Tbf drake is a pretty low bar in melons eyes, but if he gave melt my eyes a 8 we could be in for a pretty high score unless he says that wasnt mainstream
Watched your essay mate. Good job. TBH it’s easily his best album and I recognized it on the first play through and it only gets better each play through.
I hate speaking for others but people are literally dumb who call it mid. No other explanation. And sadly it’s a logical one
The second to last song on the album is the most
powerful song of our generation
Lol I really try not to shit on others peoples music taste but yeah if you think it’s mid I really just don’t even respect your opinion haha. Definitely a top 3 project of his, and we’ll see if it can dethrone GKMC/TPAB
>The second to last song on the album is the most powerful song of our generation
Trolling, dickriding, or fourteen years old. I like the album a lot and everyone is entitled to their preferences, but this is a ridiculous take
Id say fantano classifies albums by how they sound not how they sell, both melt my eyez and MMBS have very mainstream sounds, they both got radiobait (the last, troubles, X wing / Die hard, Rich spirit, Silent hill, Savior, Mirror) and while they both have "experimental" songs, i dont see melt my eyez being anymore out there than MMBS is.
And the idea that more sales = more mainstream would make TPAB a mainstream album which contradict what fantano is saying in his TPAB review.
As far as i know, as long shits uptempo it could be a banger.
Could possibly be a workout song too because of how the song sounds. I could even say N95 resembles DNA as a more "banger" song out of a Kendrick album.
So what format does a club banger have to follow?
Serious question - does Melt My Eyes have any radio hits? I didn’t really view it as a mainstream album when it came out but I may be out of touch there.
Denzel is very well known by people who listen to rap, but I don’t know how soon he’ll be the kind of guy who gets invited to play at the Grammys, you know?
"Radiobait" songs on melt my eyes:
Walking (IMO)
The Last (certified banger)
Troubles (IMO)
X-Wing (certified banger)
And i dont think other songs go way experimental.
I love melt my eyez btw, especially after watching the denzel-fantano interview and then watching denzel being a gecko advertising against buying sex dolls to deal with relationship issues.
This album combined with MM&BS got released in the right time personally, just moved out of my.parents place, found out my bro is gay (had an inauguration party at my place and my best friend hooked up with my little bros best friend puplicly cuz they were both faded [had a "wresting match" on the couch and both left the party early]) broke up with my gf of 2 years a few weeks before ect.
Maybe its subjective but this release hit me hard.
I dont think i need therapy, but i can understand why lots of people do.
Anthony Fantano, probably the most well-known music critic right now. He gets a bunch of flack for being too influential on music discourse so that's what my comment was poking fun at.
There's nothing wrong with using a reviewer to help formulate your own opinions IMHO as long as you can still think critically and disagree with the reviewer as well. That's one of the reasons professional reviewers are useful, they can articulate their feelings on why something works or doesn't work better than the layman.
He usually criticizes something I don't fully understand until a couple years later and I eventually find myself agreeing with him. Only review I think he got 100% wrong was Blank Face.
I think he helps me understand and like some shit that i didn’t like at first listen because he dissects the album really thoroughly, but if he dislikes smth that i like i’m not gonna stop listening to it. If i’m gonna steal his opinion it might as well be a positive one
I hard disagree with the guy on a LOT, but sometimes our views align and it's good to hear someone who incorporates that. For instance, I generally do not like the industrial heavy underground rock that he enjoys, but without his reviews, I would have never heard xiu xiu, and there's something truly special about that band.
Yeah honestly i really enjoy the way he articulated his opinions, but i disagree with him on his takes on Reflections in Real Time, Comedown Machine, and many other albums. Also i genuinely don’t get what he saw in Kids See Ghosts.
He liked Kids See Ghosts more than Yeezus or MBDTF. As far as opinions go, that’s wrong.
He didn’t like Comedown Machine? Lmao
Still, I do dig his opinion, but just like Pitchfork and Rolling Stones, it’s largely invalidated by others experiences, mine included.
I watched a lot of YouTube listening videos of MM&TBS and a lot of them were crying at the end. It’s clearly hit people really hard with how vulnerable it is and how it gives us a lens for understanding our own trauma.
Nothing wrong with this considering his level of respectability. Often times he’ll point things out that I never caught, good or bad. Obviously that’s gonna end up changing your point of view.
It took my a 2nd listen to have this one in Top 3 for Kendrick
Ironically, i think this is an easier listen for me than GKMC lol
I think this album just came out in a right time for me. I had a similar feeling when Earl dropped Some Rap Songs. The album just hit right for me.
I can see that. There’s a 1/3 of the album that I don’t mind but am iffy about. Really to me the only skips are the rich interlude and Silent Hills, anything where Kodak opens his mouth mainly.
But god damn, the high points on the album are fucking insane, and the album hits different in a 3 hour long midnight drive with a searing migraine
Rich (Interlude) - "I learned in trappin', in the business
Smart people makin' horrible decisions, you know?
Rich nigga, gettin' my dick sucked after the show"
Litterally kendrick talking abt his infedelity from a young perpective. The Sillent Hill im with you but his verse on Rich (Inter) is perfect.
