For this week, instead of a list, I’ve decided to do reviews of 2 albums, a hip hop album and a rock album. From now on, I’ll be doing an album review every other week, so I hope you enjoy these.
Album 1: Led Zeppelin IV — Led Zeppelin
The Bottom Line:
When it comes to rock albums, not many albums top this one. From start to finish this album contains no misses, with all the tracks being great. This is an album I own on vinyl, and it stands as my favorite rock album of all time. If you’ve never listened to it, you definitely should, as it’s not a long album and doesn’t have many lyrics that are tough to decipher. Overall, the album remains as a classic to the genre, and a highly replayable album.
Rating: 10/10
Album 2: GNX — Kendrick Lamar
On November 22nd, a random Friday, at 11:30 in the morning, Kendrick Lamar would upload a video to his YouTube channel, titled “GNX” during 5th period. Half an hour later, he would drop an album, also named “GNX.” On that day, I left school early to go to a dentist’s appointment, and had seen the trailer. I double checked Spotify to make sure it was legit, and it was. As soon as I got back home, I listened to the album, and from the first track I knew it was something special. The album opens up with the longest track on the album, “wacced out murals,” the title being a reference to how his mural in Los Angeles was vandalized. On the song he talks about being nominated to do the Super Bowl halftime show and says how nobody in the industry (except for Nas) congratulated him, instead focusing on how Lil Wayne wasn’t nominated. It then goes to “squabble up,” an upbeat song that was a snippet on the music video for his Drake diss “Not Like Us.” It also samples Debbie Deb’s “When I Hear Music.” After that is “luther,” which is the most popular song on the album. It contains a feature by SZA and is a relaxing and melodic track, and the second best on the album. The next track is “man at the garden,” talking about how he deserves all the success he has, and featuring the ending line “Tell me why you think you deserve the greatest of all time, ************. I deserve it all.” After that track is “hey now,” another upbeat song featuring rapper Dody6. It was also remixed by rapper Tyler, The Creator, which is only on YouTube. The next track is “reincarnated,” which uses a beat by rapper 2Pac, and uses a similar flow to 2Pac’s. It tells a story about 2 past black artists, and finally his story. The next track is “tv off,” which is the best on the album in my opinion. It’s made by producer Mustard, and contains 2 sections, with the second containing a brief feature by rapper Lefty Gunplay. The song gained popularity from Kendrick yelling “Mustard” in the second half, showing his energy on the track. After that is “dodger blue,” another calm track featuring Roddy Ricch, Siete7x, and Wallie the Sensei. The track is another great melodic track and is the most underrated on the album. After that is “peekaboo,” which features rapper AzChike. The track is a playful track, and another upbeat one, like “hey now” and “squabble up.” After peekaboo is “heart pt. 6,” which is also the name of Drake’s final diss, named “THE HEART PART 6.” The track is a meaningful song about his early career, what it was like being in Top Dawg Entertainment and Black Hippy, and even saying that the group eventually broke up because Kendrick moved on and evolved from the group. Then, the album goes to “gnx,” the title track, which features rappers Peysoh, Hitta J3, and YoungThreat. In my opinion, this track is the worst on the album, mainly because of the beat and YoungThreat’s performance, but it’s still a solid track. Finally, the album ends with “gloria,” which has another SZA feature. The song uses personification and double entendres to compare his pen to a significant other, with clever lines like “she said one day she would right my wrongs and see paper,” with “right” being a homophone to “write,” showcasing Kendrick’s writing ability and ending the album on a high note.
The Bottom Line:
Ever since I first listened to this album it became one of my favorites. Something about the songs on this album make me enjoy it, and the length being shorter than his other albums is another big part of it. Unlike most of his albums, you don’t need to search throughout the lyrics to find a central theme to the album. Overall, it’s a great album, and the best rap album from last year in my opinion.
Rating: 8.5/10
