# Kendrick Lamar - DAMN (new album) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444 "2017-04-14T14:15:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/21 "2017-04-17T18:04:36Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > 1. on the flip side, I can’t remember the last time I listened to an album and had my opinion on what the album was even about change so dramatically as I listened more. I am currently of the opinion that it’s an alternate universe version of good kid but from the perspective that Kendrick was raised without a father because his dad was killed in a robbery. > . The way I phrased this was not right. Forget I said anything about good kid. This seems to be an autobiography of Kendrick from the prospective of who he is today, but in an alternative universe where his dad was killed and he became a gangsta rapper and gets shot like Tupac. I think that’s closer to what I meant, and it still a bit trite in comparison to what is actually happening. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/22 "2017-04-17T22:36:45Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > My favorite Kendrick track of all time though is [King Kunta](https://youtu.be/hRK7PVJFbS8). When the second pop hits it legit won, the funk WAS within me. There are a few on DAMN that are hot as heck though. “I got a bone to pick!!” My kids won’t let me mention the song any more because I kept bugging them to listen it. Heck that worked when I needed them to hear Get Up Offa That Thing by James Brown! Still need to listen more to Damn - hard to be a grown up when new music drops. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/23 "2017-04-18T20:34:20Z")
New video dropped. [DNA](https://youtu.be/NLZRYQMLDW4) It seems to be the breakout hit. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/24 "2017-04-19T21:28:11Z")
What an album. I don’t think it will top GKMC on my list, but it’s damn good. Even the bad songs (Loyalty) are great. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/25 "2017-04-25T03:51:07Z")
Finally got a chance to listen to this un-interrupted. I think FEAR is my favorite song. I like the singles too, HUMBLE and DNA. Not my favoritest album of all time. I think I like Vince Staples’ _Summertime '06_ better still. But I know my tastes and I know that I am not usually in to albums like this. Deep albums, genre-challenging albums, musically ambitious albums. I know what he’s getting at and I know why you guys are blown away by it, but I am not its audience. It took me a really long time to get in to Chance’s _Coloring Book_ and I only did because I’m a Chance fangirl. I don’t feel like I’m tight enough with Kendrick to “get it.” Oddly enough I did really go bananas for _Speakerboxx/The Love Below_, as a whole piece. So I can get down with genre-bending concept albums. Any way - “King Kunta” is a great song! Forgot I had downloaded that and have it in my Workout mix. \*\*Ambivalid \*\*- did you catch Mystikal’s “new” track on the Mark Ronson album? It’s so Mystikal! [Mark Ronson - Feel Right (Official Video) ft. Mystikal - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ognnZ3r2qyQ) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/26 "2018-04-16T19:41:46Z")
To update this thread: [Kendrick has won a Pulitzer for DAMN](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/commercial-and-critical-darling-kendrick-lamar-wins-pulitzer/2018/04/16/eecd0ca2-41aa-11e8-b2dc-b0a403e4720a_story.html?utm_term=.7b89dab42d88). Also, the album’s grown on me and I listen to “Humble” like once a week or more 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/27 "2018-04-16T20:28:08Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > To update this thread: [Kendrick has won a Pulitzer for DAMN](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/commercial-and-critical-darling-kendrick-lamar-wins-pulitzer/2018/04/16/eecd0ca2-41aa-11e8-b2dc-b0a403e4720a_story.html?utm_term=.7b89dab42d88). > > Also, the album’s grown on me and I listen to “Humble” like once a week or more 🙂 That’s huge for a hip hop album to win the Pulitzer. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/28 "2018-04-16T20:49:47Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > To update this thread: [Kendrick has won a Pulitzer for DAMN](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/commercial-and-critical-darling-kendrick-lamar-wins-pulitzer/2018/04/16/eecd0ca2-41aa-11e8-b2dc-b0a403e4720a_story.html?utm_term=.7b89dab42d88). Awesome – thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/29 "2018-04-16T21:46:13Z")
OK. Never listened to hip-hop in my life(is that the genre) but you people are getting me convinced I should listen to this. [If you are interested, I had a thread a few years ago where I tried albums everyone else knows about. I grew up musically clueless and was interested in expanding my musical experience.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700524) The advantage to my sheltered musical upbringing is I am up for anything. Which of his albums should I try? DAMN? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/30 "2018-04-16T22:53:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > OK. > > Never listened to hip-hop in my life(is that the genre) but you people are getting me convinced I should listen to this. > > [If you are interested, I had a thread a few years ago where I tried albums everyone else knows about. I grew up musically clueless and was interested in expanding my musical experience.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700524) > > The advantage to my sheltered musical upbringing is I am up for anything. > > Which of his albums should I try? DAMN? No. DAMN is great, but not super accessible if you aren’t into Hip Hop a little. I would start with Good Kid MAAD City. It’s a concept album with a clear story and that story will help you through the unfamiliar territory that is hip hops musical idiom. Once you are more familiar listen to DAMN then To Pimp A Butterfly (his best work). If you want I can put together a brief primer on hip hop for you. Help ease you into the genre a bit. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/31 "2018-04-17T13:37:42Z")
