History Music / GoodKidMAADcity

# "Money Trees" (6:26)
# "Poetic Justice" (5:00)

# "m.A.A.d city" (5:50)

# "Real" (7:23)
# "Compton" (4:08)

The album [[AwardSnub controversially]] lost all five of its UsefulNotes/GrammyAward nominations, and additional outcry on a public scale was elicited after the award for Best Rap Album that Lamar was up for went to Music/{{Macklemore}} & Ryan Lewis for their album ''The Heist'' (alongside their song "Thrift Shop" winning Best Rap Performance, for which "Swimming Pools (Drank)" was nominated). Even Macklemore himself deemed Lamar's loss a robbery and ''personally apologized to him via text'' after the award ceremony.

The album [[AwardSnub controversially]] lost several of its five UsefulNotes/GrammyAward nominations, including Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance, to Music/{{Macklemore}} (for his album ''The Heist'' and his song "Thrift Shop", respectively). The confusion from these decisions was on such a massive scale that Macklemore ''personally apologized via text to Lamar'' after the award ceremony.

''good kid, m.A.A.d city'' released to near-unanimous critical acclaim with many readily declaring it an instant classic. Lamar himself was somewhat cooler, calling his work "classic-worthy" but claiming it still needed to pass the test of time to be considered a true classic. The album has an average critical score of 91 on Metacritic and also debuted at #2 on the ''Billboard'' 200, netting the highest first-week sales of any male rapper in 2012.

The album also [[AwardSnub controversially]] lost several of its five UsefulNotes/GrammyAward nominations, including Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance, to Music/{{Macklemore}} (for his album ''The Heist'' and his song "Thrift Shop", respectively). The confusion from these decisions was on such a massive scale that Macklemore ''personally apologized via text to Lamar'' after the award ceremony.

''good kid, m.A.A.d city'' is the second studio album and major-label debut of American rapper Music/KendrickLamar. Billed as a "short film", the album plays as a fictionalized narrative about Lamar's teenage experiences in Compton, California, {{deconstructi|on}}ng GangstaRap by featuring a DarkerAndEdgier vision of teenage gang life.

The young Lamar - referred to as K-dot - isn't such a "good kid" when he's "with the homies"; he claims to believe in sobriety and nonviolence but discards both in their presence, barely evading arrest and suffering through bad drug trips as a result. Distracted by sexual fantasies, K-dot impulsively drives into the wrong neighborhood alone to hook up with LoveInterest Sherane. Two blocks from her home, Lamar is instead intercepted by members of a rival gang who predictably [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat him senseless for his trouble.]]

TiredOfRunning, Lamar's friends get into a shootout to avenge him and drive off the other gang members at the cost of one of their own, seemingly ensuring a CycleOfRevenge. Encouraged by family and religious figures not to continue down this path, K-dot is implied to find religion and [[ForegoneConclusion grows into a successful rap artist]].

->Promise that you will sing about me\\
->Promise that you will sing about me''

[[caption-width-right:350:Compton, Compton, ain't no city quite like mine.]]
->When the lights shut off and it's my turn
->To settle down, my main concern
->Promise that you will sing about me
->Promise that you will sing about me
-->-- '''Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst'''

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/good_kid_640.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I am a sinner who's probably gonna sin again."'']]
->''"The accuracy of its intimate autobiographical details is irrelevant--what matters is that this album helps you feel the internal struggles of a good kid who may not be good enough as he risks derailing his life by succumbing to the kneejerk loyalty, petty criminality, and gang warfare of the hood he calls home. Nobody is heroic here, including Lamar--from Christian strivers to default sociopaths, all the players are confused, weary, bored, ill-informed, with disconcertingly naturalistic, almost verité skits dramatizing their limitations."''
-->-- '''Robert Christgau'''

** "The Art of Peer Pressure" contains a sample of "Helt Alene" as performed by Suspekt.[98]

--> ''I pray my dick get big as the Eiffel Tower/So I can fuck the world for 72 hours!''
* [[spoiler: BittersweetEnding: Kendrick's friend gets shot and killed after they retaliate against Sherane's cousins jumping Kendrick at the end of "Swimming Pools (Drank)". He and his friends (In a broken rage) are about to fight back until an elderly woman convinces him to not to and embrace God as a way to recover in "Sing About Me, Dying of Thirst" and Kendrick's able to slowly recover and cope with the events in "Real", with his mother and father sending their voicemails to comfort him from the ordeal, his mother encouraging him to follow up with [[TheReveal Top Dawg Entertainment and tell his story to the kids of Compton and "give back to his city"]]]].
* BoastfulRap: "Backseat Freestyle" is an exaggerated version and possibly a partial {{Deconstruction}}, clearly meant as the work of an immature teenager. It's also a DiscussedTrope during one sketch - two of K-dot's friends work out that anyone successful enough to actually make these isn't on the streets enough to back them up.

''good kid, m.A.A.d city'' is the major label debut album of AlternativeHipHop artist Music/KendrickLamar. Billed as a "short film", the album plays as a fictionalized narrative about Lamar's teenage experiences in Compton, California, {{deconstructi|on}}ng GangstaRap by featuring a DarkerAndEdgier vision of teenage gang life. The young Lamar - K-dot - isn't such a "good kid" when he's "with the homies"; he claims to believe in sobriety and nonviolence but discards both in their presence, barely evading arrest and suffering through bad drug trips as a result.

Distracted by sexual fantasies, K-dot impulsively drives into the wrong neighborhood alone to hook up with LoveInterest Sherane. Two blocks from her home, Lamar is instead intercepted by members of a rival gang who predictably [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beat him senseless for his trouble.]] TiredOfRunning, Lamar's friends get into a shootout to avenge him and drive off the other gang members at the cost of one of their own, seemingly ensuring a CycleOfRevenge. Encouraged by family and religious figures not to continue down this path, K-dot is implied to find religion and [[ForegoneConclusion grows into a successful rap artist.]]

''good kid, m.A.A.d city'' debuted to near-unanimous critical acclaim with an average critical score of 91 on Metacritic. Many readily declared it an instant classic, deriding ''The Heist'' by Music/{{Macklemore}} [[AwardSnub as a result after its Grammy upset.]] Lamar himself was somewhat cooler, calling his work "classic-worthy" but claiming it still needed to pass the test of time to be considered a true classic.