October 22, 2012
Aftermath Entertainment
2xLP
good kid, m.a.a.d. city is among the most fully realized concept albums ever committed to wax. Over 70 minutes, you are warped into a harrowing, non-linear day in Compton, viewed through the lens of a young Kendrick Lamar's eyes as he grapples with family disfunction, gang life, religious salvation, teenage swagger, life and death. By the time the post-credits scene rolls around, you'll feel as if you've lived another life. It's not the album that netted Lamar a Pulitzer, but if a more intricately written album has been released in the last decade, we haven't heard it.