Elliot Stanger

13 April 2016
Zack De Piero
Writing 2
Levitate, Levitate, Levitate
Kendrick Lamars follow up to his masterful To Pimp a Butterfly(TPAB) album-untitled
unmastered- is a unique display of talent. The 8-track, 35-minute album is compiled of songs
solely from recording sessions of TPAB that did not make the original album. Although each
song is considered to be an outtake, they deliver a powerful punch with Lamars grave lyricism,
real-world connections, and one-of-a-kind flow. Following the surprise release, Hot New Hip
Hop, Pitchfork, and The Atlantic published reviews which each commented on the album. Each
review included descriptive imagery to describe Kendricks style, a number rating for the whole
album, a focus on certain lyrics to discuss the magnitude of the music, and a comparison to other
contemporary rappers to convey the impact of Lamars music that resonates with more than just
musical accolades, but with fixing injustices that are present in our world today.
While expressing their opinions on the abstract collection of experimental jazz outtakes,
each news outlet first described Kendrick Lamar as an artist while using extremely descriptive
and vivid language with a didactic tone. The Atlantic portrays Lamars rapping as dialectic and
that hes in the difficult position of arguing with God. Although not known for their acclaimed
music critics and highly intellectual reviews, Hot New Hip Hop conveyed their view of the
rapper when they said, Kendrick's grasp on the way every aspect of his existence intersects is
better than any other rapper's, each event in his life seemingly mapped out with clear causes,
effects, and historical [relevance]. Pitchfork, the self-proclaimed most trusted voice in music

shared their own description of Lamar when they wrote, promotionally frugal, preeminent
thinking-person's rapper of a generation. Each description presented about Kendrick Lamar
gives insight to the audience reading the review who may not know the artist well. Everything
written is influenced by what you know about an audiences expectations(Losh 7). The
inclusion of a quasi-introduction to Kendricks style-without listening to his previous workgives the readers of each article a prior knowledge that they were ignorant to before their
encounter with each review. The descriptive and vivid language like rapper of a generation
gives Lamar a divine sense in that he is able to connect to more than just his peers and in doing
so, can fix issues he raps about such as institutionalized racism, inequality, and the unsafe
environment he grew up in - also known as the ghetto.
Another convention that was universal within this specific genre was that each article
contained a numerical rating for the album. On Pitchfork, untitled unmastered, was given an 8.6
rating out of ten, on The Atlantic it was rated as an 87 out of 100 and lastly, Hot New Hip Hop
gave the album a rating of an 85%. These ratings needed to fit with the situation(Dirk 259) and
somehow quantify Lamars outtakes by giving it a number. Readers of music criticism often look
for something to distinguish one album from another, and this number rating does exactly that.
Visually, each rating is presented at the top of each article, before the text and sometimes before
the cover image because, sadly, it is exactly what the readers want to see first. Although abstract
and mysterious, this number rating that is arbitrarily chosen by the author of the article is what
most readers will take away. Being that untitled unmastered consistently scored in the mid-80s
shows that it not only is special musically, but the injustices he discusses within the music may
be brought out to the public eye(more so than a lower rated album) which is Lamars ultimate
goal as a musician.

