Got into Kendrick after Not Like Us and I finally get it

You owe it to yourself to go listen to Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst as soon as possible.

But honestly, just start at good kid, m.A.A.d city and listen to the 3 following main albums. After that you can go back and hear earlier stuff or the things he got upto between albums. Dude is just different.

Highly recommend listening to Kendrick’s albums front to back. He arranges his albums to tell stories, and I think his songs hit way harder when you listen to them in the context of the album they’re on. He’s one of my favorite artists, and the way he puts together an album is one of the reasons why.

i really recomend listening to Mr Morales back to back, it's a wonderful experience and it'll probably make you face some demons, so brace yourself. There's also a live perfomance where he performs the whole To Pimp a Butterfly album and its fucking incredible!! Watching Kendrick perform live shows you what a great artist he is. His grammys performance its incredible too. So are his videoclips Man, just dive right in his whole discography, you won't regret it.

Good Kid Maad City -> Damn -> To Pimp a Butterfly -> section 80 -> Mr Morale and the Big Steppers -> untitled unmastered is the order i would go with based on building up the taste for his music. By then you should be able to appreciate bitch im in the club.

Check out Cartoons and Cereal. It’s not on streaming but is easy to find on yt. That was how I discovered him. Still gives me chills.

Just wait until you listen to TPAB front to back. Report back and let us know your review lol. The first Kendrick song I heard was adhd and I was immediately hooked.

Some more poweful emotional songs are "Fear", "How much a dollar cost?" and "The blacker the berry".

Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers was my catalyst to attend therapy

If I could smoke fear away, I’d roll that mothafucka uuuup

I remember the first time I heard Kendrick Lamar, it was “Fucking Problems” and it was a fun song. Didn’t think much of it then…. Fast forward to 2018 I was going through a divorce and life was hitting me hard. I was using, I was drinking, I wasn’t sober, I was suicidal. I was caught between living a good life and the past I had been living (I’m no thug or gangster but I had family that banged). I was hurting…. And “God.” came on; I instantly started crying, I felt forgiveness and understanding, I felt human. And it was then i became a lifelong Dot fan. Kendrick if you ever read this; YOU SAVED ME. You made me believe in the poetry of rap again. Op I understand your feelings

Edit: check out “Training Day” Kendrick album and listen to “Sing about me/Dying of thirst”…. The latter made my Christian mother realize how rap can transcend emotion and how rap can convert real life language to beautiful thoughts that provoke redemption.

Start from the earliest works you can listen to. You will realize how his albums are all different based on where he is currently in his life in that moment. Listen to everything, is what I would recommend.

Just because you don’t like mainstream modern rap doesn’t mean there isn’t a ton of stuff coming out that you would like. Your just short changing your self. And yes Kendrick is the man!

These 2 songs are my favorite ones too. Listen to The Art of Peer Pressure

When I read "damn" I thought you were referencing the album 😂😂 You're in for a treat if you just started to listen to Kung Fu Kenny aka K.Dot aka Kendrick Lamar 🙏🏾

GKMC was the first album in about a decade that I listened to start to finish, over and over again.

Every song is amazing and it’s a true master class of what a concept album should be. I highly recommend listening to it and reading along to the lyrics. His story telling is unparalleled

Listen to the albums from beginning to end. They all have a cohesive narrative.

I love the feeling of discovering a new artist that really touches you!! Very special feeling

I don’t mean touches you as in what Drake does, that was a metaphor

Kendrick was the reason I got into SOME rap/hiphop. I’ve been a die hard fan of heavy metal, rock and other similar genres but when I listened to “TPAB” for the first time I was astonished of how good it was.

Now I listen to hip hop/ rap on a daily basis. I try to avoid some of it because I still find some lyrics annoying but if it wasn’t for Kendrick I wouldn’t even thought of listening to rap.

All Kendrick albums, 2001 by dr Dre, eazy duz it and the Eminem show are my favorites

Welcome!

I recommend DUCKWORTH, from DAMN. Just a tour de force of story-telling rap, showcasing so many of his skills.

The video for Alright is also amazing.

Also "How Much a Dollar Cost" and "Complexion" from TPAB... Raspody feature on Complexion (the only feature verse on the whole album!) is beautiful.

Honestly Mr.Morale is my favorite project. I remember recommending to a friend of mine who lost his battle to depression. Kendrick’s detailing his battle. Who else can talk to a blk man than another who fault similar struggles and came out and turn into art. Kenny makes me cry.

