Kendrick Lamar: Worth the Hype?

The big musical story of 2012 was the ascension of two unlikely musical stars who looked to redefine musical genres who have, frankly (no pun intended), gone rather stale: Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar.

I love Frank Ocean. I think that he is a fantastic hybrid of of old-school R&B and the positives of this new wave style that many artists have attempted to play. Not only are his beats and lyrics original and clearly indicative of his true mentality, the man's voice makes the human race swoon. He'd melt frozen butter with it if someone challenged him.

The hype for Frank Ocean is there and he earned it. Not to mention, he has already done more to break down the exhaustible stereotype of men in this part of the music industry by admitting to being a bisexual. If nothing else, he has certainly established himself in the history of the genre for this reason.

But I am not so sure about Kendrick Lamar. I'm a notoriously hard first listener of new albums, particularly for artists who come in with so much hype and I have never heard of before. Very rarely do I listen to albums the first time and enjoy them, my own favorite artists included. And Kendrick Lamar was no different in this regard. Underwhelmed would be the easiest way to explain the way that I felt about it.

Insightful lyrics for sure, Kendrick taps into his personal life experiences to draw inspiration for his songs. **Side note: it will be interesting to see 5-10 years from now if he is still utilizing those past experiences or if he will go the way of so many rappers and lose sight of his roots. That remains to be determined though** But the beats? The rhythm of the songs? I don't know, it just didn't resonate with me.

Now, I have listened to the album probably two dozen times and it has grown on me. I am somewhere in between where I once was and where the hype level is. His beats continue to underwhelm me, but the more that I read about him, the more I see the influence of his childhood on his lyrics. Never underestimate the significance of tapping into personal experiences when engaging in your work.

One of the main reasons I think that people are so into Kendrick Lamar is because he sounds like old rap. Now, in now way am I claiming to be an expert on rap history. In fact, I know only probably a little bit more than the average person. But I know enough and have listened to enough of it to realize the similarities between it all. I also don't know how to communicate these similarities because I am not some independent coffee shop drinking, fake glasses wearing, ironic mustache donning Pitchfork writer **I read Pitchfork frequently. Big deal**

At the end of the day, I don't really know how I feel about Kendrick Lamar. I think he is talented for sure. And he might be one of the better new rappers in recent memory. BUT, I will be interested in seeing where he is in a few years. Will he still be the insightful poet with words he was on the first album, or will he be another poster boy of perceived rap stereotypes?