Released April 14, 2017
7.5 / 10
Favorites
DNA., FEEL., LOYALTY. FEAT. RIHANNA, PRIDE., LUST., DUCKWORTH.
Least favorites
YAH., ELEMENT., LOVE. FEAT. ZACARI
Kendrick combines political and personal reckonings through a new lens on "DAMN.", a couple of years after the resonating success of "To Pimp a Butterfly". His capacity for reflection and his verbal dexterity are nothing new but the form of storytelling has significant evolved since the last LP. The reactions to his previous work have created circumstances he's having a hard time reconciling: we find Kendrick struggling to dodge the perils of fame and dealing with a form of exhaustion for fighting for social justice partly on behalf of people that don't realize how much fighting has yet to come. Further, "DAMN." demonstrates an ear for his contemporaries and borrows from current trends more than "TPAB" did. Another notable difference is that while he almost sounded schizophrenic on the magnificent "TPAB" - playing with his own voice so much it registered as a standalone instrument -, on "DAMN." he sounds more focused, more centered and zoning in on a smaller number of chords to strike. His nasal deliveries are still instantly recognizable, as passionate and resolute as ever. Kendrick has always been a straight-shooter but "DAMN." finds him even more willing to look inward: he voluntarily admits being full of contradictions and addresses how hard it is to reconcile them with a great dose of humility. Contradictions start with the space he has created for himself at the confluence of the inherent vices of the music industry and fame and the healing properties of art. The work born from those tensions teases both ends of the rope, pulling towards animal desire and tugging on the need for love, dealing with self-loathing and heroism, under the omniscient eye of a God that is not duped by loose thrills hidden under pretexts of righteousness. In fact faith is a pillar of "DAMN."'s fabric, in a very different way from Chance's "Coloring Book" ecstasy and Kanye's "Life of Pablo"'s passion. In all earnestness, the album admits to not having all the answers and frequently turns to a higher power for guidance. "Is it wickedness? / Is it weakness? You decide / Are we gonna live or die?". These words open the record, presenting a choice that Kendrick will have to face throughout. BLOOD. tells the story of Kendrick trying to lend a hand to a blind woman who shoots him in return for his kindness. It hints at Kendrick having lost his way, building anticipation with strings worthy of a movie soundtrack until the startling gunshot. We're thrown in the midst of a series of questions that are seemingly impossible to answer: what does kindness mean in today's world? Is there a difference between kindness and foolishness? Are the wicked hiding under the cloak of the weak? Is past wickedness going to catch up to you no matter what you do to atone for them? One thing is sure: we want to hear more. DNA. switches up tone from its first seconds, with a beat rendered particularly hard by the track placement. The track celebrates and critiques Kendrick's cultural heritage - a beautiful example of how you can love something and acknowledge its faults at the same time. The way he brings back the word "DNA" shows his newfound way to package (brand?) his messages in "DAMN.", with more repetition than on any of his previous LPs. The word builds landmarks in the text beckoning the listener along the verses like a guiding light. The bridge marks a turning point into a stellar second verse: very sparse instrumentally, it benefits from an incredible lyrical flow and a burning presence. The fury of the second part makes you forget the rest of the song honestly. YAH. handles the same delicate balance than DNA.: juggling how Kendrick's blackness is perceived by a largely hostile world and how he perceives it himself. The track is too laid-back for its own good, with a beat that should have stood out less. Kendrick raps and sings to a background of fluttering echoes and simmering instruments that are waiting for their time to jump out and turn the track around but never do. Dealing with outside wickedness while confronting the wickedness within is a lonely endeavor. In ELEMENT. Kendrick glosses over his mastery of the game while communicating what he hopes to do for his community. He sounds frustrated, meeting roadblocks that are independent of his motivation and the realities around him. He says: "Last LP I tried to lift the black artists / But it's a difference 'tween black artists and wack artists", deploring those people who don't know how to help themselves despite the outside support. The track is far from my favorite of the record for several reasons. The intro shouts by Kid Capri are not a great way to be led into the track. I'm not really comfortable with the bare-bones production on this one. Yet although the verses are not particularly exciting, the chorus is a lyrically surprising breath of fresh air. But then the outro brings us back in the weird realm of the intro shouts, not a place I wanted to be. Thankfully FEEL. showcases Kendrick at his most mesmerizing. The track is more introspective, with Kendrick having a hard time locating his deeper self in the middle of the limelight. It's the first time the flexes sound like they come from an insecure place - while at the same time justifying them with glorious verses skill-wise. We feel like a fly on the wall of a clouded headspace, witnessing the stream of consciousness roll down a hill to a background of distorted sluggish vocals. Kendrick breathes in the energy emitted by the simmering instrumentals and breathes out with processed velocity. The resulting second verse is one to remember. The next track doesn't let us down either. LOYALTY. contemplates the necessity of true loyalty, especially with so much hanging in the balance for people like Kendrick and Rihanna. Rarely have I heard a collaboration where both artists sound so at home with one another while coming across as extremely mellow as well. The sluggishness of the chorus works in favor of the nonchalance the whole track champions so well. Riri's rapping, as short-lived as it is, is the cherry on top. The background chipmunk'd loop never gets annoying - and I easily get annoyed. Great moments abound, from when the artists get together to when they exchange verses. Word of the