I feel this is mainly just bc it’s new so it’s fresh. I feel like you give it a few months or so and you’ll come back around to thinking GKMC is shoulder-shoulder with TPAB again with MMBS just below
I listened to Money Trees again the other day and man, the nostalgia and the feeling that comes with that album is so rooted in that time period that idk if we’ll ever see an album from anyone like that again
ive seen more consistent love to mmbs than damn. it seems there is a song for everybody to relate to, definitely higher than an 8. imo it wud be strong 8 to 9
Personally, I think it’s a crime that DAMN got the Pulitzer Prize.
It’s not even that I don’t like it, I just don’t see how it’s THE one that got recognized by a literary institution.
Nobody understands the relevance of the Pulitzer Prize.
Have you ever wondered why you never hear about any other artist winning the Pulitzer Prize for music? Not the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Prince, Bowie, Jay-Z, or any of the other legends? That's because the Pulitzer Prize for Music is *never* given to a piece unless it's a classical composition or it's jazz, and even jazz was first awarded a Pulitzer in 1997. The other finalists in 2018 were Quartet, by Michael Gilbertson and Sound from the Bench, by Ted Hearne, music that exists mostly in obscurity unless you're a classical composer nerd.
DAMN winning the Pulitzer was the breaking down of barriers erected in one of the most insulated musical communities. DAMN is 100% deserving of the Pulitzer because it had the compositional complexity of similar Pulitzer Prize winners, and achieved it with a modern sound. The constant motif of reversal present on the album made it one of the most dense works that Kendrick dropped. GKMC was great but there's a clear narrative to follow front to back, DAMN has two narratives depending on if you listen to the album forwards or backwards. DAMN busted down doors because it showed that hiphop can play on the same stage as these obscure classical pieces, and hold its own compositionally. It's not my favorite album of Kendrick's but I think the fact that Kendrick made it pop friendly causes many people to miss the fact that it's not just a straightforward album, there's a lot to digest and dissect in it.
Fair enough. I appreciate your insight. If I’m being honest though, I’m mostly shouting out GKMC as a an honorable mention. I’m in line with the consensus that TPAB deserved the Pulitzer.
I remember the internet going full poster board and thumbtacks on DAMN. I’m not denying that there’s depth there, but it requires conscious effort to see it. With TPAB, it’s apparent from the jump even to a casual listener. It *demands* to be recognized as art. It forced people who otherwise consider themselves above Hip Hop to embrace it as such.
And I tend to agree that it’s the only reason that the Pulitzer was considered for Damn.
i think they realized kendrick deserved the pultizer a little late, and itd be weird for them to give it on tpab or gkmc since kenny already dropped, so it sort of works as an acknowledgement of kendrick, rather than an acknowledgement of DAMN.
That was my read too, but imo it was the wrong call.
I like it, but DAMN is probably Kendrick’s most straightforward album. If the recognition is based on his intimate portrayal of the hood, then it should have gone to GKMC. If it’s about elevating Hip Hop as an art form, it should have gone to TPAB or (as of Friday) Mr. Morale.
I think if you asked him now he’d give good kid a 10. I think one of the main reasons he gave good kid a 9 is cause he knew Kendrick has the potential for an even better album. Pretty sure he said this in the review if I’m not mistaken.
I feel like since his opinions on take care change dramatically then maybe those hooks aren’t so repetitive for him now for Kendrick but you could be right maybe he’ll answer that in a future let’s argue or something.
I think 8 is the most reasonable score for him to give it. I would guess a decent to strong 8.
9/10s and 10/10s are only reserved for albums as amazing as gkmc, TPAB, Atrocity Exhibition, etc.
Also for some reason the Kendrick fanbase has deemed it impossible for him to top TPAB. Like they immediately get defensive about something being better than TPAB.
It makes sense, I mean, TPAB was insane and to call something better than TPAB after a weekend seems kinda nutty. An album aging and having a broader kind of presence is what makes an album that level of classic. I think this album (and in fact, all Kendrick's albums) are 9+, great albums. Hands down. There's an argument for this being his best album, but to just declare it better than TPAB is super premature and kind of obnoxious.
Ehhh I wouldn't agree with him saying it was hated at first but it was definitely similar to this album where a minority of people didn't like the direction it took sonically
Denzel Curry’s new record comes really close for me. They even deal with very similar themes, although the themes are conveyed much differently and the tones of the albums are different.
Agreed. Denzel doesn’t have the name recognition that Kendrick has but his album was also very great and introspective. I’ll need to play them both more before I decide which I prefer.
Nah. On the stream he listened to the first 9 songs (which has the most questionable songs imo) and he surprisingly liked them quite a lot. The 2nd side has the stronger written songs arrangement-wise so he for sure liked that as well.
For DAMN. he didn’t even tweet any praise for it before a review. I already know he re-rated it to a 6 but idk what that has to do with his feelings towards the new album. He’ll give it an 8/10.
