The wait is over.
Hip-hop’s man of the moment, Kendrick Lamar, returned on the scene yesterday with the release of his highly anticipated song “i”, produced by Rahki.
Early thoughts: The song is much less aggressive than what we’ve come to expect from King Kendrick. The song samples the ’70s soul smash “That Lady”. Actually, the song doesn’t sound as much like a sample as it does a straight rip of the Isley Brothers’ 1973 hit, with some other random instruments thrown in here and there.
Nearly two years ago, Kendrick commanded the attention of all of hip-hop with his classic album good kid, m.A.A.d. city— a concept album that told the detailed story of a young man growing up in Compton in the early 2000s. K Dot’s coming of age tale left the rap world wanting more though, and having now captured its attention, rap is essentially like puddy in the kid’s hands. But what to do with all this power?
Enter “i”, which appears to be a call to action for his listeners. And that action: love thy self.
A noble proclamation, yes. The song (and its cover art seen above) is overwhelmingly positive. But is this record strong enough to send a message and keep the listener engaged? That’s where we may have hit a stumbling block.
Musically, “i” isn’t a particularly good rap song to me. It doesn’t have the appeal of a lead single for a new album either. Whether or not Kendrick intends to use this song in such a fashion remains to be seen, but this track lacks the energy needed to get one excited to hear a new album, even if it does excite those in search of more commercial, conscious rap (does that even make sense?).
Based off of GKMC’s performance, Kendrick has earned the benefit of the doubt. The success of his last lead single, “Swimming Pools”, was a bit of a slow burn, but the song possessed greater context juxtaposed against the backdrop on the album’s narrative. Perhaps “i” will mature in the same fashion.
Just one man’s opinion. What do you think of “i”?