Today Kendrick Lamar officially released his overwhelmingly anticipated and hyped major studio debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city and first look at the critical response is that the album has potential to become a classic. Some people have even described the album as the voice of this generation of hip hop, and compared it to Nas’ lyrical opus Illmatic. Now, an always humble K.Dot, chimes in on the lofty comparisons, and feels they are due to the relatable stories on the album. The Compton native then retells how Andre 3000 reacted the first time Lamar played the album for him.
An album does not become a “classic” upon release. It takes time, and its music’s longevity, such as with Illmatic, that sets a work apart as important to a generation. The Top Dawg rapper, was slightly overwhelmed at comparisons to his and the QB rapper’s work. In an interview with 2DopeBoyz he says, “Illmatic? For people to even put my album in the light of that, is an accomplishment. It’s crazy to even be mentioned with it but it’s scary at the same time.”
The Black Hippy artist knows how influential that album is to people of a certain age because it was integral for him, “That era - I wanna say the age range now would be 30, 30 to 40 - they can recognize this was the album. Illmatic’s the album for the '90s era when I was growing up.” He continues to elaborate on the response he has heard from fans, and says, via HHDX, “The stories he was telling was something I can relate to. From the response, just from the leak...these kids out here, they're all saying the same thing: this is the feel for this era...it's just a weird feeling to be in that same type of light.”
Realizing that his work is yet to stand the test of time, K.Dot adds, “it takes a whole lot of responsibility to keep that up in the long run and longevity, and that's something I don't have yet...so Illmatic will always be number one.”
One legendary rapper who was not shy about heaping praise on Kendrick Lamar was Andre 3000, who got a sneak peak at the album and was one of the first people to hear it. When asked how three stacks reacted after hearing the album, the Compton native said, “[He] stood on the couch, put his hands up, said ‘this is golden’.”
Kendrick’s debut album with Aftermath-Interscope, good kid, m.A.A.d city is available now.