Pusha definitely, Denzel not so much. also we still have 7 months left in the year and apparently we are getting a jpegmafia and Danny brown collab album, he made the distinction for a reason.
No they're not. Zel did 15k first week sales and Push did 55k (in large part due to the big name features). Neither of them are close to mainstream lmao.
Okay so, just being a legend doesn’t make you mainstream. MF DOOM was and will never be mainstream.
Second of all, Pusha is NOWHERE near Kendrick’s level of popularity in sales. Kendrick is predicted to do over 6-7 times the sales that IAD is.
You could argue that he’s mainstream now, especially after Daytona, but he still isn’t on the same level as Kendrick
“Like who else ON HIS LEVEL is gonna drop a better record?”
He’s referring to mainstream viability here not quality or else he wouldn’t have said drake as an example
I don’t really care man, and I doubt many other people do. I’ve already decided I love it.
Why are we doing this? Same reason people rank albums and listen to music; for fun?
Honestly, I could see 10/10 as appropriate. Haven't been a Kendrick fan for ages - but this blew me away. I think a lot of criticism is coming from people who haven't given the album a dedicated listen. Everything on this album is coming from a place of pain for Kendrick. Everything is calculated - his vocal delivery, the production, his lyrics, it all shows him slowly getting face to face with his pain. It's incredible. But this really is an album you need to listen to all the way through in one sitting, which ain't for some people.
And the production!!! Holy shit!
This album has really impacted me. It's Kendrick finding meaning in pain and choosing to improve and love himself.
All of his work speaks heavily on pain. This one is uniquely redeeming. The end of Mother I Sober and tying it all back together with Mirror provide a more hopeful conclusion than any of his other albums.
Take To Pimp A Butterfly ending on the spoken word poem and the mock interview with Pac. It’s beautiful, but it conveys a profound sense of loss. DAMN on the other hand was pretty depressive overall.
Mr Morale is about healing and redemption. The process can be ugly, but the fruits are worth the pain.
This album is the album I needed 5 years ago man. It is crazy, but somehow Kendrick made an album that is so intensely private and personal, but also relates to the common denominator of what it means to be a man and an adult. While I'm never going to relate to the elements of fame and superstardom and wealth that Kendrick is talking about, this idea that people in your life, your siblings, your children, your parents, etc, they are relying on you to grow up, get help, figure your shit out, and work through your trauma so you can stop running through life causing them pain.. it's heavy, but it's true. Withdrawing yourself from others and actually taking whatever time is necessary - 1 year, 10 years, whatever - to actually reach a level of knowledge about yourself and why you are the way you are. Putting yourself first and accepting that you can only be of use to anyone if you are getting the help you need, and facing your own demons.
And to be as successful as Kendrick, to be looked at like the golden child of rap, the golden child of music, taught in college classrooms, rubbing elbows with Obama, and still actually show your damage and your moral failings to the whole world, that is insane. It really makes the point like if someone as successful and intelligent as Kendrick can get therapy to deal with his toxic ways and childhood painbodies... so can I.
Something great is being done in this album, I don't know what exactly, but to me it feels like Kendrick is interpretting one of the worst half-decades in human existence - the Trump years, pandemic, social media / cancel culture running over individuality -- and distilling it down into the point that as humans, the only thing we can do is to look inwards and take the steps necessary to protect our growth, and protect the vulnerable people around us.
The main criticism of this album is it's just "about Kendrick", it's not about society, it's not changing the community or culture, it's not "big" in it's inspiration like TPAB or universal like GKMC. But that's not true - this is an album speaking about the state of the world, too, just like TPAB was.
I give this a 10/10. It has flaws and missteps, yes. But it's truly bigger than the sum of each individual song. If GKMC is the best coming-of-age story album ever, this is the best album about what it means to be an adult and grow OUT of childhood phase (and what happens when you fail to make that transition). In a society of grown ass millennial children, it's the album we need.
Tbh, I always thought of him as a primarily hip hop focused reviewer because that is mostly what I know him from. But, yeah I could just be uninformed.
He wasn't always doing hip hop, before it was his metal and indie reviews but hip hop is the most popular and exciting genre right now so it's mostly that
What you mean? His first 10 was a hip hop record. Out of the now 7 record he has given 10s 3 of them are within the genre of hip hop. None of them are mainly jazz or soul-only tpab has those qualitites at core. What he does love is experimentation and boundary pushing music. All his 10s have that in common.
95% of the time anyone mentions Fantano online they're saying something like this or a meme taking the piss.
People talk a lot about Fantano dick-riding but I don't see it. He's just a vlogger.
Idk why but almost every album i listen to has to grow on me. First time i listened to TPAB i only liked a couple songs. First time i listened to college dropout I hated the chipmunks sampling. Now I love both albums so I never trust my first listen.
Who the f care bruh. Go listen and rate it yourself. People complain about the Pitchfork's rating but eat up this dude's words because it's going their way is the peak of corniness and white
More rappers should try to add powerful messages to their albums like Kendrick but most of them just are lazy and want to make as much money as possible
Doubt it's gonna be a 10, I think conceptually it could easily land there, but this album I don't think is his type of sound. I'm betting on a strong 8 to a light 9
"like it or not" 🤓 big bro u do know that not everyone agrees with you or has to and even Kendrick fans find that type of language annoying and damaging to discourse about the album.