Fell in love with him when Swimming Pools and Bitch Don’t kill my vibe was on the radio. I agree with all the albums that have been mentioned, but I also recommend some of his features. My favorite ones are his verse in “Memories back Then” with TI and B.O.B and his verse in “Mona Lisa” with Lil Wayne. “All The Stars” with SZA is also beautiful

My 64 y/o mom has never liked rap music but is now a Kendrick fan thanks to Not Like Us.

Wop wop wop wop wop, Dot fuck ‘em up

Wop wop wop wop wop, welcome to the club

When I was still a teenager I was a cringe "rap is crap" metalhead until my friend made me listen to GKMC front to back. I'm still a metalhead with cringe music tastes but Kendrick is responsible for showing me there's real art to be made in any genre and I usually go through the whole discography at least once a year. The guys just on another level.

Try ‘Cartoons & Cereal’ - soooo good - he’s such a phenomenal storyteller

You’re a little late, but we’re so happy you joined us! Keep digging this beef goes waaaay back I’m talking before the control verse.

Listen to his albums front to back if you want to really understand. Start with Good Kid Maad City, then To Pimp a Butterfly, then DAMN. If you are able to, have the lyrics available, preferably on genius where you can read about the meaning behind them.

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King Kunta is 👌🏼

Just listen to good kid mad city it’s a hip hop classic and every time I listen to it again I’m reminded how talented K-dot is, Drake could never put a masterpiece out like GKMC.

You might not understand or maybe even fall asleep to TPAB at first listen but I promise you it will grow on you and become one of your favorites, if not your favorite, of all time.

You should check out Overly Dedicated. It’s not his most groundbreaking work like the rest. But you see the hunger and pain in his voice. It’s the trials and tribulations he had to deal with. Including the starving artist phase of his life where he had to make sacrifices that was necessary for his success. After that check out Section 80 because back when it came out 10-12 years ago, people started paying attention to him and you see why he’s regarded as a legend now.

Yeah I’m a metalhead and I can tell that he’s a generational talent. Been a fan since Section 80

Love reading this. kendrick is not just a rapper. He is a artist, a storyteller, father, a friend, an inspiration, a mentor, a community member, a real human that makes mistakes and isn’t afraid to be himself

I think a lot of people over look Untitled Unmastered

All I’m gon say is you need to lock in and go thru his entire discography asap welcome to the family fr

There’s a reason he has a Pulitzer Prize. The man is a genius.

I never hear anyone else recommend this one, but his feature on the Flying Lotus song Never Catch Me is the first Kendrick verse that grabbed me. I feel like it’s a preamble to TPAB because Flying Lotus and Thundercat both were involved in TPAB as well shortly after. FlyLo is quoted as saying “If Kendrick wins a Grammy for TPAB, we all (the LA community) win a Grammy”

The artistry that is alive in the LA Beat and Hip-Hop scene is crazy and Kenny has been a big catalyst for that.

If you’re a romantic at heart, listen to “LOVE”. It’s the song that first got me into Kendrick

Welcome on board, sit down and be humble.

I'd tried listening to Kendrick a couple of times after the superbowl appearance to try and see what the fuss was all about. I didn't really get into it then. He has a unique sound that takes, perhaps, a little longer expose time than I was willing to invest.

What really unlocked it all for me was taking a chance on a podcast called Dissect. The host, Cole Kushna, explains song structures and lyric meanings in great detail. It's well done too- he keeps it engaging, but doesn't upstage the music in any way.

Anyway, I got the exposure I needed to really start listening, and had it spelled out for me just how brilliant he is with words. Can't stop now.

I got it, but didn’t really get it get it until Untitled Unmastered came out.

Kendrick doesn’t make music because he can, he makes music because he has to. He doesn’t write about social issues because they make him money, he writes about social issues because that’s legitimately what he’s got on his mind. I can’t fault people for not playing Kendrick in the car and it’s the same reason Drake has more plays, Kendrick’s music is about shit that fucks with him and people just want to get through the day, not be reminded of the same shit that fucks with them on a daily basis while they sit in traffic.

Do yourself a solid and track down & watch as many of his LIVE performances as you have the time for, and prepare to have your mind BLOWN. Because, yes, he is undoubtedly a GOD tier rapper/writer/lyricist. But what truly has him absolutely CLEARING the field and the rest of his contemporaries is his live performances of these incredible songs he pens. He's an EASY Top 5 OAT rap ARTIST when you consider all of the elements. Welcome aboard. ✌🏿

His first album Overly Dedicated is easily my favorite do yourself a favor and check it out

Find the first season of Dissect Podcast dedicated to GKMC and TPAB, Cole Cuchner does a phenomenal job of paying dues to King K Lamar and peeling back the layers of both albums, fantastic insight.

