“Amazing brother” are the first two words that come to mind when I think about Kendrick Lamar’s return to the hip hop premise this year. As a feature on the hit songs “family ties & range brothers” with rising star Baby Keem, Kendrick chose to link up with his cousin to release two bangers for his long awaited return back into the hip hop arena. Retrospective bars from Kenny in the beginning of his verse on family ties complimented his altering cadences as he warmed up on the beat to create yet another spectacular verse. Kenny’s verses on family ties and range brothers reminded the fans just how much the music game missed Kendrick Lamar’s creativity and authenticity today.
The last time Kendrick released a studio album was in the year 2017, “DAMN.”. Kendrick’s fourth studio album elevated his musical resume after receiving high ratings and major critical-acclaim across all platforms. Kendrick’s alter ego (Kung Fu Kenny) made frequent appearances throughout the album. Kung Fu Kenny presents an aura that feels like a perspective of self-awareness and personal enlightenment. Similar to what the Black Mamba became for Kobe Bryant once he reached a certain level within his craft after putting in so much work and dedication. Kendrick acknowledges his alter ego as he opens up about his most recognizable emotional imbalances and insecurities since he has achieved fame and fortune. However just because Kendrick revealed a side of himself to us that may have seemed foreign at the time, he made sure that Kung Fu Kenny was present to also remind us how lethal he can get with his pen and pad at any moment.
Religion, love, lust, fear, pride, Kendrick tackled so many topics that are relatable to the average person. Many artists make albums covering these same topics and scenarios however the separation between Kenny and the average artist has always been Kenny’s style and flare. The majority of rappers in hip-hop today make songs about lifestyles that seem unattainable for the average listener, or sometimes too harsh and vulgar on softer ears. Kendrick is able to translate his real life experiences and learned lessons through his writing and experimental sounds in his music to paint pictures and visions in the mind of the listener. This helps him reach his audience on a deeper level and often times leaves them thinking about another perspective.
Kenny’s resistance to being mediocre is expressed on DAMN with songs like FEAR and ELEMENT. Kendrick explained on ELEMENT why no matter what he is attempting he’s going to “make it look sexy” or in other words, do it to the best of his ability which is usually better than his competition. He collaborated with the Grammy-award winning rock band U2 on the song “XXX”, and addressed the issue of gun control in the United States. Kenny does this from the perspective of a kid growing up under the influence of his environment, and then from the view of a father of who lost his child to gun violence. Kung Fu Kenny was in full effect on two of the most popular songs on the album, “DNA” and “HUMBLE”. Kenny effortlessly flowed on those two beats from Mike Will Made It, with hard hitting punchlines and memorable bars like “I’m so f******* sick and tired of the photoshop show me something natural like afro on Richard Pryor”.
The authenticity of DAMN can be broken down and examined on so many levels however for time sake we will finish this up by reminding you that Kung Fu Kenny will return again. Hopefully he blesses his fans with another classic mind-capturing fifth studio album.