On Good Friday, living rap legend Kendrick Lamar released his fourth studio album entitled “DAMN.” The album has already received rave reviews, despite being a significant departure from the heavy 70’s jazz vibe of his last project, “To Pimp a Butterfly.” His first song, “BLOOD,” is a narrative over a calm yet chilling beat. He tells the story of an interaction with a blind woman, who tells him he has lost his life, before a gunshot is heard. A Fox News audio clip disparaging lyrics from Kendrick’s other songs follows up the narrative.
Rapper Reminisce Mackie, also known as Remy Ma, set the rap industry on fire last week when she released her seven-minute diss track “ShETHER.” The song is a detailed dissection of pop culture and rap icon Nicki Minaj, and has left many fans on both sides of the debate wondering if Nicki can recover. The song plays of Nas’ infamous 2001 diss track “Ether,” which was aimed at Jay-Z, using the same beat, hook, and intro. The opening of the song features a recording of Nicki Minaj telling the world to “free Remy,” who only recently was released from prison after six years.
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Danny Brown’s fourth studio album “Atrocity Exhibition” dropped on September 30 of this year, and it may be the most aptly named album of the year. Brown’s eccentric, piercing voice is as present on each track as it has been in the past, and the album itself recalls many of the same sounds present on his second studio album, “XXX”. A noticeable change, however, is the feature list. Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul and Earl Sweatshirt all guest star on the stand-out single “Really Doe,” a riding, aggressive anthem which should be played at any and all pre-games everywhere.
Let’s face it, a lot of rappers don’t like Drake. From Kendrick Lamar to Meek Mill, the former “Degrassi” star has been catching beef with a lot of big names over the past few years. So nobody was terribly surprised when Kid Cudi, the pillar of stoner rap who has recently fallen from grace, named Drake in a Twitter rant about rappers not writing their own music.
What people did not expect was for the Man on the Moon to go after his mentor: Kanye West.
When I arrived on campus back in September, I expected a lot of things: rigorous courses, new friendships, food that was infinitely better than what the Philadelphia public school district offered. The first two expectations have since been met, though the jury is still out on Val. But this isn’t an article indicting Valentine Dining Hall. This article is about the one thing I would not have anticipated upon attending Amherst.
Yes, I’m talking about the intense and fervent love for the Killers’ 2004 song, “Mr. Brightside.”