If your into the objective skill and storytelling I suggest listening to Good Kid MaaD City or The dissect podcast season about To Pimp A Butterfly Cole does a good job explaining it imo

Make sure you catch his Black Friday track with J. Cole, and his verse on Control which made significant waves at the time. Both easy to miss if you just go through the albums!

Same here.

Got a subscription to Apple Music last week because I got tired of going on YouTube to listen to his songs and it’s been a game changer.

He got me back into rap and hip hop.

You should listen to the whole album but the two songs that bookend Mother I (Mr Morale & Mirror) are my favorite songs atm

He makes albums very deliberately. His albums are worth sitting and digesting like a full piece of music. Especially GKMC, TPAB, DAMN

The bs that’s pushed mainstream made me fall out of love with rap/hip hop for a long time. I always enjoyed Kendrick’s songs since he came out but it was usually just the most popular ones that got play.

This battle made me appreciate him as an artist which is why I wanna go back and listen to everything too. I LOVE anything that makes me think which is why I enjoyed his disses so much beyond just dissing Drake. It was layered.

If you come from a low socio-economic class, listen to Black Boy Fly. Its one of few songs that almost gets me.

I think listenin to Good kid mad city in its entirety will do you best.

Yeah if you are an oldhead like me then Kendrick is right up your alley my dude. Section.80 and GKMC especially, huge 90s influences in the sound - I'd start there.

And listen to Cartoons & Cereal (this video is dope too)

You're gonna be hooked

Just check this out my boi

I got goosebumps just reading this.

I’ve been a fan of Kendrick since Overly Dedicated and Section.80. It’s sad to me how much he is disrespected for being a lyricist or “conscious” rapper because he isn’t here to appeal to “everyone”.

Sidebar: Kendrick says he’s what the culture feeling. (Kendrick culture is the deepest blacks of us, the niggas. & that’s not to say that is what makes up his entire base. While Drake culture is made up of just the opposite. & that’s not to say that is what makes up his entire base.)

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This song right here!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Listen and start with all of his albums! Then seek out songs he has verses on, such as Love Game w Eminem. Or his experimental switch up rapping on J Cole beats with J Cole rapping on his beat on Black Friday. You’ll find some songs he did on YouTube but not on Spotify.

I’m a person with diverse love for music. I think you should try out J Cole, Lupe Fiasco, Childish Gambino, Lil Wayne etc as well. They’re all different types, but in case you aren’t sure where to start but wanted to explore other artists.

if you want more modern albums that are in the same vein as kendrick i recommend the forever story, 1999 and sometimes i might be introvert

I listened to TPAB the week it came out and it really felt like an instant classic and a milestone in music. Me and my friends were listening to it all the time in awe, reading the lyrics alongside because we are from Spain and even though we didn’t get all of it (our english wasn’t very good back then) we still knew it was special

Heart part 5 is such a masterpiece, i think it easily belongs in the top 3 Kendrick convo. Next to SAMIDOT and DUCKWORTH

Start at Section.80. It truly helps you understand Kendrick's world view and his coming of age then work your way through GKMC etc.

What? Frankly dear you just couldn't give a DAMN?

Just know that for Kendrick — you have to listen to each album in a sitting in its entirety. They are conceptual albums, not just an album full of tracks.

If you haven't yet I highly recommend GKMC listening to the whole album in order. The songs tell a story. It's one of the first concept albums that I really got. All his albums pay off like this, but I'd start there. He's a true artist and I love all his work.

Kendrick is one of the greatest to ever do it. He writing ability, wordplay, vocabulary, and structure are unreal. His tone has so much variety. You can tell when he’s smiling, when he’s pissed, or being sincere. You can hear so much detail in his voice. He’s in my top 3 all time and it’s such an easy pick to make.

To me he is the modern day Mozart. I’m a 41 year old Dutch dude and when I explain to friends what and who he is I tell them he is the modern day Mozart.

I wouldn’t recommend listening to individual songs. They’re great of course, but for a first-time listener, you really want to get the whole album experience. This is where Kendrick really shines.

