#480 Kendrick Lamar - Section 80

On the 2011 lists - almost out!

Kendrick Lamar stakes out a pretty interesting middle ground with this album, somewhere halfway between:
a) the modern, pretty, synthed-out, personal hip hop of Kanye, Drake, and heck, to a lesser extent the new Busdriver.
b) old school sensibilities, with a social message, simmering anger, and R&B loping pacing and basslines.

The combination works, coming out like a more experimental version of The Blueprint's slower tracks, Lamar exposing soul instead of heart, keeping its cool while it shows its hand. It all comes out at its strongest on centerpiece Ronald Regan Era, where rhymes land hard over loping, quivering mellotron, crisp beats and vocal flourishes. The whole thing is downright listenable, without ever being soft of weak, without ever being harsh. It takes less extravagant chances than some recent rap standouts, but its a really promising start, will be keeping an eye on this dude's upcoming one 4/5

You might like this if: you like pretty hip hop, with an edge, with a message, with a soul.