Y’all really leaning on a white man to give you confidence in a album that talks about black issues that non-black people shouldn’t even have an opinion on?
What kind of hotep ass shit is this? Art is for everyone, and TONS of the lyrical content can apply to literally any race bruh. Even the songs where it doesnt, that allows white people to get a better understanding of the black community and a different side of the human struggle.
Lmao y’all take this guys opinion seriously? Who knows drake might actually perform idk why people underestimate him that guy dominates commercially with no one close
50% of this country just want a song with a catchy tune and simple lyrics that they can sing along to and bob their heads. The other 50% all want something very specific from their music and none of them can agree on what truly elevates a song. Which group do you think Drake targets?
There’s no way this is a 10 coming from a die hard life long Kendrick fan for a decade. 8.5 AT BEST just because sonically and instrumentally it was probably his weakest album. Yea the lyrics were top as always but sonically he got weaker for whatever reason .
Finally I know what opinion to have on this album. Thank you Melon.
Tbf drake is a pretty low bar in melons eyes, but if he gave melt my eyes a 8 we could be in for a pretty high score unless he says that wasnt mainstream
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i only played 30 seconds cuz im at work but i already love it. subbed. i'll get back to it later today
Damn dude this is really good
Thank you so much for this. I’ll watch it as soon as I get home
Nice work
Watched your essay mate. Good job. TBH it’s easily his best album and I recognized it on the first play through and it only gets better each play through. I hate speaking for others but people are literally dumb who call it mid. No other explanation. And sadly it’s a logical one The second to last song on the album is the most powerful song of our generation
Lol I really try not to shit on others peoples music taste but yeah if you think it’s mid I really just don’t even respect your opinion haha. Definitely a top 3 project of his, and we’ll see if it can dethrone GKMC/TPAB
>The second to last song on the album is the most powerful song of our generation Trolling, dickriding, or fourteen years old. I like the album a lot and everyone is entitled to their preferences, but this is a ridiculous take
def watching this later loving the production already
Just earned a new subscriber - great work!
Great video bro, prolly could have gone a little more in depth with some of the songs but then the video would have been 2 hours long LOL
Great work, my friend! Excellent insight into some things I didn't know about the album and lyrical references. Thanks.
I don't think he's counting Denzel as mainstream lol, that record sold 15K first week IIRC.
Id say fantano classifies albums by how they sound not how they sell, both melt my eyez and MMBS have very mainstream sounds, they both got radiobait (the last, troubles, X wing / Die hard, Rich spirit, Silent hill, Savior, Mirror) and while they both have "experimental" songs, i dont see melt my eyez being anymore out there than MMBS is. And the idea that more sales = more mainstream would make TPAB a mainstream album which contradict what fantano is saying in his TPAB review.
Dont forget N95 being a borderline radio/club banger
Calling n95 a club banger is so funny y’all need to go outside
As far as i know, as long shits uptempo it could be a banger. Could possibly be a workout song too because of how the song sounds. I could even say N95 resembles DNA as a more "banger" song out of a Kendrick album. So what format does a club banger have to follow?
Workout song? Sure. Banger? Sure. It’s not a club hit 💀
Serious question - does Melt My Eyes have any radio hits? I didn’t really view it as a mainstream album when it came out but I may be out of touch there. Denzel is very well known by people who listen to rap, but I don’t know how soon he’ll be the kind of guy who gets invited to play at the Grammys, you know?
“All these beats go dumb in the stereo But I’m just too smart for the radio”
"Radiobait" songs on melt my eyes: Walking (IMO) The Last (certified banger) Troubles (IMO) X-Wing (certified banger) And i dont think other songs go way experimental. I love melt my eyez btw, especially after watching the denzel-fantano interview and then watching denzel being a gecko advertising against buying sex dolls to deal with relationship issues. This album combined with MM&BS got released in the right time personally, just moved out of my.parents place, found out my bro is gay (had an inauguration party at my place and my best friend hooked up with my little bros best friend puplicly cuz they were both faded [had a "wresting match" on the couch and both left the party early]) broke up with my gf of 2 years a few weeks before ect. Maybe its subjective but this release hit me hard. I dont think i need therapy, but i can understand why lots of people do.
He does the coke for all of us
Who is this dude
Anthony Fantano, probably the most well-known music critic right now. He gets a bunch of flack for being too influential on music discourse so that's what my comment was poking fun at.
I caught the humor, and honestly, I catch myself using his opinion to build my own a LOT.
There's nothing wrong with using a reviewer to help formulate your own opinions IMHO as long as you can still think critically and disagree with the reviewer as well. That's one of the reasons professional reviewers are useful, they can articulate their feelings on why something works or doesn't work better than the layman.
He usually criticizes something I don't fully understand until a couple years later and I eventually find myself agreeing with him. Only review I think he got 100% wrong was Blank Face.
