‘Good Kid, Mad City’ By Kendrick Lamar: Storytelling Lesson

(CTN News) – A concept record is only as good as its singles. Kendrick Lamar; Despite maybe never hearing the full albums that feature “Juicy” by the Notorious BIG, “Mercy Mercy Me” by Marvin Gaye, or “Ziggy Stardust” by David Bowie, people know them.

They’re strong enough that even someone with just a casual knowledge of the albums they come from can’t deny the talent behind them.

Kendrick Lamar’s major-label debut, Good Kid, Mad City, features “B__ch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” and “Swimming Pools (Drank)”.

Even someone with just a casual knowledge of the albums those singles come from can’t deny the talent behind them.It’s the same with “B__ch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” and “Swimming Pools (Drank)” from Kendrick Lamar’s major-label debut.

In addition to being in the hip-hop canon, K Dot’s Good Kid, Mad City has shifted culture. Several universities even teach it.

Get Good Kid, Mad City now.

There’s a Polaroid of Kendrick with his uncles and grandfather on the Good Kid, Mad City cover. One uncle is flashing a gang sign and there’s a baby bottle and a 40-oz bottle.

Kendrick and his dad are pictured on the wall in the background. Everybody’s eyes are blacked out. Taking a look at the cover art, Lamar says, “That photo tells a lot about me, and how I was raised in Compton, and the things I’ve seen.

There’s no one else’s eyes, but you see mine are innocent, and trying to figure out what’s going on.”

This is a gripping story

The cover also says “a short film by Kendrick Lamar.” This isn’t an accident. Mad City tells a gripping story in a cinematic style.

As the protagonist, K Dot, becomes Kendrick Lamar, he hooks up with his girl, robs a house, and stumbles through misadventures that make him question hood politics.

“Sherane aka Master Splinter’s Daughter” doesn’t really start the story, but rather sets it up. Imagine Madonna’s “No Tipping” monologue from Reservoir Dogs.

They don’t necessarily push the story forward, but they make the world you’re about to step into. This song puts you in Lamar’s persona, K Dot, who’s the protagonist.

Like a Tarantino film, K-Dot meets a girl named “Sherane” and the story doesn’t exactly follow one path. There are fits and starts, twists and turns.

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