Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (stylized as good kid, m.A.A.d city) is the second studio album by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Drake, Dr. Dre, Jay Rock, Anna Wise and MC Eiht. It is Lamar's first major label album, after his independently released first album Section.80 in 2011 and his signing to Aftermath and Interscope the following year.
The album earned Lamar four Grammy Award nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album was also named to many end-of-the-year lists, often topping them. It was later certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2020, the album was ranked 115th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and in 2022, the publication named it the greatest concept album of all time.
Good Kid M.a.a.d City Free Album Download
tag_hash_106 🔥 https://urllio.com/2yjX81 🔥
After the release and success of his debut studio album Section.80 (2011), Kendrick Lamar signed a major label record deal with Interscope Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. He told HipHopDX that he did not want to work with high-profile producers, but with those he had established himself with, mainly producers from Top Dawg's in-house production team, Digi+Phonics.[3]
In an interview for XXL, Lamar said that the album would not sound like Section.80, but will return to his Compton roots: "I couldn't tell you what type of sound or where I [will] be in the next five years as far as music... Back to the neighborhood and [going] back in that same space where we used to be, got [me] inspired. So this album won't sound like Section.80."[4] Lamar also said that the album will showcase the influence of his hometown: "The kid that's trying to escape that influence, trying his best to escape that influence, has always been pulled back in because of circumstances that be."[3]
Recording sessions for the album took place at PatchWerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, Encore Studios in Burbank, TDE Red Room in Carson, and "At My Mama's Studio" in Los Angeles.[5] The first song that Lamar recorded for the album was "Compton", which featured Dr. Dre. The track serves as the twelfth track on the album, and acts as the standard edition's closing track.[6]
On August 15, 2012, Lady Gaga announced via Twitter, that she had collaborated with Lamar on a song called "Partynauseous", for the album, and would be released on September 6. However, on August 23, Gaga announced that the song was no longer being released on that date and apologized to fans for the delay.[7][8] Eventually, it was confirmed that Lady Gaga would not be featured on the album due to timing issues and creative differences.[9] The song was later revealed to be re-titled "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". On November 8, Gaga released the version she was featured on, which had her singing the chorus and a verse.[10] Lamar expressed he was surprised and happy that Gaga released her version of the song, as it displayed confidence in their work together.[11]
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City has a low-key,[13] downbeat production,[14] with atmospheric beats and subtle, indistinct hooks.[12] It eschews contemporary hip hop tastes[15] and generally features tight bass measures, subtle background vocals, and light piano.[16] Writers draw comparisons of the music to Outkast's 1998 album Aquemini.[17][18][19] Andrew Nosnitsky of Spin cites the music's "closest point of reference" as "the cold spaciousness of ATLiens-era Outkast, but as the record progresses, that sound sinks slowly into the fusionist mud of those sprawling and solemn mid-2000s Roots albums."[20] Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker finds its use of "smooth" music as a backdrop for "rough" scenarios to be analogous to Dr. Dre's G-funk during the early 1990s, but adds that "Lamar often sounds like Drake ... whose various dreamy styles have very little to do with the legacy of the West."[21] Okayplayer's Marcus Moore writes that its "expansive and brooding" instrumentals eschew "California's glossy West Coast funk" for a "Dungeon Family aesthetic."[22]
Lyrically, the album chronicles Lamar's experiences in his native Compton and its harsh realities,[23] in a nonlinear narrative.[24] The songs address issues such as economic disenfranchisement, retributive gang violence[25] and downtrodden women,[26] while analyzing their residual effects on individuals and families.[25] Lamar introduces various characters and internal conflicts,[26] including the contrast of his homesickness and love for Compton with the city's plagued condition.[2] Del F. Cowie of Exclaim! observes a "transformation" by Lamar's character "from a boisterous, impressionable, girl-craving teenager to more spiritual, hard-fought adulthood, irrevocably shaped by the neighbourhood and familial bonds of his precarious environment."[14] Slant Magazine's Mark Collett writes that Lamar executes the character's transition by "tempering the hedonistic urges of West Coast hip hop with the self-reflective impulses of the East Coast."[27] David Amidon of PopMatters views that the album provides a "sort of semi-autobiographical character arc",[28] while MSN Music's Robert Christgau writes that Lamar "softspokenly" enacts a "rap-versus-real dichotomy".[12]
