Although the contribution of legendary producer Swizz Beatz on 'untitled 07', a man who has produced for hip hop heavyweights like Jay Z and Kanye West, is very welcome. Like all of Kendrick's previous albums, untitled unmastered bucks the current trend in hip hop which has seen grandiose production and the heavy use of sampling favoured over meaningful lyricism and hard hitting bars. Unsurprisingly for a spur of the moment album which feels a lot like a mixtape, the album is very minimalistic. Powerful lyrics like "What the black man say?, Tell 'em we don't die, tell 'em we don't die, Tell 'em we don't die, we multiply" best represent this. This joyous and funky vibe is undercut by Kendrick's typically uncompromising and insightful social commentary. The heavy use of trumpet and saxophone which characterised a large part of To Pimp a Butterfly, is also very much a key element of this album. This fantastic fusion of sounds is pretty much evident on all eight of the tracks on the album, with 'untitled 03' and 'untitled 05' containing particularly noteworthy jazz solos. Just like To Pimp a Butterfly, untitled unmastered blends west coast hip hop, jazz and spoken word poetry. This is largely down to the fact that untitled unmastered has a very consistent sound from start to finish.
It's particularly ironic when you consider that this non-linear compilation of songs functions as far more of a cohesive album than controversial rapper Kanye West's latest studio album The Life of Pablo, which whilst being undoubtedly high in quality, is very incohesive, disjointed and borderline schizophrenic. Fresher Sounds – The best new music – 13/08/19.For a compilation of discarded songs recorded between 20, it's remarkable how cohesive and thoughtfully structured the album feels. The other five deadly sins are also referenced in some capacity. Sloth is referenced on 'untitled 08' with lines like, "The reason I never went to work for it, See a nine to five was so jive turkey". Greed is referenced on 'untitled 02' when Kendrick raps, "I just got a raise, Spent it all on me, Diamonds all appraised". The seven deadly sins of Catholicism are a common thread running through this album. Incredibly for a release seemingly thrown-together from off-cuts, there seems to an interesting, hidden thematic component. With a statement like this is it any wonder untitled unmastered is another great musical offering? Like the material on To Pimp a Butterfly the themes of race relations, poverty and depression flow through untitled unmastered. Prior to the album's release Kendrick had performed several of these untitled songs on various shows, stating that many of them didn't make it on the final version of To Pimp a Butterfly simply because he didn't have time to clear the samples or to finish them, not because of any concerns about quality. This welcome gift is comprised of previously recorded material which didn't make the final cut of Kendrick's universally-acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly for one reason or another.
★★ ★★☆ Not a huge amount of after dropping, arguably, the best album of 2015 Kendrick Lamar gave the world a surprise album/mixtape at the end of last week.
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