From Compton to Consciousness: Kendrick Lamar Enters the Game

(Photo via zatoonblog.com)

When you think of West Coast hip hop, NWA and Snoop come to mind. How can we forget "Straight Outta Compton"? This song was the West's coming out party: times are tough out here and we are sick of it. Gangsta rap made it's presence felt with it's aggressive social "tell all" and the Game changed (Note: I'm not talking about the Game the rapper, but the hip hop Game to make this clear. Game the rapper thinks he's a player in the Game but he's not. He's more like a name dropping, whining water/towel boy). Dre, Snoop and Ice Cube (Sans the "Are We Wherever Yet Againing?") are synonymous with the West Coast sound, with Jay Rock coming up the ranks. But a cat from the aforementioned Compton is breaking the mold by delivering West Coast consciousness instead of aggressiveness: a potential rookie of the year in the Game, Kendrick Lamar.

Lamar was born and raised in Compton. According to the word on the iStreet, he was a straight "A" students with one goal in mind: avoid becoming another unfortunate stat and explore the world outside of his home town. He credits his parents with his success, explaining that having his mother and father in his life made him a complete person. From his interview with billboard.com:

"The only thing that separates me from my friends in jail is the fact I had a father. He gave me the balance I needed. I put that same balance in my music -- the balance of knowing the gang culture from my cousins, uncles, and pops. And at the same time, my mother and father gave me the idea of being a dreamer. They taught me the world is bigger than Compton and to go out and explore it."

And that's what he will bring to the Game: balance. He's like the Luke Skywalker of the West Coast. He will even the field and chip away at the dark side of the Game.

Lamar is part of a collective called Black Hippy which includes Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q and Jay Rock. The most interesting aspect of this collective is the contrast between Rock and Lamar. Rock is the heir apparent to the West Coast gangsta crown. On the flip, Lamar is the total opposite. The balance theme returns once again.

This kid is the real deal. Like any new artist, the sky is the limit and Compton cannot hold him anymore. His flow and cadence are elevated by his snappy rhymes. He has explained that he is a huge fan of Jay-Z, Kanye and Nas. You can hear the East Coast influence in his music up to this point in his young career. Lamar also claims to have studied works by greats like Al Green and the Isley Brothers to understand their use of melody. He is the next step for conscious hip hop and has been endorsed by many, with Snoop, Kurupt and Game calling him "the new King of the West Coast".

The kid reminds me of Lupe Fiasco when he first got on the scene, but there is a maturity and composure in Lamar's sound. Lupe lost his way after his second release. He truly believes that he's a top 5 MC, but Lasers proves that statement is plain wrong. If Lamar can keep his head straight, he can be a tastemaker, and not the flavor of the week. He has released 3 mixtapes (found here for the Kendrick Lamar EP, here for O.D. and here for Section.80) with his first major league debut slated to drop within the next year. It amazes me how these "fringe" MCs put out these mixtapes en masse. There's word that J Cole and Lamar will release a mixtape together which I can't wait to hear.

I really hope he held on to a few gems, because there's more than a handfull of cuts on these free mixtapes that are stellar. Songs like "Ignorance is Bliss", "ADHD", "No Make-up (Her Voice)" and "Barbed Wire" show that Lamar has great tracks for days. If these mixtapes are a warm-up, he's setting himself for a Wilt Chamberlain effort.

-Paqman