[noisereductions]

I might check that song out later. I generally don't like to hear stray singles ahead of an album tho. I might not be as excited as you guys. I mean I love Kendrick - I think he's super talented. But I also didn't get into Butterfly or Untitled as much as I did Section80 or Good Kid.

I did listen to the new Drake. It was better than Views, anyway.

I've def been listening to less hip hop lately. New Ryan Adams, Grandaddy, Thundercat... been listening to the Either/Or reissue. Actually, I kind of like the new Charli XCX album.

[louder]

New Charli XCX album/mixtape/whatever is good!

[Severian]

Fuck I've just been listening to the new Spoon and recycling old nostalgia faves lately.

But Kendrick does get me pumped. He's in a really tough situation, though. Expectations for this album will be SO FUCKING HIGH. I almost feel bad for him. But I think he's up to the challenge. The new song is fucking good.

[louder]

Originally Posted by Severian

Fuck I've just been listening to the new Spoon and recycling old nostalgia faves lately.

But Kendrick does get me pumped. He's in a really tough situation, though. Expectations for this album will be SO FUCKING HIGH. I almost feel bad for him. But I think he's up to the challenge. The new song is fucking good.

My expectations were already insane before Section.80, not to mention after Good Kid. And now they're even higher.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by louder

My expectations were already insane before Section.80, not to mention after Good Kid. And now they're even higher.

Yeah but now it's a global thing. Dude is in a Kane post-MBDTF position. I doubt he'll go the Kanye route, but I'm happy to hear him switching things up from the free jazz style that was all over much of TPAB and all of untitled unmastered. I'd like to see Kendrick become a "free agent" and lose TDE, and just do whatever he wants. I'd say he's earned it.

[Severian]

Pitchfork said something about there being Drake and Big Sean disses. I'm not up enough on Drake or Big Sean to be able to identify disses.

Enlighten me!

[Severian]

Vince Staples and Anderson .Paak both featured in new Netflix show, Marvel's Iron Fist.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

I might check that song out later. I generally don't like to hear stray singles ahead of an album tho. I might not be as excited as you guys. I mean I love Kendrick - I think he's super talented. But I also didn't get into Butterfly or Untitled as much as I did Section80 or Good Kid.

The new song is markedly different in production from TPAB and untitled unmastered. I think you should give it a listen, ASAP. It's utterly satisfying. It's Kendrick in, like, battle-rap, don't-fuck-with-me mode. I love it. He just cuts right through the bullshit. But it's not a "hard" song. It has texture and nuance and it's volatility is complex.

It's kind of funny to me that you, of all of us, never really got into TPAB. It took me a while to really come to terms with it, but you got, like, super into modern jazz right around the time the album came out (I think?), and since the jazz sound was really one of the foundational elements of the record, it seems weird that it didn't appeal to you more. But whatever -- I get it. I love TPAB and hold it in extremely high regard... I feel silly for not acknowledging that it was the best hip-hop record of 2015 sooner. But it's not something I listen to a lot.

It will be interesting to see what Kendrick cooks up for album #4. I didn't think he'd be back so soon, but I would not complain for a second if a new LP dropped in April.

[Severian]

There's a new Freddie Gibbs album I guess. Not sure if I care.

Should I care?

[noisereductions]

You are right it is weird. I discovered hella good jazz from TPAB that I got into more than the album itself.

[noisereductions]

g'damn the video for "Dis Generation" is fucking gorgeous.

http://vevo.ly/iln48T

I swear - not only was Thank You my favorite album of 2016, it's one of the absolute finest hip hop albums of the 2010's. Shit still amazes me. Unreal.

[louder]

New Kendrick song and video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTRZJ-4EyI

It's a banger. Soo different than his last shit. Regardless, I LOVE IT.

[louder]

Originally Posted by Severian

Pitchfork said something about there being Drake and Big Sean disses. I'm not up enough on Drake or Big Sean to be able to identify disses.

