Black and white photograph by Frenchman Denis Rouvre, I think I recognize Kendrick in the middle, carrying a baby. Not the most memorable moment, but the curiosity is there.
I'm melting down, "To Pimp A Butterfly" (whose title is still unknown) becomes my biggest expectation for 2015. Committed lyrics (inspired by the murder of the young Trayvon Martin and dealing with police violence as well as inter-community problems), an assassin flow (a small reference to the featuring), crazy beats, in short what could have been the best track of "GKMC" is about to be on his next album. I thought too fast, no time to look back, Kendrick slaps me in the face with the release of "The Blacker The Berry", just 24 hours after the ceremony. Personal reaction: people like mainstream, please don't encourage him in this way. The result: Kendrick wins the Grammies for Best Rap Songs and Best Rap Performance for his single "I". I'm following the ceremony from a distance but not without interest.
A few weeks before discovering its full potential, the verdict falls: best Hip-Hop album since "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (as vital and imperfect both) by a certain Kanye West, and since then it has been in the pantheon of my favourite albums, all decades combined. Small apprehension, 1 year of difference between this one and its predecessor, we can envisage the worst. Kendrick then appears as the rising star of Hip-Hop.īarely one year later, it is with a little hidden impatience that I listen to his second opus "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City". No need for adaptation here, classic and already classy style, "The Spiteful Chant" is on non-stop loop in my room. Without reflecting, I threw myself on this album the slap was there. It was also at this time that I discovered him, naively browsing through yet another "Best albums of 2011" list. But it's with the release of his debut album "Section.80" in 2011 that he already asserts himself as one of the best MC's of his generation, reaping the praise of critics and the respect of his elders. Kendrick Lamar, aka K-Dot, Californian rapper, officially launched his career in 2009 with his Extended Play "Kendrick Lamar EP" (and more unofficially under the pseudonym K-Dot, whose mixtapes everyone has forgotten). Let's put things in order and in context. Two hours later, I can hardly hide my incomprehension, no less my disappointment. The last Kanye West? The last Kendrick Lamar? The last Young Fathers? The last Death Grips?.Īm I badly awake ? No, the Internets confirm: "To Pimp A Butterfly" has leaked, I give up my lie-in and I throw myself on my computer. Restless sleep, early awakening, little daily look at "Hasitleaked" (at the time I was really stupid) in the unexpected expectation of some kind of leaks.
Monday, March 16, 2015, ordinary day, program revisions, around 8:00 a.m.