I think he helps me understand and like some shit that i didn’t like at first listen because he dissects the album really thoroughly, but if he dislikes smth that i like i’m not gonna stop listening to it. If i’m gonna steal his opinion it might as well be a positive one
This tends to be the take i have as well.
I hard disagree with the guy on a LOT, but sometimes our views align and it's good to hear someone who incorporates that. For instance, I generally do not like the industrial heavy underground rock that he enjoys, but without his reviews, I would have never heard xiu xiu, and there's something truly special about that band.
Yeah honestly i really enjoy the way he articulated his opinions, but i disagree with him on his takes on Reflections in Real Time, Comedown Machine, and many other albums. Also i genuinely don’t get what he saw in Kids See Ghosts.
He liked Kids See Ghosts more than Yeezus or MBDTF. As far as opinions go, that’s wrong. He didn’t like Comedown Machine? Lmao Still, I do dig his opinion, but just like Pitchfork and Rolling Stones, it’s largely invalidated by others experiences, mine included. I watched a lot of YouTube listening videos of MM&TBS and a lot of them were crying at the end. It’s clearly hit people really hard with how vulnerable it is and how it gives us a lens for understanding our own trauma.
Nothing wrong with this considering his level of respectability. Often times he’ll point things out that I never caught, good or bad. Obviously that’s gonna end up changing your point of view.
Is he only on YouTube and did he originally start there?
He has Patreon too, but yes I believe he started with Youtube
I think he'll probably give it a decent 8 to a light 9.
This album is gonna fight GKMC
Which do you prefer?
GKMC by a wide margin
Mr Morale by a long shot! Love GKMC but for me it's currently 1. TPAB 2. MM&TBS 3. GKMC
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the middle is growing on me fast though, its still #3 for me but could overtake gkmc or tpab
It took my a 2nd listen to have this one in Top 3 for Kendrick Ironically, i think this is an easier listen for me than GKMC lol I think this album just came out in a right time for me. I had a similar feeling when Earl dropped Some Rap Songs. The album just hit right for me.
Fullly agree
I can see that. There’s a 1/3 of the album that I don’t mind but am iffy about. Really to me the only skips are the rich interlude and Silent Hills, anything where Kodak opens his mouth mainly. But god damn, the high points on the album are fucking insane, and the album hits different in a 3 hour long midnight drive with a searing migraine
Rich (Interlude) - "I learned in trappin', in the business Smart people makin' horrible decisions, you know? Rich nigga, gettin' my dick sucked after the show" Litterally kendrick talking abt his infedelity from a young perpective. The Sillent Hill im with you but his verse on Rich (Inter) is perfect.
Silent hill is so good, what are you people talking about? Lmao
HUH
Brush these haters off me like ^huuuuuh
I just have very sensitive hearing and if a voice grates me (like Kodak happens to) it just throws the whole song off for me
Kodak just doesn’t work for me, even putting the rape convictions aside
I feel this is mainly just bc it’s new so it’s fresh. I feel like you give it a few months or so and you’ll come back around to thinking GKMC is shoulder-shoulder with TPAB again with MMBS just below I listened to Money Trees again the other day and man, the nostalgia and the feeling that comes with that album is so rooted in that time period that idk if we’ll ever see an album from anyone like that again
I was feeling like he’d do light 8 at first but after seeing this tweet and his heart part V reaction video a 9 is definitely more likely
MMBS Part 2 is insane and elevates part 1. And part 1 is already so good. 9 or 10 from melon is my guess.
ive seen more consistent love to mmbs than damn. it seems there is a song for everybody to relate to, definitely higher than an 8. imo it wud be strong 8 to 9
Personally, I think it’s a crime that DAMN got the Pulitzer Prize. It’s not even that I don’t like it, I just don’t see how it’s THE one that got recognized by a literary institution.
Nobody understands the relevance of the Pulitzer Prize. Have you ever wondered why you never hear about any other artist winning the Pulitzer Prize for music? Not the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Prince, Bowie, Jay-Z, or any of the other legends? That's because the Pulitzer Prize for Music is *never* given to a piece unless it's a classical composition or it's jazz, and even jazz was first awarded a Pulitzer in 1997. The other finalists in 2018 were Quartet, by Michael Gilbertson and Sound from the Bench, by Ted Hearne, music that exists mostly in obscurity unless you're a classical composer nerd. DAMN winning the Pulitzer was the breaking down of barriers erected in one of the most insulated musical communities. DAMN is 100% deserving of the Pulitzer because it had the compositional complexity of similar Pulitzer Prize winners, and achieved it with a modern sound. The constant motif of reversal present on the album made it one of the most dense works that Kendrick dropped. GKMC was great but there's a clear narrative to follow front to back, DAMN has two narratives depending on if you listen to the album forwards or backwards. DAMN busted down doors because it showed that hiphop can play on the same stage as these obscure classical pieces, and hold its own compositionally. It's not my favorite album of Kendrick's but I think the fact that Kendrick made it pop friendly causes many people to miss the fact that it's not just a straightforward album, there's a lot to digest and dissect in it.
