“More than a style, it’s conceptual genius” was the legendary phrase that echoed through my mind while listening to the Compton emcee’s debut album release; the only words to describe a project that stands for more than just a symbol of accomplishment. The dichotomy of meaning between the Ronald Reagan “drug war”/ “crack epidemic” era and the generation of angst and apathy  it created is more than simply discussed in Section.80, it’s illustrated with crystal clear intention. Two projects away from his self-titled EP and his latest O.D. (OverlyDedicated) mixtape is a trip through the mind of a “product of the late 80s”. Kendrick Lamar does more than live up to a “hype” with this album, he hand delivers that involuntary head nod to your brain and leaves you soul-searching. Section.80 isn’t a story, it’s a saga, and I decided a review should reflect that fact completely; without any comparisons of other artists attached to it.

In the early summer of 2010 I came across the video for Kendrick’s “Wanna Be Heard” when looking for his single “She Needs Me” and immediately was hooked. I posted the video on the blog I was hosting at the time and starting digging through Youtube to find any track I could by this more than talented emcee that seemingly dropped out of the sky. After seeing “The Heart Pt.1” which he recorded over Mos Def’s “Umi Says” I found myself rewinding the video until I knew the entire first verse. Being that Mos Def is the greatest emcee alive for me personally, the amount of respect I gained for him from the emotionally charged delivery over the legendary track had me sold on the spot. Flash forward a few months to the September release of his O.D. mixtape, which opens with an introspective sequel to “The Heart Pt.1” poured out over the same soothing track that opened The Roots latest album How I Got Over. The same hunger and focus embossed on this project as his first, with the only difference being the fact that he didn’t seem apprehensive about mixing pleasure, pain, and intellect at the highest potency he could deliver. Amidst the remarkable reception of the project, the release of two of the year’s best mixtapes by his Black Hippy bandmates (Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul), SXSW 2011, a co-sign from Dre and a guaranteed spot on Detox, Kendrick Lamar seemed poised for his due shine but showed absolutely no signs of faltering. As expected, he gave word that he’d drop an official album to be available for purchase soon, gave us “Look Out For Detox“, and went on a nationwide tour.

The title Section.80 and a single produced by J. Cole (“HiiPower”) were hints at what we were to expect with a couple months left before the project’s release. The single shook the world of Hip Hop with it’s gritty rhetoric, but to those who were anxiously awaiting what Kendrick had up his sleeve, can you honestly say this is what you expected? Sixteen tracks of pure soul, coupled with an underlying theme that was sculpted specifically for the listener as a testament to a mentality that has nearly blinded a generation? If it was, then you deserve a pat on your back and a foot rub.

The album opens with “Fuck Your Ethnicity”, a song crafted as a sort of exposition directed at the listener to establish the main concept. He identifies “Tammy” and “Keisha” in a short skit set around a flame at a neighborhood campfire meeting which represents “the passion you have”. After a haunting piano morphs into a trance-like march Kendrick sounds off in his almost possessed tone, as if he was standing right behind you literally trying to hypnotize you. With an autobiographic angle, he makes it clear that this “everyday life music” of his is for every creed. Up next is “Hol’ Up”, a stream of consciousness record that delves in and out of how he sees himself and how he wishes to see himself. “I lived my twenties at 2 years-old, the wiser man; truth be told I’m like 87…”,   if you thought you had him all figured out, Hol’ Up. Track 3 is “A.D.H.D.” , one of those jawns you end up rewinding ten times just trying to catch all the concepts. But that’s the whole purpose, the challenge is to decipher the barrage of social issues and behavioral vices Kendrick touches upon that affect both males and females. It’s at this point that the album locks onto the message it’s attempting to deliver, and a partial definition of the title given. “You know why we crack babies, cause we born in the 80s. The A.D.H.D. crazy.”

Lamar uses “No Make-Up (Her Vice)” as an outlet to touch on the superficial facades women have been taught to develop for themselves in our modern society. I found myself agreeing completely with the first verse and starting to let my negative feelings for make-up swell, but then the bridge came in. Similar to his song “Opposites Attract” ( from O.D.) Kendrick offers both sides of the story; the female vocal backup and the cliffhanging “to be continued” ending was pure genius and left me wanting to fill in the blanks. We move from her vice to her evils on “Tammy’s Song”, but we’re warned not to judge her. Volumes could be spoken of the whirlwind intro THC gave the track that, in effect, sucks you into the story. From start to finish the song is a passerby’s observation of how good girls go bad quickly a woman’s trust can be disintegrated and at the end of it all rather than be alone, she’ll find that emotional release in the arms of another who lacks the Y chromosome. “Chapter Six” is a laidback, refreshing interlude/skit that I enjoyed as a transition to the darker realm of Section.80: “the dysfunctional bastards of the Ronald Reagan era, young men that learn to do everything spiteful.” Transporting us to the gates of the county in which those bastards reside is “Ronald Reagan Era”. With an organic snare-and-bass track Kendrick and Ab-Soul take you to the streets of Compton to bask in the glory of the society a dysfunctional youth have grown to love.

“Poe Man’s Dreams” is an embodiment of the “good kid in a mad city” persona he prides himself on, the same good kid who doesn’t smoke weed but is always “H.O.C.“. GLC backs him up with an O.G. hook to remind you where you are while Kendrick laments on the street knowledge he’s acquired from living in Compton while warning “the city got my back and for that I give them my torso, you think about it”. However, he also paints a picture of a leisure filled life where he gets to reflect on where his talents will take him. “The Spiteful Chant” is precisely just that, his rebellious side is personified through his zombie-like drone telling you exactly how he feels about everyone who thinks less of him. Coupled with the Q’s explosive delivery, the track implies they could have a chip on their shoulder the size of California if they wanted. And to the simple minded, please remember it’s a concept song, let’s not try to let this song define him. “Chapter  Ten” is a reminder that this album is about 80’s babies and the speaker at the campfire instructs the listener to leave everything you’ve learned thus far on the table as a sign of vulnerability as we turn down another avenue of Section.80.

Pages: 1 2