#TBT: Mixtape Kendrick

Kendrick Lamar has captured the attention of all of us with his studio albums. Section.80 broke him into the mainstream, good kid, m.A.A.d city established him as a hip hop heavy-hitter, and To Pimp A Butterfly put him at the top. However, like most great artists, Kendrick struggled for years to get to the point he's currently at.

K-Dot, the name Kendrick released music under before Kendrick Lamar, released his first mixtape in 2003. Titled Y.H.N.I.C. (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), it hardly made any waves in the industry. Training Day came in 2005, No Sleep 'Til NYC came in 2007, C4 in 2009, and Overly Dedicated in 2010. The five mixtapes released in his first seven years as a recording artist helped to set the stage for the Top Dawg we know today. Today we dive into that early material as a part of our Throwback Thursday segment.

Kendrick circa 2003 sounded much different from the MC we all love today, but even at 16 years old K-Dot had some skills. Over some epic Just Blaze production, Kendrick states that he's hungry for the crown, something he's still chasing today. He's much closer now than he was back then.

Before Snoop passed Kendrick the torch, Kendrick was just freestylin' over his beats. Check him out as he takes "Drop It Like It's Hot" for a spin. 

Kendrick links up with fellow Black Hippy Jay Rock and Top Dawg president Punch to go in on some J Dilla production. This is a nice foreshadowing of the jazzy style that To Pimp A Butterfly employed.

It's a shame that leaders of the new school will never get to collaborate with the fallen leaders of the old school. Could you imagine how sick it would be if Kendrick and Biggie hopped on the same track?  It might sound a little something like this...

As the Black Hippy squad began to take shape, we got early cuts like this one, with Kendrick, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul. The beat isn't exactly like we remember it when Jay Z murdered it, but it's a west coast revamp on an east coast classic. 

At least some people are awaiting a Kendrick/Lil Wayne collaboration, and while that may not go down for a minute, we at least have the sounds of K-Dot murdering "A Milli." This one comes off of 2009's C4. 

Black Hippy together on a 2009 cut...enough said. 

"And I have to say that music keeps me here, by far, the main thing," Dash Snow says just before Kendrick absolutely crushes this track. The beat, which was originally heard by The Roots, is the canvas for Lamar, who clearly stepped up a lot since the early days.

This is one of Kendrick's first songs that kind of took off. The hook is something everyone in the party circuit can relate to, and because of that it received a good bit of attention from the online community.

Here are some really conscious bars from Kendrick, as he demonstrates his desire to grow as a person and shed positivity through his music. It's a big step up from the early days, and an auditory link to the man we know today.

"I'm tryna find myself, I'm searching deep for Kendrick Lamar
I read about Napoleon Hill and try to know God
They say he the key to my blessings, and if I speak the good
Into existence, that instant my dreams will unlock
Money flow like water, I'll just wait at the dock
And by the way I'mma start, finding more light to shed
Like a small garage in your backyard
I'm back chilling with a friend of mine, she mighty fine
But I notice that her heart resides next to bitterness
Always hollering who she don't like and who she kick it with
Who she wanna fight, who wearing a weave
Who Dooney and Bourke bag is fake, who holding the keys
To the car she drove last year or who fucking on who
And who need a pap smear, getting on my nerves
But before your negative energy curve, bitch I'mma cut you off"