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Weekly updates


It’s been more than two years since Kendrick dropped GKMC and more than a year since his game-changing Control verse in which he called out most A-list rappers in the game, triggering an industry-wide beef that inspired musical innovation amongst self-conscious emerging musicians. His status as an outsider in the same vein as Flatbush Zombies or Schoolboy Q gave Kendrick the kind of agency to experiment and constantly change his sound without overt criticism. Since then, we haven’t heard a whole lot from the Black Hippy’s corner. It’s maybe for that reason that the single dropping off his unheard upcoming album is the subject of so much flak in the 20 odd hours since it appeared on Soundcloud.

The overtly positive, summer vibez feel of the pro self-love track ‘i‘ is undeniable and maybe for that reason alone, people are irritated that the oft abrasive, brooding mood of Kendrick’s prior releases is completely absent. Many have compared it to Outkast’s tonal shift in the early 2000’s or the jarring difference between N*E*R*D’s albums and Pharrell’s corny positivity. Naturally, most people took to Twitter to express their discontent or to embrace Lamar’s experimentation and new message. We’ve collected some of the funniest, truest and most interesting call outs floating around on Twitter above. Check ’em out.

Listen to ‘i’ on SoundCloud.

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