It's hard to know what to say about good kid, m.A.A.d. city that the heaps of praise it's received in the last decade haven't already said. It's one of the best albums of the 2010s and - the more I listen to it - maybe Kendrick's best work. I used to call DAMN. my favorite of his, but I feel like time has been especially kind to GKMC. Really all of his albums are great on their own individual merits, but this one specifically has special resonance for me and my own personal musical journey. Hearing this album for the first time when I was younger helped me grow an appreciation for rap as a form of storytelling and the artistry behind it all. In a way it opened the door for me getting more into what was going on in the modern hip-hop scene at the time, which led me to discover several other great artists I still love to this day. So while I think it's fair to say it's a pretty important work of art any way you slice it, I also treasure it for those reasons.
Even if I wasn't intimately familiar with it, though, it's hard for me to imagine giving this anything lower than a 5. This is a concept album executed flawlessly, living up to its claims of being "a short film by Kendrick Lamar." The way Kendrick paints such a vivid picture of the lifestyle and environment he grew up in is awe-inspiring, and despite what some out-of-touch reviewers might claim, this is the furthest thing from "offensive gangster music" to me. While the album heavily features topics such as gang activity, drug use, and sexual desire, it's for the purpose of showing how easily these things can ruin lives and corrupt innocence. A recurring theme I've noticed in Kendrick's work is his tendency to use his own flaws and experiences to make commentary on society and human nature as a whole and GKMC is maybe the most defining example of this. Ultimately I see it as a story about how otherwise good people can be influenced by their surroundings to do things they know are wrong, but can still persevere and survive an unforgiving environment to come out a better person on the other side.
I know I've just written a mouthful but damn it this album deserves it. This is a project that I've only grown a stronger appreciation for over the years with repeated listening. It's a raw, personal, confrontational snapshot of a moment in a life that can be sometimes menacing, sometimes tragic, and even sometimes humorous. "m.A.A.d city" might be one of my favorite songs ever made and sums up a lot of what I love about this record, from the monumental production to the spellbinding lyricism. By the time the album reaches its most emotionally-charged moments with "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" it's hard for me to not feel the weight of what is being said (even if I'm not a particularly religious person myself). And it's crazy to think that as good as this is, he would only go on to work at even higher caliber afterwards and proceed to blow everyone's minds time and time again. What a fucking amazing artist.