Throughout each review, lyrics from the criticized album were presented. Pitchfork and
Hot New Hip Hop each quoted one of Kendricks more memorable lyrics from his new album, I
can put a rapper on life support/ Guarantee that's something none of you want." It is no
coincidence as to why two articles chose this line to quote from Lamars track, untitled 2. The
selected verse expresses the tone of Kendricks album, but also the reviews for that specific piece
of art. Putting a rapper on life support evokes an emotional response(Carroll 53) as readers
might become scared to know that their favorite rappers careers are in the fate of Kendrick
Lamar. K-Dot in his music, and the critics in their reviews, use pathos with the lyrics by targeting
other rappers or discussing Kendricks view on the treatment of minorities in America to connect
to their audiences emotions, which will ultimately leave a more lasting impact.
In the The Atlantic album review, a different specific from Lamar was included. Rather
than threatening other rappers, Kendrick flexes his own muscles as the monarch of modern-day
rap. He says, What if I empty my bank out and stunt?/ What if I certified all of these ones?
Similar to the quoted lyrics in the other reviews, the inclusion of this quote gives more insight to
the reader on not only the content of Lamars songs, but also the content of his mind.
The most interesting convention that was present in the genre of Kendrick Lamar rap
album reviews were the comparisons of him to other contemporary rappers. In Pitchfork, the first
sentence of the review states, ...untitled unmastered is the complete inverse of Kanye Wests
recent The Life of Pablo. Other rappers such as Jay Z, Jay Rock, Lil Wayne, and Drake were
also mentioned throughout the other articles. The inclusion of other contemporary rappers is to
provide context to the reader while they can make more connections in their mind to who
Kendrick Lamar really is. Readers may not know exactly who Lamar is, but with the help of the
writer, they can piece together phrases like Drakes flow and a gleeful Lil Wayne to

extrapolate a picture of who Kendrick Lamar is in mind. The writers could have easily compared
Lamar to other musicians, but it is crucial to recognize and determine appropriate responses to
different situations(Dirk 259). The audience of this genre is most familiar with rappers and to
appropriate a comparison that would resonate with the readers, it is in the authors best interest to
use musicians who they are familiar with: rappers. The authors also use other rappers to point out
how advanced and developed Lamars music is. The other mentioned rappers such as Drake, Lil
Wayne, and Kanye West, make similar sounding music but what does not resonate with the
reviewers is that the content can not be looked back at and be thought of as a stepping stone to
fix the present world. For example, Wests song Famous where he argues Taylor Swift would
be nothing without him, will not be held to as high of a lyrical standard as Lamars music.
Linking conventions across one genre aids the reader with a guideline to something they
may have never encountered before. For example, someone who has never read a rap/hip-hop
album review might be confused as to what to expect. The conventions give the reader concrete
knowledge as to what they will experience after they read when they actually go listen to the
album. The importance of these conventions- the foundation of a genre- is that any decent album
review will successfully prepare the reader to listen to the album and it will make that person
more informed about the rapper and his music. The specific choices that writers make result in
specific actions on the part of readers(Dirk 254) and those specific choices create genre. If the
writer were to make unspecific choices in their writing, there would be no conventions and there
would be no genre. When someone picks up an album review they could have no idea what to
expect if the writers followed their own conventions.
From the numerical rating to the quotation of lyrics within the article, each convention
has its own purpose. While some may be more integral than others, they all make up the genre

that is Kendrick Lamar album reviews and together show how his music can be of great
influence. Specifically to Kendrick- because he is such a special artist and so focused on the
injustice around us- the conventions dig deeper than just the review or his music and hope to
inform the readers that not only Lamar and his critics want to talk about music but they want to
highlight whats beyond the music which are the issues- racism, inequality, and injustice- that we
want out of our world.

Works Cited
Carroll, Laura Bolin. Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis. Writing
Spaces: Reading on Writing. Print.
Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres."Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing . Vol. 1. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
N. pag. Print.
Ex, Kris. "Untitled Unmastered." Kendrick Lamar: Album Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Kornhaber, Spencer. The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Losh, Elizabeth M., and Jonathan Alexander. "Spaces for Writing.
Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing . N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Lyons, Patrick. "Review: Kendrick Lamar's "Untitled Unmastered"" HotNewHipHop. N.p., n.d.
Web. 13 Apr. 2016.

Writing 2 Feedback Matrix for WP1

Table of Textual Features
Did Not Meet

Met Expectations

Expectations

Exceeded
Expectations

Thesis Statement

X-

Use of Textual Evidence

from Genres
Use of Course Readings

X/X-

Analysis

Organization/Structure

Attention to

Genre/Conventions and
Rhetorical Factors
Sentence-level Clarity,

Mechanics, Flow
Stanger,
Other Comments
Nice work here. Check out my comments -- especially the
one on p. 2 that starts Stanger, I like how you're bringing
-- on

how you can get this to the next level for your

portfolio.
Z
8.5/10