Dr Dre signed 50 Cent and Eminem to Aftermath in very much the same way as Kendrick Lamar, and we all know how well their Aftermath debut’s faired. As with every debut, understandably Kendrick had a reputation to live up to, especially with a Dr Dre cosign.

From looking at the track list including the album’s producers, it’s a mature and calculated selection of collaborators which also make the album a lot more sincere and personal to Kendrick as a musician. Of course he could have had Dre’s name plastered over the production credits and I’m sure label mate Eminem and other highbrow guests would have helped Dr Dre out by dropping a guest verse on his new prodigy’s major label debut, this is reflected in what is an obvious personal enlisting of who he wants on his album, from the Hit Boy cut to the Jay Rock assisted Money Trees. 

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is one of those albums that once into it, you can listen to it from start to finish, each track is great in its own right and is perfectly fused and arranged to create an outstanding album. Some truly perfect beats on the album such as particular stand-outs; Poetic Justice, Backseat Freestyle, m.A.A.d city and Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst are just the building blocks for Kendrick to showcase his incredible lyrical talent. One of the things I feel is absent from current hip hop is storytelling rap, only Nas and to a degree, Eminem, really tell stories in rap and paint a picture so vivid it’s like you were there. That’s something Kendrick Lamar does on Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. The Art of Peer Pressure is a perfect example of this, a song that gives the listener an insight into Kendrick Lamar as a person, a person who went robbing with his friends and nearly got caught if it weren’t ‘one lucky night.’ This song alone is a reason enough to buy the entire album, it is an indicator of how the rest of the album is; a perfect beat complimented with Kendrick’s razor sharp rapping ability.

As with most of my reviews, I try to find a negative point to make on an album and it’s not often I find myself struggling to think of something to complain about. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City really is that good. Ya bish.