Kendrick m.A.A.dness: Round of 32
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.
Daniel: Before we get to our bracket reveals, and break down some of the matchups, I need to address the elephant in the room: 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.
Micah: I mean, this was an epic screw-up.
Daniel: Pretty impressive, if you ask me. So, for those of you that missed that initial piece and are just tuning in, shame on you. And 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
And there you have it. Away we go!
MICAH
(6) ‘How Much A Dollar Cost’ over (3) ‘LOYALTY.’
‘LOYALTY.’ is bomb. Kendrick doing his thing + Rihanna doing her thing = a great song. But ‘How Much A Dollar Cost’ is something else. The flushed piano chords and lazy horns entrance the listener from the beginning. Kendrick’s subdued, drawling delivery expands on this feeling of vulnerability, only to deliver a gut-punch that’s among the best in his discography. Also, I picked the 6 seed upset in every region. I think it’s that top-tier Mid Major vs. middle-of-the-pack Power 5 effect. ‘Dollar’ didn’t get the automatic bid, but that sure as heck doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong in the tourney.
(4) ‘FEEL.’ over (5) ‘Alright’
Daniel, I’m not happy with this matchup. These were two of my at-large picks (and therefore two of my favorite Kendrick songs) and of COURSE they play each other first round. Boo.
Anyway, I have a feeling (ha! Get it?) that a lot of people here are going to go with ‘Alright’ in this matchup. And that’s alright (I’m done, I promise). But ‘FEEL.’ is the rare self-reflective vulnerable Kenny. There are plenty of songs in which he expounds on the hurt and oppression felt in his community. In those tracks, he’s saying this is eff’d up, but let’s rally and effin’ GO. But in ‘FEEL.’, there’s an exasperation and resignation to his voice. Among all the anthem lines in DAMN., “Who the f**k praying for me?” became the standout.
(2) ‘DNA.’ over (7) ‘Rigamortis’
This was actually a really tough choice, despite the seeding and popularity disparity. ‘Rigamortis’ relentless energy is an immediate ear-perker and I don’t fault anyone who picked this upset. But Kendrick’s second verse in DNA is probably my favorite non-feature of his. It’s craaaaaazyyy. First off, the countdown to begin the verse starts with 1:05 left in the song (for those of you doing the math at home, that means it leads into a minute straight of K-Dot spitting to end the song). That’s so baller. Second, the chopped Rick James “gimme some ganja” sample is wild enough to give me heart palpitations. Third, during the bridge, you hear FOX commentator Geraldo Rivera comment this about Kendrick’s song ‘Alright’: “This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years”. Kendrick immediately responds with the lines “Tell me somethin’/You mothaf***as can’t tell me nothin’/I’d rather die than listen to you/My DNA not for imitation/Your DNA an abomination”. So SO baller. Lastly, Kenny does. not. stop. The flow, the efficiency, the righteous anger are all unstoppable.
(2) ‘LOVE.’ over (7) ‘Money Trees’
I <3 ‘LOVE.’ No disrespect to ‘Money Trees’, but ‘LOVE.’ is perfection. It is somehow both appreciated and completely undervalued at the same time. I sometimes fall into that trap as well. It’s obviously a strong detour from the hip-hop rhyme savior we know and love. Kendrick is the voice for the voiceless. It’s so easy to write this song off as unimportant when compared to all the socially-progressive and righteous-anger-filled lyrical atom bombs. But, just for a second, listen to this song without that context. It’s honestly probably the greatest hip-hop love song of the 21st century. Then, think about it being Kendrick again. You realize that, though he doesn’t exercise it often, Kenny does have the versatility to corner any aspect of the rap game. Also, Zacari’s feature is incredible. Also also, a personal favorite rap thing of mine is when artists leave their unfinished verses to be finished by pieces of the bridge, like Kendrick does here with “Love me”. It’s so satisfying.