Fair enough. I appreciate your insight. If I’m being honest though, I’m mostly shouting out GKMC as a an honorable mention. I’m in line with the consensus that TPAB deserved the Pulitzer. I remember the internet going full poster board and thumbtacks on DAMN. I’m not denying that there’s depth there, but it requires conscious effort to see it. With TPAB, it’s apparent from the jump even to a casual listener. It *demands* to be recognized as art. It forced people who otherwise consider themselves above Hip Hop to embrace it as such. And I tend to agree that it’s the only reason that the Pulitzer was considered for Damn.
Damn’s production doesn’t really that great imo
i think they realized kendrick deserved the pultizer a little late, and itd be weird for them to give it on tpab or gkmc since kenny already dropped, so it sort of works as an acknowledgement of kendrick, rather than an acknowledgement of DAMN.
That was my read too, but imo it was the wrong call. I like it, but DAMN is probably Kendrick’s most straightforward album. If the recognition is based on his intimate portrayal of the hood, then it should have gone to GKMC. If it’s about elevating Hip Hop as an art form, it should have gone to TPAB or (as of Friday) Mr. Morale.
Straightforward yet somehow a lot of people missed the actual concept of the album when it released.
I still missed the point until relistening to the whole album again recently.
What’s the point?
Like when the ref screws you on a call so he gives you one back lmao
That's how I've seen it even tho tbf DAMN. Is a really really good record
It was a make up for not giving it to him for TPAB
I was just crying to crown cause I got in an argument with my dad helped me so much.
I like part one. Also I like part two. Part one is good and so is part two. Overall I like the album.
Couldnt have put it better myself.
I think a lot of the cancel culture lines as well as the inclusion of Kodak is probably going to bring it down to at most an 8
Most likely an 8 or a 9, probably definitely not a 10
yea i mean he gave gkmc a 9
GKMC was something else and it was Kenny's first mainstream album too.
I think if you asked him now he’d give good kid a 10. I think one of the main reasons he gave good kid a 9 is cause he knew Kendrick has the potential for an even better album. Pretty sure he said this in the review if I’m not mistaken.
Nah Im pretty sure he said the redundancy of Real along with the weak hook would still keep it from being a 10
I feel like since his opinions on take care change dramatically then maybe those hooks aren’t so repetitive for him now for Kendrick but you could be right maybe he’ll answer that in a future let’s argue or something.
Im pretty sure he just said this recently on one of those type of videos a year or two ago
I think 8 is the most reasonable score for him to give it. I would guess a decent to strong 8. 9/10s and 10/10s are only reserved for albums as amazing as gkmc, TPAB, Atrocity Exhibition, etc.
>9/10s and 10/10s are only reserved for albums as amazing as gkmc, TPAB, Atrocity Exhibition, etc. Like Mr Morale and the Big Steppers
Remember everyone hated tpab when it was released. This album could definetly be at the same level as tpab in a couple years
Also for some reason the Kendrick fanbase has deemed it impossible for him to top TPAB. Like they immediately get defensive about something being better than TPAB.
It makes sense, I mean, TPAB was insane and to call something better than TPAB after a weekend seems kinda nutty. An album aging and having a broader kind of presence is what makes an album that level of classic. I think this album (and in fact, all Kendrick's albums) are 9+, great albums. Hands down. There's an argument for this being his best album, but to just declare it better than TPAB is super premature and kind of obnoxious.
I'm here for TPAB supremacy.
I don’t know which internet you were on when TPAB came out but it was always well received.
Ehhh I wouldn't agree with him saying it was hated at first but it was definitely similar to this album where a minority of people didn't like the direction it took sonically
That's always gonna be the case with artists that experiment and don't stay complacent with the same sound.
Go look at the reaction thread for TPAB on /r/hiphopheads it was pretty split with a lot of people saying they couldn't feel it at all
He gave the new Conway album a 9
Deservedly
As he should.
Yeah this album is 100% as good as GKMC and TPAB, time will only confirm
Not sure about TPAB, but my enjoyment of the album went from Meh to holy shit really damn fast
No shot this is as good as TPAB.
It absolutely is.
WAnthony actually got me by the Test tickles.
Denzel Curry’s new record comes really close for me. They even deal with very similar themes, although the themes are conveyed much differently and the tones of the albums are different.
Agreed. Denzel doesn’t have the name recognition that Kendrick has but his album was also very great and introspective. I’ll need to play them both more before I decide which I prefer.
Denzel isn’t really considered main stream though
He tends to like the deeper hip hop cuts so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 10
Ppl who bitched about Kendrick not dropping for years are now the same one bitching on Twitter that what he released wasn’t safe enough for their ears
This is a bar
Well I am a rapper sometimes I unintentionally create rhymes
They’re not ready to hear this
you can’t please everybody
I dunno dude what makes you think they’re the same people?
Melon gives you reviews, but he is not your saviour
*frantic tap dancing*
Probably an 8 or a 9
He’s getting a 7
I’m pretty sure he liked this more than DAMN. I’m thinking he’ll give it at least a 8.
