Top Dawg Entertainment had a banner year in 2013. They capped off 2012 with Kendrick Lamar’s prodigious release and rode the tidal wave of success all the way to a platinum album and even into this year’s Grammy’s. While good kid, m.A.A.d city didn’t earn anything that night other than a sanctimonious text message, the cultural impact of the album helped catapult the whole Black Hippy and TDE squad into the limelight. However, there were plenty of quality releases to come out of Top Dawg’s house prior to October 2012 that deserve to be talked about, as well. With Schoolboy Q’s Oxymoron finally arriving on iTunes (and those big brick and mortar things in the real world), we thought it would be appropriate to take a retrospective on the past releases of the label. Kendrick may be running ahead of the pack, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the label is lagging behind. TDE has been eatin’ for years. [Ed. Note: This list is meant to examine official albums over projects initially given away for free, thus omitting such releases as Kendrick Lamar’s Overly Dedicated and Jay Rock’s Black Friday.]

 9) Setbacks

Schoolboy Q will be the first to tell you he didn’t always dream of becoming a rapper. In fact, he noted that the concept behind Setbacks was to talk about all the reasons why he can’t rap. From drugs to women, Schoolboy had plenty of distractions and rap was only a means to an end. Given this, one would assume the album would more or less suck, but it’s quite impressive, especially considering all the aforementioned circumstances. Q had a long way to go to improve his mic skills, but the material was already in place for a promising career.

8) Longterm Mentality

Ab-Soul said he wanted Longterm Mentality to capture his life and his aspirations in the music business. While his debut was not meant to be a continuation of his Longterm mixtapes, it was still an all-encompassing idea of the themes presented in the previous two works. Songs like “Almost There” demonstrate Ab’s sacrifices and ambition to make it big in the game. While the album was understandably a little raw and underdeveloped, it was clear that Ab-Soul had plenty of potential and a lot more to say.

7) Cilvia Demo

Isaiah Rashad initially planned for Cilvia Demo to be exclusively verses, with each song averaging around 90 seconds. After continued studio time, the project morphed into an official EP (although even that can be debated given its LP length). Rashad seamlessly blends harmonizing, rapping and melodies into a dreamy 14-track sequence. Vices, demons, insecurities and hopes are all explored here, and are mostly handled exclusively by Rashad with minimal features, making for an even more impressive debut.

6) Control System

Ab-Soul may be the “weirdo” of the Black Hippy crew, but he comes alive through his music. His independent sophomore effort demonstrated plenty of growth for one year’s time. While Longterm Mentality focused inward, Ab turned his pen outward on Control System and broadened his subject matter to society and politics. He continued to self-analyze as well, except this time it was with far more polished beats and flows.

5) Habits & Contradictions

A year following Setbacks, Schoolboy Q had grown into a far more confident rapper. He showcased a better understanding of song structure, with a hit record in “Hands on the Wheel,” while demonstrating rarely-seen vulnerability on ‘Blessed.” Furthermore, he became infinitely more menacing and haunting on “Oxy Music” and “Nightmare on Figg Street.” The makings of Oxymoron were already in place here.

4) Oxymoron

After a few false starts, Q’s major label debut arrived to critical praise. The missteps of Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions were mostly absent on Oxymoron and we instead received a focused body of work. Furthering the introspection from his previous album, Q delved deeper into his drugs problems on “Prescription,” easily his most personal record to date. Records like “Gangsta” and “Fuck LA” showcased the aggressive side of Schoolboy that made him a TDE favorite and he even tacked on some crossover potentials such as ‘Studio” for good measure. The South Central spitter also proved he could mostly stand on his own two feet, limiting the Black Hippy features and going for self. While Oxymoron may not have been the crowned jewel of the Top Dawg catalog, it was by far Schoolboy Q’s best body of work.

3) Section.80

Kendrick had been around for a while by the time Section.80 rolled in, but it was this album that put the Compton native on the mainstream map (and caught the ear of Dr. Dre). Kendrick’s penchant for anthemic hooks was fully developed by this point, and he flexed those abilities with tracks like “Fuck Your Ethnicity” and “HiiiPower.” While there were plenty of attention grabbers such as those, it was Kendrick’s heart that kept people listening. “Tammy’s Song” and “Keisha’s Song” showed the depth that the Black Hippy capo had and his potential for crafting timeless music.