Enlighten me!

On "No More Interviews", Big Sean said:

I'm not impressed with the whoopty woop, I don’t know who is who
And can’t pretend like I’m hip to it, no hula hoop
And I can’t lie like I like this shit like I usually do
And I'm just not impressed by you niggas rapping fast
Who sound like one big asthma attack but trash when I’m rapping it back
Who you put in your top five and claim they the savior of rap

These lines come across as shots towards Kendrick.

My fans can't wait for me to son ya punk-ass
And crush ya whole lil' shit
I'll Big Pun ya punk-ass, you a scared lil' bitch
Tiptoein' around my name, nigga, you lame
And when I get at you, homie
Don't you just tell me you was just playin'

Oh, I was just playin', K-Dot
C'mon, you know a nigga rock with you, bro

Shut the fuck up, you sound like the last nigga I know
Might end up like the last nigga I know
Oh, you don't wanna clash? Nigga, I know

^^^ and these lines from The Heart Part 4 seem like a response to Big Sean's shade.

Also:

Ho, Jay Z Hall of Fame, sit yo' punk-ass down!
(Sit yo' punk-ass down!)
So that means you ain't bigger than rapping (What else?)

Is pretty clearly about Drake since he claims to be "bigger than rap".

[Severian]

Originally Posted by louder

On "No More Interviews", Big Sean said:

These lines come across as shots towards Kendrick.


^^^ and these lines from The Heart Part 4 seem like a response to Big Sean's shade.

Also:

Is pretty clearly about Drake since he claims to be "bigger than rap".

Thanks.

Re: the Drake part... I initially took this as a shot at Jay Z, actually, who was recently inducted into the songwriters' hall of fame. But I guess that's not the consensus. The consensus, from what you said and from what I gathered from a video posted by Genius dissecting the meaning of "The Heart of. 4," is that this line is more like a, [i]"Hey man, fuck you -- you're not bigger than rap, HOV is bigger than rap, and you're nothing by comparison" kind of thing.

But I still struggle to see a direct line to Drake. I feel like Kendrick can and should do better if he's going to call someone out. This is just a subliminal. He can't really bitch about Sean using subliminals ("tiptoin' round (his) name") and then go and use the same tactic on Drake a few breaths later.

Don't get me wrong though. I Fucking love Kendrick and I fucking loathe Drake, and if any post-Kanye artist is "bigger than rap" it's Kendrick, even though he's stuck to rapping (hard as a muh!) instead of branching out into pop and other genres vocally. I mean, "Alright" may not be an international #1 hit (not sure it was ever even released as a single) but it means more to more people than "One Dance" ever will. Millions of people bought "One Dance" because it was force fed them and made to cater to their lazy, radio-praising ears. But millions chanted "Alright" because it spoke to them on an emotional level, when they were watching young black men get gunned down every week, and when a certain orange Orangutan wearing a pelt on his head took the White House.

Still. I feel like if he wants to call Drake out, he should either do it openly (he'll call out Trump and Putin, so why not Drake?) or not do it. Subliminals are clever but, again, he can't really condemn someone for using them while he's using them.

*shrug*

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

g'damn the video for "Dis Generation" is fucking gorgeous.

http://vevo.ly/iln48T

I swear - not only was Thank You my favorite album of 2016, it's one of the absolute finest hip hop albums of the 2010's. Shit still amazes me. Unreal.

Hey that's a goddamn cool ass video!

Its funny, I've been home sick with the flu ALL FUCKING WEEK, and I've been passively entertaining myself by listening to random shits on YouTube and Apple Music, but for some reason "Dis Generation" has been floating around in my head the whole time. Just yesterday I was humming it and thinking about the lyrics. So it's funny you should bring it up right now.

One problem I have is that Tip praises J. Cole. Praising Kendrick and Earl I get... praising J. Cole? What. Dude is weak.

