We’re jumping off a weekly feature on The Rub site where we highlight new music we love. Brent Tactic came up with the idea, and he’ll probably do most of the heavy lifting but I wanted to set it off, mostly because I’m listening to this Kendrick album and I’ve got some opinions (just what the internet needs!). I fucking loved his last album, but I also can’t deal with squawky free jazz at all, so I’m really having a hard time with this new one. Challenging listeners is great, bravo for that, but nails on the chalkboard is nails on the chalkboard. But even if I was hoping for more “m.A.A.d city” and less Pharaoh Sanders, Kendrick’s rapping is stellar throughout To Pimp A Butterfly, and he’s talking about important shit. I picked “Hood Politics” to highlight – the writing is fucking exceptional and we get a break from the saxturbation and funny voices in favor of spacy keyboards and a funny hook. Even if this song doesn’t do it for you, I recommend you dig in to the album – it’s absolutely worth a listen, to hear what Kendrick is saying at the very least.
