To Pimp A Butterfly
was a bloody phenomenal album. But hell, even I’m starting to get sick of all the
sycophancy. I kind of wish Kendrick would just slip up so that I don’t have to
keep writing these grossly glowing reviews.
But no, the Compton rapper continues to deliver annoyingly
impressive music, dropping this latest album, which isn’t really an album –
more of a selection of odds and ends that didn’t make the final cut of TPAB. All the tracks are titled ‘Untitled’ and are supposedly
unmastered (although suspiciously well-produced with the deliberate exception
of Untitled 7’s second half, which is a raw recording).
The lack of song titles complicates things somewhat – not only
is it more tricky for me to reference tracks in this review, but I’ve never
been skilled at deciphering song themes despite an English degree, meaning I’m
practically lost without a big bold title to point me in the right direction. Kendrick
seems to further encrypt the process by offering some of his most impenetrable
lyrics to date: ‘Get God on the phone/
said it won’t be long/ I see jigaboos, I see styrofoams’.
Using Rap Genius as my Rosetta stone, I’ve since been able
to translate most the verses, and there are song themes present, most of which
appeared on TPAB (e.g. Kendrick coming to terms with his success, issues of race).
The lack of fresh topics does make this album feel less crisp, but that’s to be expected on an
album made up of leftovers.
Besides, how Kendrick raps seems to make up for what he
raps. His inflections on Untitled
Unmastered are some of his most engaging and inventive yet, acting as props
to the characters he plays, as well as contributing whole new added meanings that his lyrics cannot provide. Untitled 2’s doo-lally delivery reflects the loopy
lyrics which paint a man on the edge of sanity (or perhaps he’s trying to play
a codeine addict, hence the ‘I see
styrofoams’ line). Untitled 4 meanwhile features some wild whispering from
Kendrick in the background, ‘tell em when
you went to the park and everyone came back and…’ perhaps a representation
of his conscience trying to interject with guilty suppressed thoughts.
Accompanied by some of his most imaginative instrumentals
yet, Untitled Unmastered proves
Kendrick is a man at his creative peak. The jazzy horns and keys of TPAB make a
return, a few more 808s weaving their way in, the result being the most
sophisticated bangers you’re likely to ever hear.
Of course, being a selection of demos, there are moments
where the absence of editing shows. The record is low on hooks and some tracks
outstay their welcome. Whilst I love the smoky lounge groove of Track 5, it runs
on an extra minute longer than it needs to, and Track 7’s lo-fi ending is an
interesting feature but not interesting enough to sustain nearly four minutes (plus
Kendrick’s chuckling makes me feel like I’m frustratingly left out on some
inside joke).
That being said, an unfinished product though it may claim
to be, this compilation record still feels a lot more polished and cohesive
than most full-bodied hip hop albums. Part of his ability to blow his
contemporaries out of the water on a raft made of flotsam and jetsam may be due
to the fact that he’s still riding on the wave of TPAB’s success. In this sea
of hip hop artists all fighting to be top dog, will this Top Dawg signee still
reign supreme by the time he drops his next album? Is it humanly possible for him to top
TPAB? We will have to wait and see...
★★★★☆