I was sitting in a cubicle in Los Angeles and overheard an argument about “Good Kid, M.A.A.d city”. One person said it was the best record of 2012, the other stated that there was something else, and I was just looking at escort ads. Cubicle land sucks unless you have headphones and an endless stream of music or comedy. I have always been lucky to be able to wear headphones, and that’s where I think Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore record is best heard. It’s a subdued record with many calming beats, interesting rhyme schemes, and something for every type of hip hop fan.
“Good Kid, M.A.A.d city” is a record you can’t just listen to and skip tracks. It’s a recording that requires you to sit still, put on headphones, and drift off into what the MC is saying. He’s telling stories from the hood, but it is not glorified at times, and it is not as gritty as some of the earlier 1990s hip hop that ran the gamut of offensive material. That’s not to say that there’s no street cred here, as it was produced in large part by Dr. Dre. You get a mix of styles, beats, and an eclectic blend of hip-hop tunes. It’s a solid release that I happen to go back to a great deal, even with a decade between us. I hope I don’t die in a cubicle job.
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