A critically acclaimed mixtape. A spot on the annual XXL Freshman list. A Dr. Dre co-sign. It’s been quite the year for Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick has always been cut from a different cloth. He stayed away from the Compton streets that have claimed so many and was a straight A student during his high school career. He began rapping in 2003 under the name K.Dot and his first mixtape got him signed to local record label Top Dawg Entertainment. For the next few years he hustled on the independent circuit until 2009 when he released the Kendrick Lamar EP, which found him dropping the K.Dot moniker for his birth name, Kendrick Lamar. While his 2009 EP threw him into the blogosphere, it was 2010 that would prove to be Kendrick’s year.
Kendrick spent the summer of 2010 building hype for his upcoming project O(verly) D(edicated) or O.D. for short. His freestyle over Kanye’s “Monster” brought his hype to highest point it had been in his career, building expectations for his upcoming project. Yet no one could have really expected what Kendrick was cooking up. When O.D. dropped it received instant praise from critics, but yet the project is still light years away from what his peers and seniors are doing in the rap game. His flows are some of the most unique ever utilized by any rapper and he bravely spits with knowledge far beyond his years. Front to back O.D. is one of the best releases of 2010.
This mixtape would go on to help Kendrick achieve so much in such a short time. Dr. Dre reached out to him, not only to co-sign him as the face of the New West, not only to offer assistance in the making of his upcoming major label debut Good Kid In A Mad City, but above all else a chance to work together on Dre’s long awaited Detox. After that, the world was Kendrick’s. He formed Black Hippy, a supergroup with fellow Top Dawg artists Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and Schoolboy Q. J.Cole called O.D. the best mixtape of 2010, reached out to him to collaborate, and the two have tentative plans for a joint mixtape. Finally, he earned a spot on the 2011 XXL Freshman List, solidifying that 2011 will be just as bright at 2010 for Kendrick Lamar.
For now you can peep the video for one of his most recent tracks, “Look Out For Detox.” While down bottom you can download the track along with the J.Cole produced “HiiiPower,” the first track off his upcoming mixtape, Section.80.
Download: Kendrick Lamar - Look Out For Detox
Download: Kendrick Lamar - HiiiPower
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