Kendrick Lamar has just become the latest star in hip-hop to drop a complete new album with little to no warning, which is becoming a trend in the music world. The simply-titled untitled unmastered is available now on both iTunes and a handful of streaming platforms, including Spotify. The record is exactly what it claims to be: untitled, and completely unmastered, which allows Lamar to sound even more raw than usual.
The eight songs on the record are all named “untitled” with a number afterwards and then what we can probably assume is a date, which might be when they were recorded, though the rapper hasn’t given any explanations about his work just yet. It looks as if this album is a collection of previously-unreleased material and not songs that were recorded specifically for this project, but that doesn't make them any less great.
untitled unmastered is Lamar’s fourth official album, and if things go his way, it might be another number one for him. Last year, he released To Pimp A Butterfly, which went on to be certified platinum, won several Grammys (including Best Rap Album), and wound up as the most critically-praised title of the year. His debut smash, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, made it to number two on the Billboard 200 back in 2012, and a lesser-known album entitled Section.80 failed to chart back in 2011 before he made it big. The collection is a welcome surprise for Lamar's fans, who weren't expecting new music for some time, as the promotion of Butterfly only recently died down.
While the album was never formally announced, there were hints that something like this was on its way. The head of Top Dawg, Lamar’s label, announced recently that a “project” was coming sometime this week, but no additional details were given.
Kendrick’s is just the latest surprise (or semi-surprise) album release in the hip-hop space in the past few years. Plenty of big names have used the marketing tactic lately, and it has been met with praise, commercial success, and delight from fans, many of whom appreciate being shocked with new tunes. In 2015, both of Drake’s chart-topping albums (If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and What A Time To Be Alive) came with little or no warning, and just last month rapper Future (who joined Drake on Alive) scored his third number one album in just even months when he released EVOL with very little warning as well.
The pace at which rappers create and unleash music is growing, and clearly Lamar can keep up.
