Kendrick Lamar is one the most revered rappers of the new school, and although he has been around since 2005, his rise to fame was slow but organic. Born and raised in the Compton neighbourhood of South Central Los Angeles, Lamar’s career had humble beginnings. The musician initially went by the name of K.Dot and put his music out locally via small record shops and online with MySpace.
With the underground of LA warming to Lamar’s sound, reasonably quickly, Anthony Griffin, founder of Top Dawg Entertainment, contacted the rapper. With a record deal on the table, in 2005, Lamar signed a contract with the Los Angeles-based independent label. Shortly after landing his deal with TDE, in 2008, Lamar altered his stage name to his first and middle names and formed the Black Hippy collective.
Comprised of Lamar, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and ScHoolboy Q, the group saw TDE rappers banding together to create and collaborate. The four-piece outfit was made up of solely West Coast rappers. Naturally, this caught the attention of high-profile California hip-hop artists who hadn’t seen this kind of activity in the region since the days of Death Row. After a few years of releasing mixtapes, collaborating and creative exploration, in 2011, Lamar released his debut studio album Section.80. Executively produced by TDE’s Digi+Phonics, the album was received well by music publications but peaked at 113 on the Billboard 200.
However, with his ear to the streets, an affinity for his hometown and an eye for talent, in 2012, Dr Dre signed Kendrick Lamar to his legendary label Aftermath. With access to the best music-making equipment available, and with a marketing team at the ready, upon signing with the legendary Dr Dre, Lamar began working on what would become his first major-label album, Good Kid, m.A.A.d City.
Released in 2012, the album featured guest verses from the likes of Drake, Dr Dre and Black Hippy members such as Jay rock. Supported by five singles, all of which debuted within the top 40, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City would go on to debut at number two on the Billboard 200. The project has been certified as three times platinum by the RIAA and, to this day, is considered a classic.
However, according to Anthony D’aliesio of the NFR Podcast, the album tracks were recorded to be re-arranged in three different ways all of which convey a different message. Speaking to fans, he explained, “I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but there are three different ways to listen to Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. The first way is the way we all know and love it’s the actual tracklist.” You can see the album’s original track order below.
Original Tracklist Order
- Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter
- Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe
- Backseat Freestyle
- The Art Of Peer Pressure
- Money Trees (ft Jay Rock)
- Poetic Justice (ft Drake)
- good kid
- m.A.A.d city (ft MC Eiht)
- Swimming Pools (Drank)
- Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst
- Real (ft Anna Wise)
- Compton (ft Dr Dre)
However, D’aliesio proceeded to reveal, “The second way is the chronological order! If you pay attention to the storyline and lyrics of [the album] and go into the writing, there’s a different order!”
Chronological Tracklist Order
- Compton (ft Dr Dre)
- Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe
- Backseat Freestyle
- The Art Of Peer Pressure
- Money Trees (ft Jay Rock)
- Poetic Justice (ft Drake)
- Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter
- good kid
- m.A.A.d city (ft MC Eiht)
- Swimming Pools (Drank)
- Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst
- Real (ft Anna Wise)
He then added “When Punch had spoken about the chronological order of the album, they said they wanted to make this feel like a Quentin Tarantino movie where the timeline doesn’t necessarily match the actual timing of the album, but it all makes sense when you put it together.” However, the third way the podcast host suggests fans listen to the album seems to be nonsensical. He states, “Now the final way to listen to this is the most interesting in my opinion. There’s voice calls throughout the whole album and if you were to place those voice calls in chronological order in [the album] story, you would find this tracklist.”
Narrated Tracklist Order
- Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe
- Backseat Freestyle
- The Art Of Peer Pressure
- Money Trees (ft Jay Rock)
- Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter
- Poetic Justice (ft Drake)
- good kid
- m.A.A.d city (ft MC Eiht)
- Swimming Pools (Drank)
- Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst
- Real (ft Anna Wise)
- Compton (ft Dr Dre)
Irrespective of whether or not this is true, and to what degree the order actually affects the listener’s overall perception of the album, it is interesting to hear that Good Kid, m.A.A.d City might be a bit more revealing if you listen to it in these different orders. You can see the NFR Podcast speaking on the album in the video below.