Mahaloth do you have spotify? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/33 "2018-04-17T15:47:28Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Once you are more familiar listen to DAMN then To Pimp A Butterfly (his best work). I’d say more Good Kid, TPAB, and then DAMN - but I generally like listening to new artists in chronological order (unless they released a stinker in the middle) to see how they grew and changed (for example, listening to Kanye’s 808s and Heartbreak is essential, IMO, to fully appreciate MBDTF). ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/34 "2018-04-17T16:05:43Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I’d say more Good Kid, TPAB, and then DAMN - but I generally like listening to new artists in chronological order (unless they released a stinker in the middle) to see how they grew and changed (for example, listening to Kanye’s 808s and Heartbreak is essential, IMO, to fully appreciate MBDTF). Usually I would agree with you but for someone with no exposure to hip hop sending them to TPAP as a second ever hip hop experience feels a little intense. But you do make a good point. Section 80 should come before DAMN also. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/35 "2018-04-17T19:50:14Z")
Ok, this is probably silly but I got the idea to create an intro to Kendrick Lamar [Playlist on Spotify.](https://open.spotify.com/user/nafrumkin/playlist/4Tfo98VRmDkFbqD1QXSS8F?si=-HcTSuHFQM-LwAz43coeUQ) I tried to keep it to under 2 hours and give fair representation of all his major projects (untitled unmastered gets a little under represented because it’s so… Different. Which I love but is maybe not so good for a new person). Let me know what you guys think and if you would make any changes. I left off a LOT of my favorites but my first pass was over 4 hours long, I had to make some hard choices. The idea is that someone like Mahaloth would potentially be able to get into the list. I think it flows well as a playlist too now. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/36 "2018-04-17T20:10:18Z")
I like it! The only thing I’d do is add ‘The Blacker the Berry’, possibly as the closer? (intense, but a imagine ending a playlist on that “HYPOCRITE” lyric?) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/37 "2018-04-17T20:29:36Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Mahaloth do you have spotify? Nope, but I do own DAMN now and am listening to it when I get a chance. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/38 "2018-04-17T20:45:21Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I like it! The only thing I’d do is add ‘The Blacker the Berry’, possibly as the closer? (intense, but a imagine ending a playlist on that “HYPOCRITE” lyric?) 🆒 I originally had it ending with completion, the Blacker the Berry, and I in that order but decided it was too heavy, so I traded it out of I and All the Stars to lighten things up a bit. I really didn’t like taking off Berry, I think your idea would work. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/39 "2018-04-17T20:46:25Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Nope, but I do own DAMN now and am listening to it when I get a chance. Let us know what you think. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/40 "2018-04-17T21:06:20Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Let us know what you think. Ditto. Always interested to hear people’s forays into new genres. I used to be that annoying anti-hip hop person, but then Kanye opened my ears. There is just a lot of richness in the variety of musical genres and closing one’s ears to even one of them without really giving it a chance is a pity (one can dislike it when one tries, but one should try). I am always heartened when someone tries to listen to something new. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444/41 "2018-04-17T22:09:02Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Ditto. Always interested to hear people’s forays into new genres. I used to be that annoying anti-hip hop person, but then Kanye opened my ears. There is just a lot of richness in the variety of musical genres and closing one’s ears to even one of them without really giving it a chance is a pity (one can dislike it when one tries, but one should try). I am always heartened when someone tries to listen to something new. I’ve never heard a Kanye song, either. Is there an album I should start with for him? I may move my thoughts over to my old “album thoughts” thread. I feel like time is coming for me to re-visit it and find some new music. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kendrick-lamar-damn-new-album/784444.md?page=3)