MelloMusicGroup is defo one of the best labels around. How to Kill God and March on Washington were 2 of the best albums that released last year and I didn't even fully explore all of their offerings.
The decent rappers in mainstream tend to be talking about their experiences a lot; everything from girl-family problems, to their friendship, childhood and how that impacted them. I get it but it isn't the most vibeable topics to nod your head through. Yea, everybody got personal issues at one point in their life but I can barely relate to "having a epiphany with that one girl I sticked it to through at the age of 16 that ended up changing how I now view my life"
That was insightful, please enlighten us further.
You really think all those question don't apply to the other thousand rappers that put in just as much work in their music as Kendrick?
Connect those 2 together and you will begin to understand why his music isn't game-changing at all. One of the things that are quite noticeable when newer fans voice their opinion on an album is that they really haven't listened to enough albums (not talking about you specifically). Think about how much of a big deal/effort it is to release an album compared to having a hot single when it was in the 90's to now. When a decent album is actually released out of the all mess that is modern-day mainstream hip-hop, it is hailed as a classic but really it is just amazing compared to the crap that is being released today. This is not about having a superiority complex, it is just keeping it real with you.
For an art form to be game changing, it needs a receiving audience. I completely agree with you that it is through albums that an artist's merit should be judged. I also agree that a good album is hard to find in mainstream hip-hop. However, I still stick by my stance that TPAB is game changing. Again, what does it take for an art form to do so? I'm sure there are some rappers that we both have no idea about that are absolutely amazing and out of this world. But without having their voices heard, how can the game actually be changed?
For an artist to be massively recognized has its benefits, and Kendrick completely understands his role in such a game. To have an exposure like him
and deliver similar quality albums as underground rap are only beneficial for the game, and will introduce the (sometimes) ignorant masses to the true art of the genre. This, in turn, may incite other mainstream and underground rappers alike to release something that's both widely relatable and artistically cohesive.
Plus, I still believe that TPAB stands on its own compared to other underground pieces. I remember you posting something along the lines of an MC failing if his/her message cannot be heard right away (not at face value, mind you), and I must respectfully disagree. Half the fun of analyzing poetry for me is digging into the subtle, even obscure references, because every time I revisit some work, I discover something entirely new. Is the artist being obscure just for the sake of being hard to understand? Yeah, some are, but I still enjoy that. Thing about TPAB that I disagree with you is that it's even impressive sonically to me. I have a feeling that you'll offer some examples that counter my perspective (and I always welcome them), but since these things are extremely subjective in nature, I'll likely still stick by my stance. And I'm talking in terms of a sort of hip-hop-debate-equals here.
EDIT: Grammar and gender. Also, the "questions" I asked were directly in response to a previous post that stated -- and I paraphrase -- TPAB is Kendrick's weakest storytelling device.
