'Damn' Is Kendrick's Smallest Album, and It Might Be His Best
Kendrick Lamar is human again. On To Pimp a Butterfly he asked to be loved like Nelson Mandela and Michael Jackson—and he meant it. He wanted to embody the highest ideals of artistry and leadership and purpose. On Damn he just wants be himself. Stripped of the charged symbolism of To Pimp a Butterfly and the soul-baring confessions of Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, Damn is weightless minimalism, rap pared down to one man speaking his mind in all its complexities and contradictions and convictions, the music itself corroded into a sludge of soul, bass, and 808s. It’s one of the most thorough redefinitions since Yeezus, and in many ways Kendrick’s most ambitious album to date.
Track Listing
1. BLOOD
2. DNA
3. YAH
4. ELEMENT
5. FEEL
6. LOYALTY. FEAT. RIHANNA
7. PRIDE
8. HUMBLE
9. LUST
10. LOVE. FEAT. ZACARI
11. XXX. FEAT. U2
12. FEAR
13. GOD
14. DUCKWORTH