The album features several naturalistic skits that portray a range of characters.[12] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times finds them to be a part of the album's "narrative strategy", with "prayers and conversations and different voices and recollections and interludes, all in service of one overarching story: Mr. Lamar's tale of ducking Compton's rougher corners to find himself artistically."[15] Pitchfork's Jayson Greene feels that they reinforce the album's theme of "the grounding power of family", interpreting "family and faith" to be "the fraying tethers holding Lamar back from the chasm of gang violence that threatens to consume him."[29]
Lamar exhibits a tempered delivery on the album[15] and raps with dense narratives, internal rhyme,[30] double and triple time flow[31] and multiple voices for different characters.[24] Music journalist Jody Rosen characterizes him as "a storyteller, not a braggart or punch-line rapper, setting spiritual yearnings and moral dilemmas against a backdrop of gang violence and police brutality."[30]
Before the album's title was officially revealed, fans had already been calling Lamar's major label debut Good Kid, Mad City or Good Kid in a Mad City, as it was a nickname Lamar had given himself. He had used the phrase in his lyrics as early as the 2009 Kendrick Lamar EP.[33] When he announced the album's title and release date, Lamar indicated that the "correct" rendering of the title is lowercase except for the two vowels in "m.A.A.d".[34] The album's title mainly refers to Lamar's childhood innocence and how Compton affected his life. After keeping the album title's acronym concealed, Lamar later revealed M.A.A.D is an acronym with two meanings: "My Angry Adolescence Divided" and "My Angel's on Angel Dust", with Lamar stating: "That was me, [and it's] the reason why I don't smoke. It was just me getting my hands on the wrong thing at the wrong time [and] being oblivious to it."[35] The title has been interpreted as a reference to WC and the Maad Circle, a Los Angeles-based hip hop group active in the 1990s.[36]
The cover artwork for Good Kid, M.A.A.D City features a child Lamar, two of his uncles, and his grandfather, with the adults' eyes censored, possibly for privacy reasons. He explained that the reason why he had not censored his own eyes was that the album's story was told through his eyes, and is based around his experiences. The uncle who is holding Lamar also is displaying the Crips gang sign with his hand, and the poster above the head of the uncle features Lamar and his father.[37]
The album's first single, "The Recipe", was released on April 3, 2012.[38] The song featured Lamar's mentor, Dr. Dre, and was produced by Scoop DeVille.[39] It peaked at number 38 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[40] Lamar and Dr. Dre shot a video for the song at a mansion in Los Angeles in May, although it was never released.[41] The album's second single, "Swimming Pools (Drank)", was released on July 31, 2012, while the music video premiered on August 3, 2012.[42][43] The song became a hit, peaking at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[44] "Swimming Pools (Drank)" was also certified gold in the United States by the RIAA.[45]
On March 9, 2013, Kendrick told Rap-Up that his next single off the album would be "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe".[50] On March 13, Young Guru premiered a snippet of the song's official remix, which featured Jay-Z.[51] Lamar would later describe the remix as an "accomplishment to have [worked] with Jay-Z".[52] Shortly after the remix premiered, Lamar confirmed "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" would be the next single from the album.[53] The full version of the remix was premiered by Funkmaster Flex on March 18.[54][55] The remix was released as the album's fourth single to rhythmic contemporary radio on April 9.[56] The song has since peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.[44] The music video for the original version of the single was released on May 13, with comedian Mike Epps making a cameo appearance.[57] The same day, an extended version of the music video was released. It featured a cameo from Juicy J, and a bonus clip of a new song by Schoolboy Q from his own respective major label debut album, Oxymoron (2014).[58]
Before and after the album's October 2012 release, Lamar toured as a supporting act alongside Drake and Steve Aoki.[60][61] On May 5, 2013, he began his first headlining tour with the Good Kid, M.A.A.D City World Tour, in West Palm Beach, Florida. The tour consisted of 23 headlining shows, 22 international music festivals, and 15 United States music festivals. The tour ran through August 24, and featured other members of Black Hippy on all US dates.[62] 0852c4b9a8
science fiction books for kids free download
k-lite mega codec pack 3.4.5 free download