Kendrick m.A.A.dness: Sweet 16
Welcome back to Kendrick m.A.A.dness, where Micah and Daniel attempt to tackle the behemoth that is 32 Kendrick Lamar tracks, in head-to-head fashion. We've come to the Sweet 16, where it was in fact bittersweet: we got to listen to 16 incredible songs, but had to say goodbye to a couple our favorites.
Just a reminder that yes, Daniel did accidentally delete our initial post explaining the songs in and seeds of the bracket. And did so in a way the entire post is non-recoverable. Here’s a SparkNotes version:
The two of us, along with Housemate Clint, populated the bracket
36 songs made the bracket, with the last 8 ‘at-large’ songs in the play-in games
The top seeds were the top-selling single from each of the respective solo studio albums
Seeding was based on commercial performance, though there was a 2-per-album limit on each seed line, so as to avoid DAMN. and Black Panther getting ALL of the top seeds
Daniel also needs to take this opportunity to recognize his sister Catherine for coming up with the idea to rename the bracket to say "m.A.A.d.ness." He doesn't know whether to be more proud of having cool older offspring, or angry that he didn't think of that initially.
And with the begrudging/mandatory kudos out of the way, here we go!
DANIEL
(4) ‘King Kunta’ over (1) ‘Humble’
Full disclosure: ‘Humble’ was my least-favorite of the #1 seeds. It also was my least-favorite of the rapper’s radio singles, so I’m still a liiiiiittle bitter that it was the first track of his to top the charts. Don’t get me wrong, I still dig it, and it’s catchy as hell, I just don’t think it goes as hard musically or lyrically as most of his other songs. Enter: ‘King Kunta.’ The single from To Pimp A Butterfly is a nightmare matchup for top-seeded ‘Humble’: it neutralizes the latter's greatest strength (its beat), with an addictive, captivating beat of its own, and is more musically explorative and lyrically impactful, to boot.
(1) 'HiiiPoWeR’ over (5) ‘Alright’
I don’t want to pick against ‘Alright’, and I very nearly didn’t. It’s not just the jazz sax, or Pharrell’s vocals, or the optimistic refrain. It’s the fact that it became a social anthem for hope through darkness, the de facto chant of many Black Lives Matter marches, one of the most important activist groups in recent history. But, as a standalone song, ‘HiiiPoWeR’ is an all-time great by one of the all-time greats. J. Cole’s beat is simple but delicious, and through what are easily the best verses on the early Section.80, Kendrick introduces the ideology of hiiipower: heart, honor and respect.
(8) ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst’ over (5) ‘The Blacker The Berry’
‘Sing About Me’ fights on, though not without an extremely tough test. This was a triple-overtime slugfest, with Kendrick’s most emotionally poignant song coming to blows with the song that depicts him at his most aggressively, righteously furious. ‘The Blacker The Berry’ is a powerhouse of a social commentary. I remember the first time I ever listened to it, Kendrick’s last stanza made the hair on my arms stand up, and to this day, I don’t think I’ve been able to listen to that verse without getting goosebumps. But, though it pains me to say it, I think it barely loses here, to the three-act masterpiece of ‘Sing About Me.’
(5) ‘m.A.A.d City’ over (1) ‘Swimming Pools’
Another all-Good Kid, m.A.A.d City matchup, this time between two of the most recognizable songs of Kendrick’s breakthrough album. ‘Swimming Pools’ was the top-selling single from GKMC, and interestingly enough, the first song of his I ever heard. Indeed, it has sentimental value for me for that reason: hearing the track that sounded like a club turn-up anthem, but read like a profound cautionary tale about alcoholism was mind-blowing for me, and made me want to listen to more of his work.
For those reasons, I fully anticipated picking ‘Swimming Pools’ not just in this matchup, but deep into the tournament. Yet, when I listened to the tracks back-to-back, I just have to go with ‘m.A.A.d City’, which pulls me in from the opening words and keeps me there for the entirety of the 6-minute ride, all the way through to the last disc scratch.
MICAH
(2) ‘DNA.’ over (6) ‘untitled 02’
‘Untitled 02’ will always be a favorite of mine. First off, the fact that he rhymed “gemini” with “nobody” is freaking ridiculous. My guy is a lyrical magician. There are two pieces that make ‘02’ a classic: First, the bassline stretches and contracts opposite the ebbing and flowing of the synth, which creates this tugging undercurrent that perfectly contrasts Kendrick’s falsetto rhyming. Second, Kendrick switches personalities in for the third verse, shifting the listener from a counterfeit flippancy to a sudden sobriety.
Those components create a great song. The problem for ‘02’ though is that it runs into a matchup that does both of those things better than ‘02’ does itself. You see, ‘DNA.’ is a banger. ‘DNA.’s bassline will chew up and spit out any beat you put in front of it. Kendrick’s third verse will chew up and spit out any 16 you put in front of it. In the end, the greatest strengths of ‘untitled 02’ were the cause for its eventual demise.
(5) ‘The Blacker The Berry’ over (1) ‘i’
I listened through both of these songs again for this matchup. As I listened to ‘i’, I was pretty sure it was gettin’ the W. In fact, I penciled (rather, typed) it into my bracket. The structure of the song itself is brilliant. If the track ended at the 2:55 mark, it would be the ultimate summer barbeque song. You can’t help but let a grin spread across your face as you listen. That grin proceeds to slowly dim as Kendrick cuts off the music to reprimand the unruly audience. It’s an amazing contrast that cuts the song almost perfectly in half. The acapella verse to round out the sixth minute ties both ends together.
‘The Blacker The Berry’, then, is the antithesis of ‘i’s message. Where ‘i’ is a song spreading positivity and love in the face of violence, ‘Berry’ takes that violence and turns it into self-reflection. Kenny tackles his own blackness, examining it from three different perspectives while releasing pent-up anger and hatred. The last verse famously brings the revelation of Kendrick’s feeling of hypocrisy. Top Dawg Entertainment’s co-president described ‘i’ as MLK and ‘Blacker’ as Malcolm X.
While ‘i’ is definitely an easier listen, Kendrick’s career path shows that he isn’t about the easy listens. It’s about the message. That’s why I’m giving this one to ‘The Blacker The Berry’.
(2) ‘The Heart Part IV’ over (6) ‘Backseat Freestyle’
This matchup wasn’t too hard for me. ‘Backseat Freestyle’ is a great song, with an irreverent, catchy chorus that you can just tell Kendrick had a blast recording. But ‘IV’ is a masterpiece. The number of easter eggs packed into the verses are mind-boggling (the most obvious of them being the album promo line “y’all got til April the 7th to get y’all shit together”). But I want to take this opportunity to shout-out the producers, Axl Folie, The Alchemist, Syk Sense & DJ Dahi, for flawlessly threading together four seemingly-mismatched beats into a beautiful organized chaos. Bonus points for the Khalid sample.
(6) ‘How Much A Dollar Cost’ over (2) ‘Poetic Justice’
For the majority of the seeds, I personally believe the selection committee did a great job. But there are a few songs that got the short end of the stick. In my mind, ‘How Much A Dollar Cost’ is one of those. Like Daniel mentioned in the first-round write-up, it was fun to hear a young Drake and Kendrick -- two rappers soon to ascend to the top of the hip-hop hierarchy -- do their thing on the same song, but ‘Poetic Justice’ isn’t close to being on the same level as ‘Dollar’. While its beat is sparse -- just plucked strings and subtle brass -- Kendrick showcases why he is the greatest rapper of our generation. His lyricism, narration, and delivery are unmatched and on full display in ‘Dollar’.