Kendrick Lamar - Section.80 - Album Review
- Juan Hernandez
- Jul 31, 2017
- 6 min read
Kendrick Lamar's full length debut album still holds up today, and in my personal opinion, it's still one of his best works.
My first introduction to Kung Fu Kenny dates back to 2012 when "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" dropped. At first I thought Kendrick's voice was annoying just because it was too high, but I knew he had flow, charisma, and his voice was easily identifiable. Listening to Kendrick's voice for the first time was awkward, but soon I grew to appreciate it. Something grabbed my attention about Kendrick, he had something to say, he wasn't your mainstream hip hop artist that was just making pop shit like the others . I checked out "Good Kid, m.A.A.d City" and I was impressed, both by Kendrick's lyrical prowess and the stellar production the album had to offer. So I jumped on the KDot train and decided to give Section.80 a listen.
Before listening to the album in full, I had already listened to the most popular single off the record, "A.D.H.D" , it had smoked out space vibe that I dug. With "A.D.H.D" Kendrick sung his most famous lyric "Uh-uh, fuck that, Eight doobies to the face, fuck that/Twelve bottles in the case, nigga, fuck that/Two pills and a half-weight, nigga, fuck that/Got a high tolerance when your age don't exist" that alone would come to define a generation of new listeners. The album starter "Fuck Your Ethnicity" has this character talking to a group of others stating that all colors are beautiful, but in reality they don't make up who we are on the inside. This track has such a vivid feeling to it that I can almost imagine the narrator next to a fire trying to stay warm, while giving the speech to others about race. "Hol' Up" serves as a comical look into the mind of Kendrick, and here he rhymes about wanting to get it on with a stewardess while on a plane, funny stuff. "Hol' Up" has a beautiful sound, it samples Dick Walters "Shifting Sands of Sound", and you cannot help but just feel mesmerized by it. After the first three songs we're introduced to electronic sounds, and personally they don't really do the album any justice. "Tammy's Song" is tolerable, but "No Make-up" is easily one of the worst songs off the album because of it's weird starter hook by Colin Munroe. While almost to the halfway point of the album, everything slows down a bit with "Chapter Six", probably a tune that would do wonders for the stoners out there in need of a good song to smoke to. Again with this song we have a more spaced out jazz feel, however Kendrick still throws in a shout every once in a while. Immediately after that, "Ronald Reagan Era" comes on and we hear another deep voice character, and just because of the title it makes me think that Ronald Reagan would sound like that, but maybe I'm just dumb. Kendrick depicts life in Compton, the drugs, the gangs, the poverty, while all behind a beat that screams "Ghetto America". What's funny about this song is that Ab-Soul sounds like a total bystander while witnessing all of this shit go down in the song.
Halfway through the album the project starts displaying a bit of dark subjects of rape, religion, and ambitions, but this only accounts for like three songs. "Poe Mans Dreams" is still in my top ten KDot songs, and for worthy reasons. I find myself relating to this in many ways, the economical issues my parents have had in the past and because me and my sibling were delinquents back then. But anyway the track uses a piece of Gil Scott-Herons "Peace Go With You, Brother" that sounds so beautiful yet, all too gloomy and touching. The track leaves with a positive message from GLC "Apply yourself to supply your wealth/Only limitations you'll ever have are those that you place upon yourself" making people understand that if they want something, they cannot just sit and wait for good fortune to come. In "The Spiteful Chant" we hear Kendrick saying he's not going to take defeat, and he certainly displays confidence with the bridge of the song saying "I'm going big, suck my dick". The shortest song on the album "Chapter Ten" has the same narrator from the first track, asking the crowd if they have been taking notes. After that track, the real downer comes with "Keisha's Song", a story of a young women, named Keisha, who died due to living the dangerous lifestyle of a prostitute. The lyrics hit with every word that Kendrick says, each verse gets darker for the listener and soon at the end, we hear that Keisha met an unfortunate end.
The only problem I have with the album has is that the track listing is inconsistent, many tracks feel like they're thrown in the wrong places. It's very strange to feel upbeat and pumped once "Rigamortus" comes on, especially after the brutal tale of "Keisha's Song". But we're dealing with a young Kendrick, one that is taking opportunities with different beats, and stories. One minute, Kendrick might talk about how he wants to fuck the stewardess on a plane, and in another song he might discuss living in Compton. The most jazzed out joint on the entire record "Rigamortus", displays Kendrick at his wittiest and most impressive. Behind the Willie Jones sample, Kendrick displays a quirky rhyme scheme that only gets faster during the second verse, which kind of makes it impossible to sing along to, no wonder the crowd always gets mad when he doesn't spit the infamous verse during live shows. Gang violence, religious references, and Cali kush all strive through the acrimonious track "Kush & Corinthians". Again this song has one of the more slow beats that has a jazz flavor.
Now just to get my personal thoughts out, "Blow My High" is easily and still one of my favorite Kendrick songs of all time. The track has such a simple beat that sounds other worldly and futuristic, all while being laid back. Easily if you like this song, you'll find yourself singing the chorus and saying "R.I.P Aaliyah, R.I.P, yep".
Kendrick at this point has shown everything that he would come to display as his fame grew on. By the near end of the album we know that Kendrick can be humble, shy, thoughtful, and even boastful, but it's surprising to find another artist out do him, and that's what happens on "Ab-Souls Outro". Black Hippy member Ab-Soul spits rhyme after rhyme like a machine gun over the soul flavored track, and out does Kendrick. Kendrick spits a verse in the song, but it is nothing like what Ab-Soul does on the track. In a couple years a tie would come about once Kendrick bested Ab-Soul on his "These Days..." album in the song "Kendrick Lamar's Interlude".
Although Kendrick mentions how his generation is somewhat lost throughout the album, he knows he can't save them all. Kendrick hopes that in "HiiiPower" he can get everyone to get off their asses and make shit happen for themselves. Kendrick doesn't speak about his generation, but he speaks about how the current generation has the responsibility to make a change in our world, and stresses that it's time for them to write their own hieroglyphs.
The album gives a good glimpse to what's expected of Kendrick in the future: tight lyrical content, inventive beats, stellar production, etc. On this album Kendrick dips into jazz and soul, genres that he would soon come to explore on To Pimp A Butterfly. Kendrick displays street violence and gang life, something that would come to be an entire album on Good Kid, m.A.A.d City. All of Kendrick's most recent work came from this seminal piece of work. The project roars with youthfulness and charisma, and soon many listeners would come to label Kendrick "The New King Of Hip Hop", and if you haven't heard a Kendrick album yet, this is the perfect place to start.
Favorite Tracks: A.D.H.D, Rigamortus, Hol' Up, Fuck Your Ethnicity, Ronald Reagan Era, Poe Mans Dreams, Keisha's Song, Blow My High, Ab-Souls Outro, HiiiPower
Worst Tracks: No Make-Up, The Spiteful Chant, Tammy's Song
9/10
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