Mixtape Monday: good kid, m.A.A.d Mixtapes Celebrates Kendrick Lamar's 5th Anniversary
This week's Mixtape Monday celebrates the fifth anniversary of Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city with cheers to projects and the artists that inspired his classic sophomore effort.
In just a few days Kendrick Lamar’s full-length sophomore album good kid, m.A.A.d city will celebrate the fifth anniversary of its release on Oct. 22, 2012. This week's edition of Mixtape Monday is overly dedicated to this release, the music that inspired it, the artists and producers that helped to create it and the people that were inspired to slow down, chop up, mash and remix the album. Cheers to the project that cemented a storied career for Kendrick Lamar and jump started a West Coast rap renaissance led by Lamar and his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates.
Traveling back to 2012, we examine the climate before, during and after the release of good kid, m.A.A.d. city. Early releases from Terrace Martin, Sonnymoon and DJ Dahi are amongst a handful of projects that explain the sound Kendrick perfected on good kid, m.A.A.d. city. Dilemma mashes Kendrick and Nas on the ill kid matic city tape and Gambino meets K-Dot on good boy, d.e.e.p, web. Enjoy!
DJ Candlestick & OG Ron C. - Good Kid In A Purple City
Doing what they do best down in Texas, The ChopstarsOG Ron C. and DJ Candlestick gave Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city a little color with the release of their chopped not slopped take entitled Good Kid In A Purple City. Slowed down for the slab music set, the project is that much more brilliant.
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Terrace Martin - Here, My Dear
Released a year before good kid, m.A.A.d city surfaced, Terrace Martin’s Here, My Dear is one of a handful of projects he released around that time that speak to his unique sound. This one featured Kendrick Lamar in the mix alongside West Coast rap and G-funk stars like Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Charlie Wilson, Overdoz, Bad Lucc, Dom Kennedy and Murs. The aesthetic here is a portent of records to come from Terrace and Kendrick.
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Punch - My Project Window
An unofficial compilation of Terrence “Punch” Henderson’s loosies, My Project Window is a taste of the experiences and avenues that inform the artists who’ve risen through the rap ranks to hold court on the West Coast. While Punch does most of his work behind the scenes at Top Dawg Entertainment, his vivid storytelling is an invaluable tool in understanding the kind of climate that could create a Kendrick Lamar.
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Sonnymoon - Golden Age
Before Anna Wise dropped two stunning solo projects and picked up some impressive hardware for her contributions to Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, she was one-half of the experimental duo Sonnymoon with partner Dane Orr. The multi-layered harmonies and vivid compositions on their 2009 debut Golden Age were the first taste many got of Anna’s mighty vocals. Two years later she would help to close Kendrick’s second album.
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DJ Dahi - Toys 2.0
Producer and TDE fixture DJ Dahi put his massive, shape shifting sound out front on the Toys 2.0 mixtape, which dropped shortly after Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore album. The instrumental project dedicated to his favorite childhood toys is a testament to the limitless imagination he has applied to records for Kendrick, Dom Kennedy and others at the top of the West Coast rap food chain.
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Gibberish - Good Boy, d.E.E.p Web
UK producer Gibberish decided it would be a good idea to mash Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino, and so it was written... by Zo.
British producer Gibberish has dropped off a Childish Lamar (or is it Kendrick Gambino?) mash-up. Aptly-titled good boy, d.E.E.p Web, the album fits Kendrick’s vocals to the vast, synthesized sonic suites of Because The Internet to marvelous results. Honestly, we could never have imagined “Blue Faces” hugging the instrumental to “Shadows” so snuggly, so perfectly.
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Dilemma - ill kid matic city
Philly’s own DJ Dilemma had the idea to take two rap geniuses from two different coasts and add them to the same pot. The result is the ill kid matic city mixtape — a ridiculously soulful combination of Nas’ seminal 1994 debut Illmatic and Kendrick Lamar’s similarly beloved sophomore project good kid, m.A.A.d city.
