Even if you didn't get ahold of Kendrick Lamar's 2011 indie debut, Section.80, back in the day, you were almost certainly aware of his existence when Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City rolled around via Interscope and Dr. Dre's Aftermath imprint the following year due to his by then well-established habit of being the best damn thing about every single record upon which he was featured.

Unsurprisingly given all that titillating preamble, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City was an earth-quaking debut embraced as a landmark in hip-hop history upon delivery. Billed as "a short film by Kendrick Lamar," the record weaves an engrossing 70-minute narrative about the young MC's teenage years in Compton and his conflicted relationship with the gangsta rap and gangsta culture that simultaneously casts a long shadow over his work and serves as a point of alienation from his peers. There's a lot to chew on lyrically, then, as well as musically -- producers with a hand in this record include Dre, Pharrell Williams, Hit-Boy, Just Blaze and T-Minus -- but if you don't want to think too much about what's going on it's immensely satisfying to just sit back and listen to Kendrick Lamar do his thing. Because, simply put, Kendrick Lamar can rap his freakin' ass off. There wasn't a better MC operating at his level when Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City came out and Kendrick has set the bar much higher for every young rapper to follow in his wake ever since. A must-have for any serious student of hip-hop.

TRACKLISTING:

1. Sherane AKA Master Splinter's Daughter
2. Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe
3. Backseat Freestyle
4. The Art of Peer Pressure
5. Money Trees (feat. Jay Rock)
6. Poetic Justice (feat. Drake)
7. good kid
8. m.A.A.d city (feat. MC Eiht)
9. Swimming Pools (Drunk) [Extended Version]
10. Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst
11. Real (feat. Anna Wise of Sonnymoon)
12. Compton (feat. Dr. Dre)