Its All Eyez on Me, and I'ma send it up to Pac

Edit: to answer your question. All of them. Start with the heart part 1 and then listen to each album and continue the heart series in between. Make sure you watch the music video for the Heart V.

Just start at the start, you're in for a riiiide bro.

You'll be crying, laughing, bopping and everything inbetween. And you're gonna learn so much about yourself and the world around you. As a white guy, I've also learned a huge amount about what black people have and are going through, in ways that i actually understand as a white guy.

And not to be cheesy, but listening to Kenny has made me a better person, and changed my perspective on money/power/fame vs family/peace etc.

I genuinely love Kenny and all his music, and happy that the fanbase is ever-growing. Welcome!!

Glad you got into it fr. Kendrick is one of the few HIP-HOP artists today that’s really talented and in the mainstream. That man is a gifted wordsmith fr.

It's funny when all this beef started I want a fan of Kendrick or Cole and I never liked drake so I didn't really have a dog in this fight. I still think Cole is the best "rapper" but hip hop culture is about more than do the words coming out sound cool. I never felt Kendrick had a cool sound that I can vibe to do I never listens to him like that before but his drake take down tracks are hitting hard so I might have to go back and listen to him more closely.

You in for a treat when you hear this albums man ooohboy 🙌🏻

Also i honestly think judging by your post that youd enjoy mac millers tyoe of stuff. Very reflective and deep stuff (try swimming and then faces as a way to start).

My personal favorite Kendrick album is "To Pimp A Butterfly" alot of underlying themes and the music composition is fire. If you're a fan of Thundercat or any music with jazz or soul, then you'll love it.

I find it hilarious how some ppl say "i dont listen to modern hip hop" not realizing that there's a plethora of AMAZING ASS lyricist out here who are doing their fucking thing! The past decade, Roc Marciano, Griselda, Dark Lo, ETO, Flee Lord, Skyzoo, Earl Sweatshirt, Curren$y have been putting out amazing work! On the other end, it's dope that this Battle is the reason why you're listening to the amazing work that Kendrick has put out. All I'm saying is, DAMN! There's A LOT more dope mfs out there as well!

Listen to GKMC top to bottom. It’s worth it

Kendrick has pretty consistently been about projects and not songs so if you want to appreciate him, you have to listen to entire projects.

The exception being DAMN, it’s his most commercial album so the songs aren’t linked thematically as strongly as his other albums. Start there if you’re just starting to get interested but not ready to make an investment if that makes sense.

I hope this also opened your eyes to no longer actively avoid music genres! There’s so much amazing music in each genre, please don’t gatekeep yourself from experiencing this feeling again.

Look up county building blues nothing to do w anything but if you’re a new Kendrick fan I’d play that for you in person.

Might be a whatever take, but I definitely recommend listening to a few of his albums in full. That is, all the songs in order and not shuffled or anything. Unlike a lot of artists, Kendrick's albums typically tell a story through the way they are constructed and their track listings. Good Kid, Maad City tells the story of a kid wanting to be a rapper, but struggling with vices and peer pressure before being passed the torch by Dr. Dre himself. To Pimp A Butterfly tells the tale of an artist who achieves success, only to be dragged down by his own misuse of influence and fame. Every track takes you on a journey through an emotional roller-coaster of ego, pride, lust, remorse, guilt, anger, love and self-acceptance.

Kendrick's singles are great, and you can glean what makes him such a good artist just by listening to a handful of tracks, but to truly get it you should give some of his albums a spin (and then give them a spin again)!

dude i always had a respect for kendrick but in the last week or so ive really been getting into him. as a guy whose taste in music is about 2% rap/hiphop, having DAMN. on repeat for a week straight has been pretty crazy.

One of us

Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst should be the next song you listen to…

I decided to check out Kendrick after Videogamedunkey's rap. Before that, I only listened to rap from the late 90s early 00s, along with other music I enjoy, such as rock and metal.

Tried to get into J Cole when his new album dropped, but I didn't get it. I don't listen to pop so Drake was never on my radar.

I didn’t get into Kendrick but he became more bearable , I hate radio / mainstream music it sounds like mad dick 😂😂 His meet the grahams gave me dancing with the devil by immortal technique vibes

Untitled and unmastered.

Overly Dedicated and Section 80. You would appreciate those projects even more because of the fact that you started at such a later stage in his music.

I’m jealous in that I wish I could hear Kendrick for the first time again. He’s officially my favorite rapper. He’s always been so consistent in his music. It’s never been anything less than 100% in his music.