There was no advertising whatsoever. The day I found out Kendrick Lamar had released a new album, entitled Untitled, Unmastered was one that was fairly lackluster and unremarkable to say the least.
Lamar is known for performing unreleased tracks live on a frequent basis, but nobody would have ever expected new material so soon. The Grammy Award Winning album, To Pimp a Butterfly was released exactly one year ago from the release of this copy of the Sentinel, March 15, 2015. Not a single announcement had been promoted on any music streaming service, nor YouTube, or even Reddit for that matter.
Kendrick had, once again, succeeded in blowing the minds of everyone in the hip-hop community. To add to the mystic, none of the tracks even have names; they have all been dubbed “Untitled # + Date of Recording.” The songs, all having been recorded between the years of 2013 and 2016, were compiled into a single, eight song mixtape, which could loosely be described as an album. Had the songs been organized into a more structured fashion with the addition of guest spots, it could have easily been given a better review than was provided by the mainstream music reviewers, such as Billboard and Noisey.
The tape is a compilation of B-Sides to say the least. As stated before, there are no guests on the album, and most critics have agreed that the songs provided (aside from the exception of one track) were all material that did not make it onto good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012) or To Pimp a Butterfly (2015).
Due to the success of his most recent album, it would have been easy to sit back and relax for a good amount of time, but Lamar is motivated to keep his fans on their toes. For the past twelve months, he has been doing nothing but touring and promoting his past work. Yet, the mere fact that he has found the time to release new material is astounding.
The most interesting thing is that he has not reached his peak yet. The twenty-eight-year-old hip-hop legend from Compton, California has already made a name for himself, and he’s just getting started. As each release passes, the artist has progressed to become better than before.
As one listens to Untitled, Unmastered, they feel as though they are being propelled through a symphony of free-jazz, funk, soul, and hip-hop galore. I had been at a house party the day after the album dropped, and when a friend of mine was handed the aux-cord, he inevitably chose to play the new release. Most would say that it took them a couple of days to completely digest the album, but I can say for certain that the track, Untitled #7 | 2014-2016, is best played LOUD. If I was at all skeptical of his new work previously, the feeling of uneasiness towards the new material was immediately alleviated.
The grooviness of Untitled #6 | 6/30/2014, can compare to that of the song Happy by Pharrell Williams. As a friend at the party had said, “The track is just too good to dislike. Even if you’re not a fan of Kendrick Lamar, the song is too catchy to hate on.”
Untitled, Unmastered is certainly not for everyone, but as a surprise release, it’s pretty impressive to say the least. The album comes to a close with the predictably titled track, Untitled #8, that was recorded in 2014. It strongly resembles the similar vibes provided in To Pimp a Butterfly, but unfortunately did not make the cut. However, it very easily fits in on this album. As the tape comes to a close, I am left with overwhelming anticipation for whatever he will release next, and knowing Kendrick, it’s probably not too far away.
