In the wake of Kanye West’s artistic psychodrama comes a left-field Kendrick Lamar surprise album drop this Friday. Thank goodness.
The eight tracks off of untitled unmastered were mostly recorded during the To Pimp a Butterfly sessions in late 2014, and provide a fascinating insight into Lamar’s creative process. Interestingly, the title of each song is dated according to when it was recorded. The title of the album is clever in itself, nodding at Lamar’s concerns of freedom as well as the nature of his new music– not as lavish as TPAB, but yet the details in each song grasps listeners.
Lamar shows his most playful side on untitled unmastered in comparison to all of his previous works — which is probably where the “unmastered” portion of the release comes into play. Adding these songs on TPAB would not have necessarily improved it, as none of the eight tracks are blockbusters. The hooks lack power yet somehow everything flows effortlessly, and Lamar’s talent for lyricism prevails in every track.
The release comes on the heels of a Twitter exchange between James, Lamar and Anthony Tiffith, the CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment — Lebron asked Lamar and Tiffith to release new music by Lamar that never made it on TPAB. And the new content signals a plain and simple truth when it comes to social media and the superstar who frequent it:
What LeBron James wants, LeBron James gets.
James proved to fans that Twitter can be used for more than just memes, activism and unexpected social media feuds about someone having a ghostwriter. Fast forward a couple of days and the “Alright” rapper releases an eight-track album in raw form that has taken up iTunes, Google Play, Tidal and Spotify. Lamar’s history of performing unreleased music includes his powerful, show-stopping 2016 Grammy performance where he shook the stage with politically charged renditions of “The Blacker The Berry,” and “Alright.”
Untitled unmastered seems to be a blueprint for what became of To Pimp A Butterfly, and shows that Lamar is not slowing down after taking home five Grammys.