Before there was a good kid m.A.A.d city. Before there was a TPAB. Hell, even before there was a Section.80, Kendrick Lamar planted the seed for his career with his fourth mixtape, Overly Dedicated. It's been a full decade since that mixtape release and what an impact has he and the rest of the TDE camp had. They've dominated the rap game as one of the most prominent labels but those glimpses of Kendrick's genius was scattered across his early work.
Though the project is more jazz-driven, Overly Dedicated delivered the classic banger "Michael Jordan" ft. ScHoolboy Q. A grimey trap production backing them, the pair deliver braggadocious bars declaring themselves "2 much for these n***as/ 3 much for these hoes," playing off the number of Jordan's jersey. Sure, many have used Jordan's 23 in their songs but none quite like Kendrick and Q. Their voices were still raw and unrefined as they would be later on in the years but they channeled the sh*t talking of Jordan's reign on wax.
It's evident that even before he was on, he knew that he was the chosen one for this generation. "Walkin' out Fred Segal, put my girl on it/ Ass so fat, probably sit the world on it," he raps. Meanwhile, Q's volatile flow twists and turns with crude fantasies with vivid imagery of what he'd do to your girlfriend if he had the chance. Needless to say, don't leave your girl with Q.
At a time when he was just starting to gain a buzz, this, too, was an exemplary showcase of the type of damage TDE can do as a unit.
Quotable Lyrics
Leaning off the Actavis, passing blunts round and round
Told me Mary was a go so we passed her round and round
Your bitch texted me, wants it now so I had to knock her down
Hurt her bouncing off my balls, slinging dick up from the mouth
You let it slide, I hit home-runs, clean her dugout till I’m done
I can be her number two and you can be her number one
