Last year Lamar dropped the critical and commercial juggernaut, “To Pimp a Butterfly.” No one could even begin to fathom the artistic direction of Kendrick's next album. To everyone's surprise, he released "Untitled Unmastered" on March 4th 2016. The album features 8 raw and stripped down tracks composed between 2013 and 2016. Its a rare occasion when fans get to listen to tracks which feel like a work in progress. This lack of bombastic production allows for a greater appreciation for the lyrical and creative content of the project as a whole. An album that feel like B-side fill-ins are able to rival even the best content released by the majority of music artists.
The song "Untitled 02" is the best track on the entire project due to its sophisticated simplicity in production. "Pimp, pimp hooray" is a chant that sets the entire tone of the song. A lackadaisical array of guitar plucking, percussion and saxophone musings climax into a filthy beat drop. Kendrick references the struggles of past relationships throughout the entire track. Another hidden meaning can be derived from the word "Jiggaboos.” A racist slang term for African-American people which seems to take a jab at other rappers. In this track Kendrick delivers one of the smoothest and slippery flows from any of his previous songs. His ability to manipulate his voice into anything he wants makes song a once in a lifetime masterpiece.
"Untitled 04" is the shortest song on the album lasting only a minute and fifty seconds. Despite its run time the song deserves recognition. It's unique in the sense of Kendrick's vocal delivery. He whispers throughout the entire track reverberating the chorus. The song is easy on the ears and brings a sense of peace. It's therapeutic even though it discusses the topic of government control and corruption, "They tell me my bills past due." The outro of the sound is hauntingly hypnotizing with intense reverb. The piano mimics a Dracula-esque tone which implies a state of complete desensitization.
No album is perfect, but their was not any one song that was not good. One of the major gripes I had was that the album felt like a random assortment of songs. Stylistically, the songs all resonated along the same wavelength. Unfortunately, the transitions between songs are messy and many of times it feels like a jumbled mess. This should be expected from an "Unmastered" album. It's supposed to sound unfinished but that doesn't mean that it can’t be a flaw. There were a couple overly sexualized sequences in the album. One example was the intro to "Untitled 01."
Overall, this is an incredibly solid album. It melds a variety of unique tones together to create a unique piece. Kendrick's vocals are unparalleled as usual due to his special style. The subjects covered range, from love to drugs to racism and government. In a Hip Hop world over saturated with mediocrity, Kendrick is able to breathe life into the genre and has proven why he is the The King of Modern Day Hip Hop.