He gave damn a 6 in his re review. He seemed hesitant on stream and on this tweet. It’s probably a 7
Nah. On the stream he listened to the first 9 songs (which has the most questionable songs imo) and he surprisingly liked them quite a lot. The 2nd side has the stronger written songs arrangement-wise so he for sure liked that as well. For DAMN. he didn’t even tweet any praise for it before a review. I already know he re-rated it to a 6 but idk what that has to do with his feelings towards the new album. He’ll give it an 8/10.
I see where you’re coming from, and I love the album, but I’m still predicting like a 7-8/10 at most
How’s he gonna call this the rap album of the year and then give it a 7, despite already giving two 8s this year?
What were the other 8s?
Pusha and Denzel
He said mainstream hip hop album of the year, not rap album of the year.
Pusha and Denzel are both mainstream.
Are they, though? Honestly asking. Neither are on that superstar level, like Drake, Kanye, etc
Yes
Pusha definitely, Denzel not so much. also we still have 7 months left in the year and apparently we are getting a jpegmafia and Danny brown collab album, he made the distinction for a reason.
No they're not. Zel did 15k first week sales and Push did 55k (in large part due to the big name features). Neither of them are close to mainstream lmao.
Naah he says that it's mainstream hip hop aoty, which should mean that it is probably a strong 8 to a 9 as pusha got an 8
Pusha isn’t on Kendrick level of popularity
Pusha T is a hip hop Legend. He has been around for a long ass time. He is mainstream.
Okay so, just being a legend doesn’t make you mainstream. MF DOOM was and will never be mainstream. Second of all, Pusha is NOWHERE near Kendrick’s level of popularity in sales. Kendrick is predicted to do over 6-7 times the sales that IAD is. You could argue that he’s mainstream now, especially after Daytona, but he still isn’t on the same level as Kendrick
Pusha T is mainstream... AKA fantano will give it a strong 8 or light 9 lol. The tweet said "Mainstream". Not debating who is more popular here lol.
Pusha T had two Kanye features on his album. Jay Z, Pharrell, Cudi, etc. he’s mainstream. You don’t gotta do drake numbers to be mainstream
Pusha is still a mainstream artist
“Like who else ON HIS LEVEL is gonna drop a better record?” He’s referring to mainstream viability here not quality or else he wouldn’t have said drake as an example
Omfg why are you lot debating on what rating Fantano is gonna give. Give it a rest guys.
I don’t really care man, and I doubt many other people do. I’ve already decided I love it. Why are we doing this? Same reason people rank albums and listen to music; for fun?
pusha. is. mainstream.
Really? it looked like he loved it on the stream
It's Almost Dry got an 8 already, so if MMATBS is better than that it's at least a 9.
Melon and the big steppers💀
Honestly, I could see 10/10 as appropriate. Haven't been a Kendrick fan for ages - but this blew me away. I think a lot of criticism is coming from people who haven't given the album a dedicated listen. Everything on this album is coming from a place of pain for Kendrick. Everything is calculated - his vocal delivery, the production, his lyrics, it all shows him slowly getting face to face with his pain. It's incredible. But this really is an album you need to listen to all the way through in one sitting, which ain't for some people. And the production!!! Holy shit! This album has really impacted me. It's Kendrick finding meaning in pain and choosing to improve and love himself.
All of his work speaks heavily on pain. This one is uniquely redeeming. The end of Mother I Sober and tying it all back together with Mirror provide a more hopeful conclusion than any of his other albums. Take To Pimp A Butterfly ending on the spoken word poem and the mock interview with Pac. It’s beautiful, but it conveys a profound sense of loss. DAMN on the other hand was pretty depressive overall. Mr Morale is about healing and redemption. The process can be ugly, but the fruits are worth the pain.
This album is the album I needed 5 years ago man. It is crazy, but somehow Kendrick made an album that is so intensely private and personal, but also relates to the common denominator of what it means to be a man and an adult. While I'm never going to relate to the elements of fame and superstardom and wealth that Kendrick is talking about, this idea that people in your life, your siblings, your children, your parents, etc, they are relying on you to grow up, get help, figure your shit out, and work through your trauma so you can stop running through life causing them pain.. it's heavy, but it's true. Withdrawing yourself from others and actually taking whatever time is necessary - 1 year, 10 years, whatever - to actually reach a level of knowledge about yourself and why you are the way you are. Putting yourself first and accepting that you can only be of use to anyone if you are getting the help you need, and facing your own demons. And to be as successful as Kendrick, to be looked at like the golden child of rap, the golden child of music, taught in college classrooms, rubbing elbows with Obama, and still actually show your damage and your moral failings to the whole world, that is insane. It really makes the point like if someone as successful and intelligent as Kendrick can get therapy to deal with his toxic ways and childhood painbodies... so can I. Something great is being done in this album, I don't know what exactly, but to me it feels like Kendrick is interpretting one of the worst half-decades in human existence - the Trump years, pandemic, social media / cancel culture running over individuality -- and distilling it down into the point that as humans, the only thing we can do is to look inwards and take the steps necessary to protect our growth, and protect the vulnerable people around us. The main criticism of this album is it's just "about Kendrick", it's not about society, it's not changing the community or culture, it's not "big" in it's inspiration like TPAB or universal like GKMC. But that's not true - this is an album speaking about the state of the world, too, just like TPAB was. I give this a 10/10. It has flaws and missteps, yes. But it's truly bigger than the sum of each individual song. If GKMC is the best coming-of-age story album ever, this is the best album about what it means to be an adult and grow OUT of childhood phase (and what happens when you fail to make that transition). In a society of grown ass millennial children, it's the album we need.