DANIEL
(7) ‘A.D.H.D.’ over (2) ‘Poetic Justice’
‘Poetic Justice’ is a great song, from the beat to the Janet Jackson sample. It’s a total vibe, and though Drake’s verse doesn’t do a lot for me, it’s fun to hear the two of them on the same track at a younger age. But ‘A.D.H.D.’ is vintage K-Dot. It fits the chill instrumental pattern of the rest of Section.80 yet still was a precursor to the Kendrick everyone has become a little more familiar with now: remarkably clever wordplay, and line after line that teach a greater moral and cultural lesson. Yes, with lines like “You know, when you part of Section.80/And you feel like no one can relate/‘Cause you are, you are, a loner, loner/Marijuana endorphins make you stronger, stronger/I’m in the house party, trippin' off/My generation sippin' cough syrup like it's water”, the rapper decries the prevalence of drug abuse among his generation while acknowledging the sad realities that drives his peers to such outlets.
(8) ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying Over Thirst’ over (1) ‘i’
I decided this matchup based on number of letters in the song title. It was a BLOWOUT! In all seriousness, though this was a 1-seed losing in the first round, it wasn’t too difficult of a pick for me. ‘i’ is a good mood track, and its placement on To Pimp A Butterfly was genius: a breath of relieving self-empowerment amongst a trackless of self-evisceration. But, ‘Sing About Me’ is a fan-favorite for a reason; the 12-minute epic contains two songs in one, sandwiched around some of the most emotionally impactful skits of the whole Good Kid, m.A.A.d city screenplay.
(5) ‘m.A.A.d city’ over (4) ‘All The Stars’
I feel like I’m in the minority of Kendrick-heads that actually really loved ‘All The Stars.’ It’s impossible to listen to without wanting to be transported to Wakanda. But, though the song was written and fronted by the rapper, this is really SZA’s song. Like fellow Black Panther track ‘Pray For Me’, it’s a great radio collaboration song that unfortunately ran into an opponent that’s more about the bracket’s subject shining. ‘m.A.A.d city’ has to win in the first round. One half of the album’s titular track, it has one of Kendrick’s most recognizable intros from his entire discography. It’s just a damn good song; the rapper’s urgency shines through clearly in the first half, and his calm wisdom beyond his years takes over in the latter half. If you’re not nodding your head along to this entire track, you’re likely in a coma.
(2) ‘DNA.’ over (7) ‘Rigamortus’
This matchup killed me. So much so, that when I first started typing this writeup, I still hadn’t decided which song was going to win. Don’t get me wrong, there were tons of first-round (and play-in, for that matter) matchups that were achingly difficult to choose. But none quite like this. Both songs have such a dear place in my heart, and both are so incredibly impressive for similar and different reasons.
Both songs feature Kung Fu Kenny spitting at an unbelievable level. I defer you to Micah’s writeup on this song, which perfectly captures the freneticism of both Part 1 and Part 2 of the track. ‘Rigamortus’, though, is not one to be bodied. A 23-year old Kendrick is already rapping like he’s on top of the industry, and the part-prescient, part-comical refrain seems to serve more as an opportunity for him to just catch his breath. I mean, literally, does he breathe during his entire last verse?! No clue. But it’s also a stylistic difference between Old Kendrick and New Kendrick. Rigamortus has beauty in simplicity, with a simple snare and jazz frill as the only backing. The production on DNA. is much more expansive, using chopped audio from the likes of Rick James and Geraldo Rivera, as well as two completely different beats.
Ultimately, this matchup was going to come down to splitting hairs, so because I can’t make hard decisions, I’m going to bail myself out by using a dumb reason to pick against one. That dumb reason? Kendrick once faced a lawsuit for the sample used in ‘Rigamortus.’ As I would hope The Couch can prevent itself from being embroiled in similar legal trouble, I’ll play it safe and pick DNA.
(I still love you, ‘Rigamortus.’ Don’t hurt me.)