Kendrick Lamar: at Tennessee Performing Arts Center (Nashville, TN) Sun. November 4, 2012

Kendrick Lamar

Nashville Scene Critic's Pick …

As of press time, L.A. rap sensation Kendrick Lamar’s new album good kid, m.A.A.D city, has barely been on the shelves for 36 hours, but by all indication it’s going to be that most mythological of beasts, The Album That Actually Moves Units. And rightly so — it’s got a minivan on the cover! Just kidding: People aren’t buying it for the minivan, they’re picking it up because it’s one of the year’s most stunning, well-executed rap records. Lamar has a classic West Coast flow and an ear for songs that harken back to the glory days of The Chronic while clearly making the push for the entire rap culture to step up its game. This is modern hip-hop, to be sure — but damn, does it have all the hallmarks of a classic. Local prog-rapper Chancellor Warhol, who’s been touring across the continent lately, opens the show.

—SEAN L. MALONEY