day is: che-mi-stry. The next leg of "DAMN." has Kendrick letting short-sightedness get the best of him: he gives in to weakness. PRIDE. - titled after what is considered the original sin - addresses mankind's hubris to reach God-like status. Kendrick sees it around him as much as he does within. To a brume of warped guitars and modulated vocals (that remind me of Andre 3000 on the chorus), he delves into the subject head first. The pitch chances are continuous and unpredictable, in perfect congruence with the light psychedelia of the track. The lethargic march has sprinkles of Frank Ocean and Tame Impala sonic choices, culminating in a beautiful chorus/post-chorus pairing with the help of Steve Lacy and Anna Wise. Anna adds the right dose of lightness to the the heavy progression, causing the environment to shiver ever so slightly. What's more, each part of the track arrives in a timely fashion to the delight of the listener. A gem. "Nobody pray for me" opens HUMBLE., throwing it back to FEEL. for a brief moment. Kendrick plays with the ambiguity of his stance: is he telling people who aren't all that to have several seats or is he handing himself a mirror? Probably both. Through the second interpretation, he's talking himself down and deciding not to make any excuses. I appreciate the contrast with the preceding track. Once you get over the surprise of the taunting, HUMBLE. doesn't really sustain a healthy dose of interest from the listener. LUST. sheds light on the fact that we all have vices and how it can be to fall prey to them on the daily. He takes things to a personal place ("Lately, I feel like I been lustin' over the fame"), obliquely addressing what his motives are and being able to distinguish performative action from moves rooted in a desire for advancement. Building on contrasts previously evoked, the track comes before LOVE. just like PRIDE. came before HUMBLE.. This time around production is fuller, more textured. The heavily processed guitar strums evoke LA heat waves and percussions are built through reversed hits that reinforce the loop referred to in the lyrics. Kendrick's vocal undergoes a rollercoaster of effects on the chorus for maximal effect - and I'm happy to be along for the ride. At this point in the track list, there's a sense that there is a need to surrender to higher forces for solace. Weakness is still around every corner but seeking guidance and sticking to it can help zoning it out. LOVE. drastically changes the tone both lyrically and sonically. I don't get this track at all. It's all downhill from the intro for me. The beat hits hard but the combination with the sliding synths and the lyrical content feels uncomfortably cheesy. Kendrick sounds almost like a guest feature on his own track (on a Drake track?). There's little that justifies its place on "DAMN." musically. XXX. takes a darker turn, describing the lengths he would go to to protect what he holds dearly. His flow is impressive, taking over yet another intro led by someone else - the warm up act Kendrick sets himself up with repeatedly. The second verse refreshes the track entirely, full of ringing alarms, roaring engines but never overtaking his spit. The ending finds Kendrick appropriately bogged down as he deplores the state of America after a short passage with Bono crooning to a backdrop of wailing seagulls. A solid recovery from LOVE.. FEAR. details three instances of true error Kendrick has lived through, ten years apart from another. Three sources of fear are put forward: figures of authority, the unknown and internalized self-doubt. Before jumping into the body of the track, his chant is reversed, mimicking the turning back of the knob of time. Then Kendrick takes his time, along funky guitar picking and mellow bass. His voice morphs into different personas based on the time of his life he's referring to. Despite its audacious 8 minute span, it's one of the finest track on "DAMN.". On GOD., Kendrick slips, saying "This what God feel like", combining some justified bragging with a bit of the sacrilegious. He says he is a vessel of God while suggesting a constant battle to keep his pride in check at the same time. The smugness from GOD. generously alleviates the gravity of FEAR.. His high-pitched rap-singing sounds a lot like what some younger up-and-comers are working with now (and were already at the time "DAMN." came out). Synths crash like waves all around, calming down a bit on the bridge. The song is a bit overwhelming and takes time to digest - mostly because of a production that's uneasy on my ears; I'm having a hard time balancing the 808s, the beat and the rest.
DUCKWORTH. closes the album in a very peculiar fashion. The track partially acts as a reminder that every decision matters. It's a storytelling masterpiece, built around the true story of Top Dawg's (Kendrick's manager) chance encounter with Kendrick's father during a robbery and how different happenings during the encounter could have led to a vastly different future for Kendrick. He spends considerable time discussing where the men came from and the consequences of their crossing paths with a captivating delivery. The track starts with the same angelic vocals that opened BLOOD. in a kind of full-circle moment. But the true full-circle moment comes after the final time-warp of reversed speech at the end of the track that brings us back to the story Kendrick told in the record opener. If the album describes a kind of journey from wickedness to weakness and the constant struggle to keep them at bay along the way, this full-circle motion suggest that wickedness and weakness are one and the same. The whole journey was an illusion, Kendrick was in the exact same place all along. The over-arching point here is that Kendrick inherits this presentation of weakness and wickedness as being the only two choices to pick from. "DAMN." supports the idea that this is a false choice, a never-ending vicious cycle brought forward by generational curses that has to be fought from within ("it was always me vs. the world / until I found it's me vs. me"). The only way to be truly free is to open yourself to pursuits that are outside of what is proposed to you, which is by nature very conditioned by your community's history. It's not an easy feat but Kendrick is showing that it's certainly a feasible one.
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