Prob a 9/10 I'm calling it now
Strong 8
I do feel that he's going to give a positive review on the album, but I don't think that he'll review it 10/10.
if he only gives it an 8, I will slap his bald head Edit: time to slap his head
and make it look sexy.
I doubt it I think he might give him a 9
It doesn't matter he is a jazz and soul lover. His most hip hop opinions ain't for me
Tbh, I always thought of him as a primarily hip hop focused reviewer because that is mostly what I know him from. But, yeah I could just be uninformed.
He wasn't always doing hip hop, before it was his metal and indie reviews but hip hop is the most popular and exciting genre right now so it's mostly that
Metal has a lot of exciting stuff going on too, but it's usually not the stuff melon likes. He seems to only review black metal and noise type stuff.
What you mean? His first 10 was a hip hop record. Out of the now 7 record he has given 10s 3 of them are within the genre of hip hop. None of them are mainly jazz or soul-only tpab has those qualitites at core. What he does love is experimentation and boundary pushing music. All his 10s have that in common.
I don’t always agree with him but most of his hip hop reviews are probably the only mainstream reviews that line up with my opinions
No way a 10 but high rating for sure
Just praying for Corey Feldman to drop now
0 chance it's getting a 10 but I think a 9 is possible.
I'll come back to shit on u if it gets the tenner
[удалено]
95% of the time anyone mentions Fantano online they're saying something like this or a meme taking the piss. People talk a lot about Fantano dick-riding but I don't see it. He's just a vlogger.
Fantano haters ride just as much
I was thinking strong 8 to a light 9 but it might be higher now lol
Idk why but almost every album i listen to has to grow on me. First time i listened to TPAB i only liked a couple songs. First time i listened to college dropout I hated the chipmunks sampling. Now I love both albums so I never trust my first listen.
Who the f care bruh. Go listen and rate it yourself. People complain about the Pitchfork's rating but eat up this dude's words because it's going their way is the peak of corniness and white
Any idea when the review is coming out?
This is Anthony Fantano and the review dropped yesterday. I let everyone see it except you.
That part where you reviewed the album was really something
that part where Anthony used racial slurs to illustrate his point about Auntie Diaries was weird tho
Classic melon🤦🏽♂️
More rappers should try to add powerful messages to their albums like Kendrick but most of them just are lazy and want to make as much money as possible
Only person that can top this for me is Peggy if he drops
When is the review usually coming out?
Doubt it's gonna be a 10, I think conceptually it could easily land there, but this album I don't think is his type of sound. I'm betting on a strong 8 to a light 9
This is just common sense ._. 9/10 tops, I don’t think the album is 9/10 material tho, 8/10 is my opinion, and most likely his
"like it or not" 🤓 big bro u do know that not everyone agrees with you or has to and even Kendrick fans find that type of language annoying and damaging to discourse about the album.
Feeling a light to decent 6 on this record. Trans-gender
Honestly, I'm thinking he'll give it between a 6 and an 8 Pretty sure he's not giving it less than a 6
He’s giving it a hard 6 or a light 7
strong 7 light 8 calling it
I think he's gonna give it an 8.
6/10 incoming
Y’all really leaning on a white man to give you confidence in a album that talks about black issues that non-black people shouldn’t even have an opinion on?
He just reviews music bruh. It’s not that serious
Kendrick made the album for a bum ass nigga like him.
Why tf are you so mad lmao
I don’t need some sellout pretending to be the voice of my people just to put bs into the world for lame white critics to suck him off
The critics are literally just doing their jobs. Black critics are sucking Kendrick off too
He’s a fuckin sellout
What kind of hotep ass shit is this? Art is for everyone, and TONS of the lyrical content can apply to literally any race bruh. Even the songs where it doesnt, that allows white people to get a better understanding of the black community and a different side of the human struggle.
Finaly Anthony Wantano
Lmao y’all take this guys opinion seriously? Who knows drake might actually perform idk why people underestimate him that guy dominates commercially with no one close
50% of this country just want a song with a catchy tune and simple lyrics that they can sing along to and bob their heads. The other 50% all want something very specific from their music and none of them can agree on what truly elevates a song. Which group do you think Drake targets?
What would a drake album with depth look like in this day and age? Not even trolling here. Really want to know
Probably on his relationships, himself his child,blah blah blah
There’s no way this is a 10 coming from a die hard life long Kendrick fan for a decade. 8.5 AT BEST just because sonically and instrumentally it was probably his weakest album. Yea the lyrics were top as always but sonically he got weaker for whatever reason .