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Blackout Radio - The good kid, m.A.A.d city Sample Edition
Second to do it, but much more thorough in their approach, Hip-Hop Is Read dropped a good kid, m.A.A.d city samples mix after the popular Babylon Cartel samples collection first made rounds on the web. Since their mix was more exhaustive and still available online, they initially got the look. Then HHIR’s download suddenly disappeared, so Blackout Radio’s review of the samples behind the songs on GKMC is running anchor.
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Black Hippy - Black Hippy Mixtape
Similar to Punch’s collection of one-off’s, the 2011 Black Hippy mixtape is a look at a rising crew of heavyweights that would do the bulk of the heavy lifting for the TDE roster, exciting rap fans across the world and kicking in the door for a rising class of spitters. Joined in the mix by Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar gives a compelling performance that marks a new era for hip-hop and speaks to their collective genius
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DJ Flipcyde - Kendrick Meets Pac (The Remixes)
Tupac’s influence on Kendrick Lamar cannot be overstated or avoided. From Kendrick’s chance childhood meeting with 'Pac during a Compton music video shoot to his closing conversation with Tupac on To Pimp A Butterfly, the rapper’s presence is felt across Kendrick’s work. DJ Flipcyde digs deep to mash some of the best material from both MC’s on the 2015 Kendrick Meets Pac (The Remixes) tape.
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Chargaux - Gallerina Suites
String duo Chargaux has been a beacon of light across a handful of their own releases and a few appearances on some very high profile projects in recent years. One of them was Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city, where their performance is prominent on “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” Their 2013 release The Gallerina Suites is a testament to their myriad influences and the improvisational versatility they lend to the mix.
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JMSN - Priscilla
JMSN’s debut album Priscilla dropped shortly after good kid, m.A.A.d city. Fans were able to scoop it up for free after he released the project in celebration of Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore release, which he is featured on. A frequent collaborator of the TDE roster, JMSN’s sound and presence in the mix are indicative of the label’s penchant for sonic exploration that has elevated their sound and won so many hearts.
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Ill Camille - The Pre Write
Ill Camille is a criminally underrated and ridiculously talented MC whose presence is felt most on her solo projects and the releases she has contributed to as a collaborator and linchpin of the L.A. scene. Working frequently with Terrace Martin, amongst others, she has made herself a fixture as fiery spitter. Camille contributed backing vocals on good kid, m.A.A.d city standout “Sing About Me (I’m Dying of Thirst)” — her presence here and elsewhere on earlier records with Kendrick is a prelude to his work with Rapsody.
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Nige1Uno - good kid, m.A.A.d city: The Chronological Edit
Maryland producer Nige1Uno had the bright idea to rework Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city so that the project plays in chronological order, hence the name The Chronological Edit. Opening with “Backseat Freestyle,” the edit moves into “The Art of Peer Pressure” and “Money Trees.” The rework is a seamless take on the original that should be a fun listen for storytelling rap nerds.
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Sly5thAve & The Clubcasa Chamber Orchestra - Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe
Bodying the A-Side of a Kendrick Lamar and Diplo rework single, Sly5thAve & The Clubcasa Orchestra rework Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” a la Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s Suite For Ma Dukes. The good kid, m.A.A.d city standout is transformed into a shimmering ode to the musicianship of K.Dot’s acclaimed debut. Why they didn’t take on the entire project is beyond me, but what they did is still amazing.
”Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” the cult anthem from Kendrick’s debut Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, gets a full on, blown-out, orchestral horns re-vamp, sending Lamar’s original verses and melodies soaring through Sly’s brass and woodwinds. This gorgeous composition has already smashed the internet with thousands of soundcloud plays and received burn from SOULECTION DJs, amongst other tastemakers worldwide. Now, hear it for the first time mastered and pressed on THICK high quality vinyl!
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Karas Lamb writes and digs for tunes you haven’t heard yet. She actually wants to listen to your mixtape. Follow her on Twitter @karaslamb or Instagram @blamblamkaraslam.