Anyway, We Got it From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service was a great record, but ultimately it didn't have the impact of Pablo for me. Nowhere close in fact. I think it came in as my #3 or 4 album of 2016, and it was probably the strongest rap album of the year — but as albums go in general, TLOP just crushed it and everything for me.

But yes, it's a great album and "Dis Generation" is one of its highlights.

I wish it hasn't come out two days after the election. Jesus I was at a low point at that time. Everything I saw, heard, did, increased my dislike, and playing We Got it From Here was no exception. Fucking everything was tainted for me, and I'm still having a hard time hitting the reset button. I think Tribe bet on "The Donald" not winning, and their album was going to accentuate the victory of the oppressed and marginalized people of the world. Instead, it just served as a reminder of how fucked we all were/are. I remember listening to it and thinking about how much hope and joy must have gone into making those tracks, only to have it all sound kind of futile in the wake of T-Day. It was quite depressing actually.

Time heals all wounds though. As time swallows Trump and Ryan and Bannon, and gives them all ass-cancer and hopefully finds them out of jobs, this album will have more opppirtunities to be meaningful in other ways. But as of now, it's still a bit too bittersweet for me.

[Severian]

I've listened to the new Kendrick track, "Humble," and it's ok... good rapping as always, but I'm really not very impressed.

As far as bangers following more thoughtful tracks, it strikes me that Kendrick did something similar when he followed "i" with "The Blacker the Berry." But in that case, well... "The Blacker the Berry" was pretty much the most insane thing to come out of the rap world since Yeezus. It wasn't just a "banger," it was fucking explosive, and it was textured and complex and hit all the harder for the variation within the song. That chorus still haunts me...

Anyway, "Humble" is good and stuff, but there's nothing amazing about it. It kind of feels like when Kanye released "FACTS" before TLOP. Kind of a head-scratcher in the sense that there's not a whole lot going on in either song, and that's rarely the case with either artist.

But in the long run, after the Charlie Heat remix hit, "FACTS" became a crucial track for me. What once was boring and kind of dumb became necessarily to the flow of the album. I guess I'm hoping the same proves to be true of "Humble."

[Severian]

Sorry y'all. Must be insufferable to be internet friends with my ass at times. I can't seem to have a conversation without talking about Kanye. I blame you guys though.

[louder]

Originally Posted by Severian

I've listened to the new Kendrick track, "Humble," and it's ok... good rapping as always, but I'm really not very impressed.

As far as bangers following more thoughtful tracks, it strikes me that Kendrick did something similar when he followed "i" with "The Blacker the Berry." But in that case, well... "The Blacker the Berry" was pretty much the most insane thing to come out of the rap world since Yeezus. It wasn't just a "banger," it was fucking explosive, and it was textured and complex and hit all the harder for the variation within the song. That chorus still haunts me...

Anyway, "Humble" is good and stuff, but there's nothing amazing about it. It kind of feels like when Kanye released "FACTS" before TLOP. Kind of a head-scratcher in the sense that there's not a whole lot going on in either song, and that's rarely the case with either artist.

But in the long run, after the Charlie Heat remix hit, "FACTS" became a crucial track for me. What once was boring and kind of dumb became necessarily to the flow of the album. I guess I'm hoping the same proves to be true of "Humble."

I see the potential in "Humble". I like it. I think it's more along the lines of "King Kunta" than "The Blacker The Berry".

[louder]

Haven't watched Dis Generation video yet, but this new Danny Brown video is INSANE, in the best way possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L4JnAuW00k

[louder]

Can we take a moment to appreciate the first verse on The Heart Part 4? Much more interesting than the Drake/Big Sean subs that everyone was focusing on. Virtuosic braggadocio rhymes that make my head spin, reminiscent of his first verse on Momma.

"Thirty millions later, my future favors
The legendary status of a hip-hop rhyme savior"

"I’m satisfied when I strategize my kid's future
I ain't sanctified enough to say that I won't shoot ya"