The story is one of a good kid, in a mad city.  

  It’s author is Kendrick Lamar, possibly the best raconteur in rap music.

  It’s a story filled with love, confusion, hatred and temptation.

  It’s the account, as said by the protagonist, of an angel on angel dust, inside the belly of the rough.

  The 12 track composition is a display of Lamar’s masterful understanding of linguistics.   

  Although Lamar was only 25 years old at the release of  good kid m.A.A.d city, his mature sound quickly solidified his role as the best young rapper the music industry had seen in recent years.

  The album articulates the thoughts of millions of Americans struggling through the same mad upbringings as Kendrick.

  Specifically, the album highlights Compton California, Lamar’s hometown.

  Good kid m.A.A.d city is a modernized sequel to N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton.

  Lamar’s second studio album even closes with a feature from original N.W.A. member Dr. Dre.

  The album also saw vocal features from Kendrick’s fellow TDE member Jay Rock, OVO’s Drake, as well as Anna Wise and MC Eiht.

  Each track combats a different issue that Lamar experienced as he was a child and young adult.

  Lamar relays the detailed experiences of his childhood to his audience as a first person narrative.

  His lustful desires as a young teen, battles versus deceitful friends and schemed robberies as a high schooler are all documented on the LP.

  Melodic hooks in “Money Trees,” “Poetic Justice” and “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” give the album recognizable Billboard classics – which boosted its commercial success instantaneously.

  Only 10 months after its release, “good kid m.A.A.d city” was certified platinum.

  Lamar’s uncanny ability to lyrically propose topics with extreme depth is what sets the album apart.

  At surface level, tracks such as “Swimming Pools” are nothing more than catchy party anthems.

  A second listen however, and the same song begins to probe at the very means to which you exist.

   It is a novel with twists and turns, a sculpture with endless beauty, a poem with perfect rhythm – “good kid m.A.A.d city” is a masterpiece.