as the Black race from the self-inflicted and institutionalized crime committed. He indicates the end of time or destruction of humanity or his neighborhood by the means of the menacing gangsters and ignoramuses that plague the community with their incriminating and wasteful ways.

"I f@#kin', I'm crazy. Serving it like I belong in a basement or maybe a Days Inn, Yan Yan my relative, black cherry soda. Pistol and poverty, come get to know us."

He reverses the barbarism on himself, as he does throughout the song describing his success.He synchronizes the materialistic criticisms of his community with his own habits. Humbling himself as well as showing his roots while boasting his dominance in music. Throughout his album and most of his music, Kendrick often makes personal references to his neighborhood friends, such as Yan Yan, and leisurely habits, such as smoking black cherry soda. He once again he gives his reputation and his status to the people. Humbling himself as a man who uses his voice for his own people.

"untitled 02 | 06.23.2014." is only one track that encapsulates Black urban life. He covers a variety of other topics such as classicism and monetary ideals in "untitled 04 | 08.14.2014."

'(What did the Asian say?) A peace of mind That's what the Asian said, I need a divine...Asked him what are you doing, he said "taking my time". Meditation is a must, it don't hurt if you try.'

In one song he expresses the unrelenting struggles of living in poverty, the treachery of popular religion, and driven sexuality of American youth in "untitled 04 | 08.14.2014."

'They say the government mislead the youth. And welfare don't mean well for you. They tell me that my bills past due. And preacher man don't always tell the truth.But head is the answer, head the future.'

Looking in from the outside you may think of yourself as one of those cunning hipster reporters who just discovered why certain people say Bompton instead of Compton and think they are down with the hood. But if you really listen to the lyrics and feed off the vibes in the album, listen to it over and over again and apply his struggles to your own. You can do more than understand, but truly feel the message in his music, which is its ultimate purpose.