Hip Hop's Savior: Kendrick Lamar's Jazz Suite - Mixed by DJ Ajamu


I'm a fan of Kendrick Lamar. It's kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. Not as guilty of a pleasure as my religious viewing of Real Housewives of ___________(pick your favorite city and I watch it unless your favorite city is Miami), but I feel a little awkward liking Kendrick Lamar. I don't know why, but I do.  For whatever reason, I haven't yet checked To Pimp a Butterfly or Good Kid, m.A.A.d. city even though I'm a fan. I'm still stuck on Section 80 and haven't felt the need to "update" my Kendrick Lamar discography. If you're like me (a little behind on the KL discography), this is the perfect mix to catch you up.

Listen/Download Mix
In my opinion Kendrick Lamar is singlehandedly resurrecting hip hop as a cultural artistic form of expression that is deeply rooted in the black experience in America. That experience is reflected in all genres of music created by African Americans but particularly in jazz music. Kendrick Lamar has gone back to fusing hip hop with jazz and spoken word just as Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, De La Soul and many other classic hip hop groups did during the golden age of hip hop. His music also contains socially conscious lyrics, spiritual elements, and sonic rhythms that are intentionally designed to encourage listeners to reflect deeply upon what he has to say. On the heels of the release of his masterpiece To Pimp A Butterfly, I wanted to offer a mix which reflects some of the jazz elements that he uses from jazz and jazz oriented artists that he has collaborated with recently. These artists include, Robert Glasper, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, and Terrace Martin. I hope that many of you will enjoy and appreciate this music as much as I have. Enjoy:)

1 comment:

pipomixes said...

Cartoons and cereal is still insane as fuck to me! masterpiece in my opinion