Lamar firmly understands how cadence, repetition and rhythm can create a sonically stunning, attention-grabbing concoction.Īs he was on “To Pimp A Butterfly,” Lamar continues to be a biting voice on issues of racial tension. Listening to this, you wonder if this is a collection of tightly put-together words that were purposely written beforehand or possibly a free-styling master at work. On “untitled 02 | 06.23.14,” he delivers a seemingly stream of consciousness flow that circles both his personal inner-monologue and issues in the geo-political realm. Lamar knows this and his rhymes are filled with an extremely politically-minded fury as he approaches each track with the flexibility and the fearlessness of an unapologetic slam poet. Great hip-hop breaks boundaries and will no doubt make some people uncomfortable. This feels very much like it is in the same space as “To Pimp A Butterfly.” It’s every bit as confrontational and in some circles it will be seen as controversial with its topics and its phrasing, but that comes with the territory. Hanging out with Thundercat and Kamasi Washington has no doubt left an impression and Lamar himself has an other-worldly “jazz-cat” kind of vibe and an innate sense of wisdom beyond his years. This minimalist approach actually keeps things mysterious and of all the artists working in hip-hop today, Lamar is among a small group of MCs who are harkening back to a pre-hip-hop era. The cover is an alluring shade of pea green but again without an actual image. In keeping with its name, the songs on “untitled unmastered.” are left only identified by numbers and dates.

The album is currently available on iTunes and on Spotify and Tidal.

Kendrick lamar untitled unmastered 2