Kendrick Lamar officially released his eagerly anticipated new song “i” today and as you might expect from the crips-and-bloods-and-love cover art, the song’s message is that of acceptance and self-determination.
After opening with a sermon espousing Lamar’s virtuosity (“he’s not a rapper, he’s a writer, he’s an author”), producer Rahki's beat drops, and it features the distinct Isley Brothers guitar lick from “Who’s That Lady.” Kendrick kicks off the song by spitting “I done been through a whole lot/ Trials, tribulations but I know God," and it sets the tone, as the catchy chorus finds Kendrick declaring “I love myself.” Kendrick swerves through various patterns and inflections, and his voice is glazed with several different vocal effects. Like the future-fusion heard on “Never Gonna Catch Me,” Kendrick’s recent collaboration with Flying Lotus, the music switches to a funky, loose and live beat on the song’s final third.
The hook will be glued into your brain after just a couple listens, but it’s also a fairly complicated song with lots of moving parts. In other words, “i” does not disappoint.
In other Kendrick news, Rolling Stone just published a new interview with the rapper in which he says he’s “not sure at all” that his highly anticipated follow-up to good kid, m.A.A.d. city will come out this year after all. He also says it’s uncertain if any other rappers will appear on the album but it should feature “a bunch of tracks” by his label boss, Dr. Dre.
"He's trying to find that next thing – just really elevating himself and the team to grow as a creator,” Lamar says of Dre.
Although he’s evasive about the specifics, there are a bunch of other interesting tidbits about his new album in the interview.
