These stories have helped propel him to the top of Hip Hop’s pantheon of new class MC’s, heralded as a lyricist who wears the mask of master craftsman. The poet, as much a product of Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and the Harlem Renaissance as he is the streets of Compton that raised and inspired him, has often cited his desire to write and perform with purpose, responsibility, and an attention to detail that plays across the mind’s eye as short stories and vignettes.
Kendrick Lamar, long considered a master storyteller, has worn the mask of each of these men, and many others on his never ending quest to weave thought into the tapestry of mainstream black artistry. A thief has the right to honesty, A pastor has the right of Heaven’s voice. A boy has the right to dream, A man has the right of choice. African man, creator of masks that tell us to this day of joy and rage in his land, also released his spirits into dance and other motion that designed to explore all realities within the human being.” Once, black life and the ceremonies that punctuated it birth, rites of passage, the praising of natural forces or gods, these and other efforts all found channels of expression in many forms. It's as vital as anything else its maker has released.“Somewhere near the center of this cosmos we occupy, the creative black personality lives and maintains itself, moving through time, unlocking mysteries, producing reflections and legend. While Lamar referred to these tracks as demos, and not one of them has the pop-soul appeal of "These Walls" or the Black Lives Matter protest-anthem potential of "Alright," untitled unmastered. Even while coasting over the latter's breezy and smacking groove, Lamar fills the space with meaning, detailing a confrontation with sharp quips and stinging reprimands. The stretch involves a rolling, ornamented retro-contemporary production from Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (with vocal assists from Bilal and Cee Lo Green), a stitched suite that is alternately stern and humorously off the cuff (featuring Egypt, five-year-old son of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, as co-producer and vocalist), and a finale of Thundercat-propelled funk. Remarkably, this hits its stride in the second half. offers this and other variations on the connected themes of societal ills, faith, and survival that drove the output it follows, with Lamar at his best when countering proudly materialistic boasts with ever-striking acknowledgments of the odds perilously weighted against his people. He observes terrifying scenes all the while sensing possible relief ("No more running from world wars," "No more discriminating the poor"). After an intimate spoken intro from Bilal, the set segues into an urgent judgment-day scenario with squealing strings and a resounding bassline as Lamar confronts mortality and extinction with urgent exasperation. Track-to-track flow, however, is about the only aspect of this release that can be called smooth. This was assembled with a high level of care that is immediately evident, its components sequenced to foster an easy listen. The dates indicate that the majority of the material was made during the sessions for that album, and the presence of many of its players and vocalists is unmistakable. A postscript, it's (artfully) artless in presentation - not even basic credits appear on the Army green liner card in the compact disc edition - yet it's almost as lyrically and musically rich as To Pimp a Butterfly. Apart from segments previewed at the Grammys and late-night television appearances, there was no formal promotion. consists of eight demos that are simply numbered and dated. Issued without advance notice 17 days after Kendrick Lamar's riveting 2016 Grammy Awards performance, untitled unmastered.