History Music / GoodKidMAADcity

[[caption-width-right:300:''I am a sinner who's probably gonna sin again.'']]

* {{Deconstruction}}: ''good kid, m.A.A.d City" is a critique on Gangster Rap and pointing out how empty the lifestyle is and how it instead will lead those down darker paths, [[spoiler: as K-Dot almost does after the events of "Swimming Pools (Drank)"]].

* AlbumTitleDrop: From "good kid":
--> ''I heard 'em chatter: "He's prob'ly young, but I know that he's down''\\
''Step on his neck as hard as your bulletproof vest''\\
''He don't mind, he know we'll never respect''\\
''The good kid, m.A.A.d. city."''

''The good kid, m.A.A.d. city."''\\

* AlbumTitleDrop: The tracks "good kid" and "MAAD City".

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 [[RealityEnsues 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.]]

* FunWithAcronyms: "m.A.A.d city" refers both to a "mad city" and a city full of "my angels on Angel Dust".

* YourCheatingHeart: "Poetic Justice" suggests that Sherane has multiple lovers and Kendrick is somewhat insecure about as much.

* [[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"]].

->''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'''

'''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, [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] 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.

''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 ''[[Music/{{Macklemore}} The Heist]]'' [[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.

->''[[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory The accuracy of its intimate autobiographical details is irrelevant]]--[[EmotionalTorque what matters is that this album helps you feel the internal struggles of]] [[AntiHero 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. [[GreyAndGreyMorality 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.''

'''Tracklist'''

* ComingOfAgeStory: The album follows the protagonist from birth to growing up.

** "Backseat Freestyle" contains a sample of "Yo Soy Cubano", by The Chakachas.[

* "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" contains a sample of "Tiden Flyver" as performed by Boom Clap Bachelors.
* "The Art of Peer Pressure" contains a sample of "Helt Alene" as performed by Suspekt.[98]
* "Money Trees" contains a sample of "Silver Soul" as performed by Beach House.
* "Poetic Justice" contains a sample of "Any Time, Any Place" as performed by Music/JanetJackson.
* "m.A.A.d city" contains a sample of "Don't Change Your Love" as performed by The Five Stairsteps, "Funky Worm" by The Ohio Players, and "A Bird In The Hand" by Music/IceCube.
* "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" contains a sample of "Maybe Tomorrow" as performed by Grant Green, "I'm Glad You're Mine" by Music/AlGreen and "Use Me" by Music/BillWithers.
* "Compton" contains a sample of "What's This World Coming To" as performed by Formula IV.
* "The Recipe" contains a sample of "Meet the Frownies" as performed by Twin Sister.
* "Backseat Freestyle" contains a sample of "Yo Soy Cubano", by The Chakachas.[

* AlternativeHipHop

* ComingOfAgeStory

* {{Deconstruction}}

** OhCrap

* RunningGag: "Where my mothafuckin dominoes at?!"
* SpecialGuest: Music/{{Drake}}, Music/JayRock, MC Eiht, and [[Music/{{NWA}} Dr. Dre]] all take guest verses on the album proper. The rest of Lamar's Black Hippy {{supergroup}} appear on bonus tracks from various versions and Music/JayZ appears on a remixed "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe". Music/LadyGaga [[WhatCouldHaveBeen was supposed to appear]] on "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe", but CreativeDifferences and scheduling issues put a stop to that.

* YourCheatingHeart: "Poetic Justice" suggests that Sherane has multiple lovers and Kendrick is somewhat insecure about as much.

--> ''I wish my dick would grow as big as the Eiffel Tower/So I can fuck the world for 72 hours!''

''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, [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] 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.

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

* AnachronicOrder: The narrative jumps back and forth between Kendrick getting jumped on his way to meet Sherane, hanging out with his friends, and voicemails from his parents. The story ultimately begins at the end of the second track, when K.Dot is invited to come along with some friends.

* PeriodPiece: Various references in the lyrics place the album in the [[TurnOfTheMillenium mid-2000s]].

* SpecialGuest: Music/{{Drake}}, Music/JayRock, MC Eiht, and [[Music/{{NWA}} Dr. Dre]] all take guest verses on the album proper. The rest of Lamar's Black Hippy {{supergroup}} appear on bonus tracks from various versions and Music/JayZ appears on a remixed "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe".

''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, [[Deconstruction deconstructing]] 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.