2) Follow Me Home

Following Jay Rock home was an exhausting ordeal. The Watts rapper had unsuccessful stints at both Asylum and Warner Records before finally signing to Tech N9ne’s Strange Music in 2010. Rock would then spend a while on the road and deliver his Black Friday mixtape before finally dropping his debut album in July 2011. While Follow Me Home was not a commercial success, it was critically praised for its classic West Coast lyrics and booming production. Songs like “Elbows” and “Just Like Me” demonstrated Rock’s knowledge for the importance of powerful hooks, while “Code Red” and “Bout That” delivered a menacing feel for his core audience. The album bleeds with vintage West Coast gangsterism yet sets itself apart with fresh flows ideas.

1) good kid, m.A.A.d city

No surprise here. When it came out to unanimous critical praise in October 2012, Kendrick Lamar said the only thing keeping good kid, m.A.A.d city from classic status was time. Well, it has been over a year and the album is still as good as ever, if not better. GKMC is a fully-conceived, thought-out story, the likes of which we rarely get in hip-hop. Not only does the album require your full attention in order to understand the narrative, but it also has some jams on there for you to vibe to. “Backseat Freestyle” and “m.A.A.d city” are high octane tracks that demand movement when being played, while “Money Trees” and ‘Poetic Justice” soothe your soul. Add to that moving records like “Sing About Me” and you have the recipe for a masterpiece.

Where does Oxymoron fit in to TDE’s catalog now that its available? Let us know.

The post Ranking TDE’s Albums From Worst to Best appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

To paraphrase the good kid himself, Kendrick Lamar came to Governor’s Ball to party. While he certainly did just that, he couldn’t help but reach for more. Leading off with the near-forgotten yet energetic “West Side Right On Time”, followed by “Hol’ Up”, “Pussy & Patron”, “Fuckin Problems” and the remix of Young Jeezy’s “R.I.P.”, K.Dot clearly was pushing the themes of celebration and all that comes with it, and doing so while reaching out to the wider audience that festivals bring by employing some of his prolific guest work. Before beginning “Hol’ Up” and again before “P&P”, Kendrick made a point of asking who in the audience had been fans from day one; who would rock out and rap along to hits from his lesser known work on Section.80 and Overly Dedicated. The crowd would have gotten an A in enthusiasm but a C in knowledge, which hurt the energy as some people seemed thrown by the inclusion of “West Side Right On Time” and “Pussy & Patron”.

Ever the poet and perfectionist, Kendrick was not content to simply convince the crowd that NYC was the most hype city in the country, or rattle chests to the point of near-heart-attack with “m.a.a.d. city”. Kendrick’s live performance, much like his recorded work held a focus on lyrics and cohesion. To bring a greater attention to his words, Kendrick cut the beat at the end of several songs so that he could rap the most recent verse over again in perfect clarity, accompanied by the crowd.

To give the slew a songs a sense of interconnectedness, Kendrick went on several short rants, each ending with either on the topic of next track or its title—a faux-worried tangent about the crowd’s energy level led into “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe”; an invitation to drink with the star after the show preceded “Swimming Pools (Drank)”. By almost conversationally introducing each song, Kendrick lent not only a sense of improvisation—epitomized in his four-bar freestyle ending with the words “fucking problem”; cue the beat—but also that the lyrics and melodies we were hearing were the story of that very afternoon on Randall’s Island; that Kendrick had selected each track to be a cog in the real-time narration of the festival’s most consistently alive set.

Kendrick was Governor’s Ball’s most commanding, most engaging Master of Ceremonies. To ensure that his hour and fifteen minute set was the most energetic of the festival, Kendrick made a point of connecting with his audience, playing with their expectations and challenging to get loud, then get louder. Kendrick separated the crowd into thirds and reattached them with the swiftness of an aged conductor, and the frenzy of “m.A.A.d. city”’s narrator, raising and lowering them with one confident, swooping black motion after the next.

