Texan Mosaic

by JONATHAN BROOKSHIRE//Social Media Coordinator

Kendrick Lamar is arguably one of the best rappers of all time.

With the release of his newest extended play (EP), Lamar makes his way that much closer to the top of the game.

The album, “untitled unmastered,” is not a full-fledged studio album, but rather a collection of unreleased demos that originated from his last major work of art, “To Pimp a Butterfly.”

Lamar uses the same political and religious lyrics, along with jazzy free-form beats previously used in “To Pimp a Butterfly.”

On the second track, the intro has Lamar chanting “pimp-pimp! Hooray!” This part of the song was obviously a part of his last album, and a play on the popular cheer hip-hip hooray.

It’s my understanding that the intro is used to accentuate the sarcasm that the line expresses.

Lamar is obviously against the evils in the world, such as racism, corrupt politics, and religion. This line uses sarcasm to criticize the problem of prostitution.

Every song in this collection is meaningful, expressing his worries with politics and religion.

One of the other main points in his work is racism.

Grammy Award-winning artist Anna Wise helps Lamar speak his opinion on the topic of race.

On the third track, the verses are divided by a question from Wise, asking what did the Asian say? What did the Indian say? What did the [African] man say? And what did the white man say?

Lamar shows how each race gives advice, while showing how the white man is materialistic.

At the end of the song, he shows his love for his race by singing the chant, “Tell ‘em we don’t die, tell ‘em we don’t die, tell ‘em we don’t die, we multiply.”

There is a reason he is called “King Kendrick.” The flows of his raps, along with the combination of jazz instruments, quirky sounds, and interesting slang, make his music undeniably Lamar.

Before he released the EP, Lamar performed some of the songs on TV shows such as “The Colbert Report,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and also the 2016 Grammy Awards.

It was at the Grammys where Lamar revealed that he had a collection of tracks that didn’t make it onto the album “To Pimp A Butterfly.”

“I got a chamber of material from the album that I was in love [with],” Lamar said, according to Rolling Stone. “Sample clearances or something as simple as a deadline kept it off the album.”

“Untitled unmastered” doesn’t really sound like a mixtape. It is exactly what Lamar said. The lyrics and messages of each of the songs sound like it’s from “To Pimp A Butterfly.”

To even verify this, the dates of the songs were written and recorded are imprinted on each of the tracks, spanning from 2013 to 2016.

The EP gives the listener different sounds for different moods.

My favorite song to just jam to was track eight. The funky upbeat sound and flow of the song, coupled with the chorus, just makes me want to dance.

On the other hand, track two is my go-to song for a real rap sound. The deeper bass and more prolific lyrics make it feel serious. The second half of the song is where this really takes place. The first half was sort of slow, which amplified the social ridicule that Lamar has throughout the EP.

Track six features Cee-Lo Green. His lyrics are calm, but thought-provoking and accentuate the funky sound of the track.

Out of the entire EP, the only thing I didn’t like were the slow starts and heavy use of instrumentals. They were nice, but it’s sort of like teasing your ears. You get a taste of the lyrics, but when Lamar stops, you expect him to start not long after. But the pauses are a bit too long. I found myself skipping some of the songs more than usual because of that.

Some might say that “untitled unmastered” is nothing more than the scraps of his last album, but it should be considered as something separate.

Given that, “untitled unmastered” is just as classic as his last album.

Lamar never disappoints when he releases a song, whether he is featuring on another song or creating a studio album.

I give “untitled unmastered” a solid 4 out of 5 stars.