I don’t know how he transforms into a completely different rapper every time. “ My momma told me I’m going to work myself to death,” damn. There’s something enthralling about his voice, but his voice also seems so low in energy. Kendrick went from sounding like a murderer to a drunk swaying in the studio. If instrumentals could melt, “DNA’s” production would resemble a hotdog that's been in the microwave for 10 minutes. The aggression! I can almost feel the blood boiling in my headphones. Coyote trying to keep up with The Road Runner. I’m overwhelmed by this nonstop wordplay and loving every minute. The aggression in Kendrick’s verse will inspire so many air punches like Cuba Gooding Jr in Boyz N The Hood. THE BEAT SWITCH AND IT'S BRUTAL, a true leviathan, this is madness.
I swear he just did the Uzi Vert Yeah Yeah and I loved it. Kendrick is in the pocket, like dancing in it. It wouldn’t surprise me if you found it in a police lineup. Let's just say, you wouldn't hear this on a Gucci album. He’s a baseball player on steroids stepping up to the plate. Listening to Kendrick rap is like watching Tony Hawk land the 900 over and over. It makes you want to hit the Rick Flair WOOOOO! THE I GOT/YOU’S A STUTTER is such a brilliant trick. This isn’t TPAB! This is raw, m.A.A.d city levels of unfiltered brashness. Kendrick is giving me GKMC imagery-esque lyricism. I haven’t been this shocked since the deer collided with the car at the beginning of Get Out. Holy shit, this album just took the most sudden twist. A news clip plays about Kendrick Lamar lyrics about police brutality, but I’m still stuck on the blind woman. THE BLIND WOMAN JUST KILLED KENDRICK! SHE SHOT HIM. I’m sure this blind woman is going to turn out to be an angel or Tupac’s great-grandmother. I love these strings playing so elegantly in the background, this is heavenly. Even the most mundane aspects of life interest him. Kendrick pays attention to his surroundings. He talks about walking and seeing a blind woman. The production just kicked in, lush, the kind of warmth you experience in a dream. It sounds like Thundercat if he was making music in the Star Wars universe. I'm not sure what the first lyric was but a quick pause came after. The first voice you hear isn’t Kendrick, which is rather amusing considering the small number of features on this album. In the words of a wise man, let's get ready to rumble. Happy birthday to my little brother James and DJBooth's managing editor Brendan, may this Kendrick be a gift to you and to the world. Each song will receive my gut reaction from start to finish. In usual 1-Listen fashion, the rules are the same: no skipping, no fast-forwarding, no rewinding and no stopping.