Kendrick Lamar, Duality, & The Chaotic Art of Self-Reflection: DAMN. Album Review/Analysis

Witnessing Kendrick Lamar’s meteoric rise from young underground Compton rapper to arguably the preeminent MC of this generation in the span of the last seven years has been amazing to watch. When one considers that he’s been on a three album run, dating back to 2011’s Section.80, which includes three of the best albums in his respective genre released this decade, it makes sense why he has been widely hailed as the king of modern hip hop. What is surprising though is how Kendrick has amassed so much popularity and success without sacrificing the substance of his music to appeal to the masses. Whereas seemingly every other huge artist is busy chasing trends trying to manufacture as many hits as possible, Kendrick, whose music is at once accessible but also extremely complex, is a trailblazer who has forged his own path since day one, proving that listeners are smart enough to catch on and recognize greatness when they hear it.

But what specifically is it about Kendrick that has won him so many loyal and devoted fans? Is it the intelligent political and social commentary that so much of his music revolves around? Is it his nearly unparalleled ability to convey vivid images through his dense verses? Is it his instantly recognizable raspy delivery? Is it his ear for tasteful beats and instrumentation? In truth, it could be all of the above and more, but speaking for myself, the thing that has always stood out to me about Kendrick is simple but increasingly overlooked- honesty. Ideally, all artists would make music that is true to them and comes from a place of how they really feel, but as we know this is not the case. Just turn on the radio and you will hear any number of songs that pretend to be heartfelt and sincere when they are anything but. One of the primary attributes that separates the best artists from the rest of the pack is authenticity, and Kendrick Lamar, the person and the rapper, is nothing if not authentic. In other words, when I hear Kendrick introspectively rapping about himself or any the various characters he inhabits in his songs, I believe every emotion he expresses (even if I may not agree with what he is saying), because I can tell that he genuinely believes it too. There is true passion and conviction running ever-present through his music.

It is in this context of honesty that his new LP DAMN. is best understood and appreciated. Following up his sprawling jazz rap neo-soul epic that was To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick has once again radically reinvented himself on his latest record. Based on the lead single “Humble” along with the album title, cover, and track list that came out before the release of DAMN., it was clear that Kendrick was going for a more modern, stripped-down approach compared to the ambitiously poetic TPAB. And while that is true on the surface, it doesn’t begin to do the album justice as a whole, which has many layers and intricacies that demands multiple listens to uncover. DAMN. is a dark, ambiguous beast that, in its own confounding way, might be Kendrick’s most interesting project yet.

To put it in the most reductive terms possible, DAMN. is about the duality of man personified in Kendrick. If you’ve heard any of Kendrick’s previous music, you would know that duality is a topic that he is obsessed with. The contrasting “i” and “u” from TPAB are probably the most obvious example of this, but this idea can also be seen in the metaphor of the caterpillar and the butterfly that ties the subject matter of that whole album together, as the last line of the poem that Kendrick recites at the end of “Mortal Man” reads, “Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one in the same.” After that, the last thing we hear on TPAB is Kendrick asking Tupac what he thinks about that statement, but Pac doesn’t respond, and the question is left unanswered. DAMN. is the logical extension of this question (which is signaled by the first thing we hear on opener “Blood:” “Is it wickedness?”/”Is it weakness?”), as Kendrick attempts to find the answer by taking a long and hard look at himself in the mirror.

As it turns out, the reflection isn’t pretty or easy to comprehend. The 14 tracks on the album reveal that Kendrick Lamar, the man many have anointed as rap's savior, is still the same human being he proclaimed he was 6 years ago. But the Kendrick on DAMN. is a deeply conflicted individual (think the song "u" if the depression came back and fully opened up his "suicidal weakness"), who doubts himself at every turn and is repeatedly drawn to the temptations he is surrounded by even when he wants to do the right thing. The album’s dual structure makes it so that many song topics are juxtaposed right next to each other (such as track nine “Lust” to track ten “Love”) and the production works similarly, as there are about seven tracks (mostly the even numbered ones) that are bangers or have pop appeal while the other seven tracks (mostly the odd numbered ones) are smooth, mid-tempo, and laid back. This is a brave album that will divide people because it represents Kendrick laying bare his tortured, vice-laden soul for all to see in plain sight so that he can try to make sense of it all (or because as he puts it, “I can’t fake humble just ‘cause your ass is insecure”). Kendrick is first and foremost a philosopher who is always trying to better understand himself and the world around him through his art. But he has reached a point in his life now where he can acknowledge that there will never be a complete, fully-formed picture of Kendrick Lamar or anyone/thing else for that matter, and we are left to try to sift through his fragmented thoughts to reach our own conclusions.