Kendrick repeatedly expressed his wish to have a good time, as if he was an audience member who had just happened to launch on stage. That’s not to say, however, that he’s remained the average joe he once made himself out to be, though. Kendrick rocked the Honda Stage wearing a scaly-looking black and white hoodie and matching baggy shorts, looking, head-to-toe like the lovechild of A$AP Rocky and a king cobra. The odd outfit led a nearby audience member to remark that he “can’t relate to that shit”, but this fan was still ready to cheer when Kendrick satisfied the hip-hop heads, calling freestyling “the essence of hip-hop”. It’s other essence may be the art of reanimating, something Kendrick also took part in during his set, as he regularly changed his delivery to be more free-flowing and melodic. This helped to make the performance feel unique and helped show, along with his mastery of improvisation and conversation, Kendrick’s ascension to artistry beyond air-sealed preparation, into heights of transcendent connection with his audience and his music. Kendrick Lamar is not beyond the party, though. Instead, he’s taking it with him.

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At this year’s CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival, in which hundreds of musical performances, afterparties, and few indie film screenings like Michael Rapaport‘s  Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest  invaded New York City, last Saturday held a major line-up featuring Kendrick Lamar at the Gramercy Theatre. Hosted by Karen Civil and Angela Yee, the performance was tailor-made for the new school and veterans of hip-hop to shine in the limelight. Dawn Richard from Dirty Money, Connecticut’s Rich Hil, New Orlean’s Chase N. Cashe, Taylor Gang affiliate Neako, Brooklyn-bred, cocaine rapper Troy Ave, and Toronto natives The Airplane Boys delivered their music samples to a hungry crowd just waiting to see Kendrick.

But it’s a shame many people were too focused on the night’s main event than at the talent upfront. If you were, they left an impression that deserved the attention. Among them, Dawn Richard’s voice entrancing while Troy Av’s hustler tales had everybody shouting out “Powder” at the end of his performance. Still, the crowd was too eager for Kendrick, even starting a raucous chant for him to hit the stage that pushed Maino’s scheduled appearance aside.

With plenty of time for the young Kendrick to come alive, his strong online fan base was clearly in attendance, constantly rapping along verse after verse. Blending Compton’s gangster roots with his introspection, melodic raps and a fluid delivery, he certainly met expectations and exceeded them with his live performance.  “If you don’t give a fuck, put your hands up,” he said, before starting off with “Fuck Your Ethnicity” off Section.80, a song that set the tone for the whole show. To Kendrick, we weren’t fans or supporters. We were family.

Kendrick was not your typical artist who ran through a myriad of song selections in a given time. Taking his fan’s moniker of ‘family’ to its fullest description, he would always pause to engage in conversation with everyone. “I like to let my shows breathe; talk to the people for a bit,” he said. These catching up sessions reminisced on key moments in his life and childhood memories. In particular was when he was six years old, he listened to his father give a motivational talk about growing out of poverty to pursue better things. Another was his mother’s reaction to giving this kind of tough love at a young age. Funny jokes and theatrical moves (he sat in a chair and impersonated both his parents), led to “A.D.H.D.,“ a song that speaks to the current generation and shows his individuality and skill as a rapper.

Throughout the night, Kendrick continued to show thanks to an audience who appreciated music that had “no major budget, no radio” promotion.  Overly Dedicated mixtape tracks – “P&P,” “Ignorance Is Bliss,” and “Alien Girl” – had a good part of the crowd singing along to his lyric heavy musical style. Beat drops for in-and-out acapellas, especially for the buzzworthy “Rigamortis” and “Ronald Regan Era,” placed him in an upper echelon of rappers who spit dizzy flows with a whiff of sincerity.

Kendrick is becoming one of hip-hop’s full-fledged stars who can entice you live. But he’s not one to ignore where he came up from. He jumped on Twitter during the show and asked everyone to tweet him their song suggestions. With so many faces glowing from the dim light of their cellphones – all hurried to tweet while some  just shouted song titles – its evidence that Compton’s latest product can live up to the hype. The J.Cole-produced “HiiiPower” had everyone holding up three fingers, which not only represents heart, honor and respect, but also a dedication that his family will never leave his side.

Photography: Far Fetched Future

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