The one song Kendrick Lamar played all day in middle school: “That used to be crazy”
Kendrick Lamar is an artist who needs no introduction. A rapper renowned for his lyrical prowess, conceptual intensity, and impact upon his genre, his achievements – to name a very mere few – include not only 17 Grammy Awards, but also the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first ever awarded to a hip-hop artist.
Obviously, there was once a time when hip-hop existed without K. Dot’s trademark storytelling and prowess of consciousness, and the electrifying rapper was just a normal teenager. Speaking about his 25 favourite albums in 2012, Kendrick detailed one song in particular that he couldn’t stop listening to in middle school.
“’Down, Down, Down,’ that used to be crazy,” he told Complex of DJ Quik’s Rhythm-al-ism album. “I came across this record in middle school. Middle school, just playing ‘Down, Down, Down’ all day. Going on the bus and bumping that. ‘Speed’ was crazy, ‘Hand in Hand.’ ‘Speed’ was crazy. The interlude was crazy too; he always has a lot of crazy interludes.”
Released in 1998, Rhythm-al-ism is the fourth studio album from DJ Quik, who was then a prominent recording artist and producer in the West Coast hip-hop scene. In a separate interview, Quik described the album as “mixing up rhythms… meshing R&B with hip-hop and jazz. And a little bit of comedy.” The album, which features artists including Snoop Dogg and writers such as Smokey Robinson and Calvin Broadus, peaked at number 63 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Other albums on Kendrick’s list included Dr Dre’s The Chronic (1992), Ice Cube’s Death Certificate (1991), Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle (1993), and another DJ Quik record, Quik Is the Name (1991). “‘Sweet Black Pussy,’ I played that all day in my house,” he said. “This is background music for me, way ahead of my time. It was just something that was always played in my house. I got into it through both [his beats and his raps], me being a kid and listening to it.”
Kendrick added, “He was a rapper. I kind of knew he made the beats too for some reason. I think somebody told me that ‘cause as a kid, I never looked at Quik as just a rapper. I knew that he actually did the whole instrumentation behind it. I think his voice tone is really unique. It stood out, the same way Eazy stood out. Kind of like high pitched, you knew it was him every time he got on a track.”
There are only a few albums of the 21st century that made Kendrick’s list. Concluding the chronologically ordered series was Jay-Z’s The Black Album, released in 2003.
“I love that album,” Kendrick said. “That’s one of my favourite Jay albums. Everybody say Blueprint, I love The Black Album. First time I heard ‘Encore’, I flipped out. I was probably in 10th grade playing that in class like 10 times in a row.”
He continued, “Mainly because he was saying he was on the verge of retiring, and then he just hit it in the clutch. Like, the beats was dope, the raps was dope. It’s crazy because everybody says Blueprint; ‘Blueprint is crazy.’ I think Black Album is right behind it, though. He had ’99 Problems’, crazy stuff like that.”