Whereas good kid, m.A.A.d city was more of a linear narrative comparable to a coming-of-age film set in the hood and TPAB was a concept album with the depth and scope of a great American novel, DAMN. is entirely different in that it's like the musical equivalent of a postmodern cubist painting. Kendrick is operating purely in the realm of abstract feelings here, which are contradictory (often within a single track) and outside of time (track three, for instance, references something in track twelve, and the second verse of track twelve sounds like the same speaker that appeared in track one). This twelfth track, “Fear,” is the centerpiece and the key to understanding the album, as Kendrick explains that he is afraid of being judged as either wicked or weak (by God and his listeners), but he hopes that the fourteen songs of this album can disperse these feelings and help him lift the supposed "curse(s)" that plagues his/our nature. Yet by the end, there isn't any one definitive resolution that we arrive to. Kendrick is still left searching for answers, and the album finishes in a cyclical manner that suggests that he might be eternally damned. Then again, maybe there is a way for him to be saved, as alluded to by the revelation in "Duckworth." The fact that Kendrick does this all while touching on a variety of issues from the media to the culture of rap to the idea of America to asking big existential questions related to life and death, chance/fate, and more is further evidence that he is working on a higher level intellectually than virtually all of his contemporaries.

Coming to the music and songs themselves, there is a lot to enjoy here. Even though I’m personally nowhere near as keen on DAMN.'s direct, sparse aesthetic as I am on the vibrant sounds of TPAB, for what it is, the production is mostly great. Per usual, Kendrick brings his immense technical skill-set with his unique flows, voices, and thought-provoking bars to utilize these beats to their maximum potential. There are also some inventive techniques used like pitch-shifting, beat switches, and playing vocals in reverse, and Kendrick even shows off his singing voice in several small spots. All of this ensures that the album has enough variation to never be boring to listen to, while still remaining cohesive and flowing quite nicely.

When DAMN. reaches its peaks, it’s sublime. Aforementioned “Fear” might be the best song Kendrick has ever written, closer “Duckworth” is a masterpiece of lyrical storytelling, and “XXX” features a great cameo from Bono of U2 as Kendrick spits over a blaring police siren about a brutal revenge fantasy. Other highlights include “Pride,” which offers a lush soundscape with a great sense of space as Kendrick ponders his reality (with the haunting refrain “Maybe I wasn’t there”), “Lust,” a psychedelic BADBADNOTGOOD produced track that takes great inspiration from OutKast, “Yah,” a cloudy boom bap beat with a super chill and catchy vocal melody, and the second half of “DNA,” which has a chopped sample and booming bass as Kendrick goes into all-out attack mode.

However, this album also encounters some lows along the way. “Element,” with its nocturnal vibe and trap-influenced beat, sounds like a cheap Drake imitation, and “Loyalty” disappoints with clunky, demo-ish production, an awful hook, and a feature from Rihanna that adds nothing of note. “Love” has a solid tune at its core, but overall it’s too commercial and lyrically-generic, feeling like something any popular singer-rapper could make today. These tracks still fit into the framework of the album, and I would contend (as I'm sure Kendrick would too) that their inclusion is necessary thematically, I just wish they were more refined. The only track on the album that I really don’t like at all is “God,” a song with an obnoxious chorus and a redundant trap flow that doesn’t seem to have any clear purpose coming in between "Fear" and "Duckworth." I also thought the little Kid Capri ad-libs (i.e. “Kung Fu Kenny”) at the beginning of some of the songs got annoying after a while.

DAMN. may not be flawless, but unlike its predecessors, it’s not really aiming for perfection. Kendrick could have just made an album that presented the persona of 2017 Kendrick Lamar that people want to imagine exists in a perfect world, and after setting the bar so high and reaching the top of the industry, who could have blamed him if he had? Instead, he chose to dive deeper into his psyche than ever before, and like Kendrick’s own feelings about himself, the album frequently revels in its imperfections to amplify its strengths. Above all else, it’s a brutally honest and human record that believes in itself, and as it turns out, few things are as important. On “Humble,” Kendrick declares that he is “the realest nigga after all.” After listening to all of DAMN., it’s hard to argue with him.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 stars out of 5)

Listen to DAMN. now on Spotify, iTunes, or Apple Music.

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