Kendrick Lamar’s Squabble Up: Hip Hop from TRON

Jack Antonoff has jumped on board with Kasami Washington and Kendrick Lamar to produce his latest record GNX. This has been a big year for Kendrick as he smashed the internet with Drake diss tracks. His newest record, which is named after a Buick Grand National, is a big shift for Kendrick as he moves from social activism to the club. Don’t get me wrong, there are social messages about race and class within this record, but it is primarily a showcase of fire bars and lush pop / 80s club synth.

His track Squabble Up is a great example of this new shift. The track is like part Swift Era’s style pop…mixed with a mid-80s nightclub….mixed with Kit from Knight Rider. There are some synth bleeps and bloops mixed with lush bass lines and glittery chimes to make this surreal neon scene all around you. As a listener, you feel dropped into some drug fuelled dance club wearing a black leather jacket with the collar popped and a skinny tie. The heavy eletro synth and pop flourishes gives the track a whole new dimension and work as a great foil to Kendrick’s vocal. Even though the music is definitely cosmic in its own way, it does ground the track in a strange way. You hear the beats and you think “Oh, this is not a high concept track about trauma…this is an homage to the Jackson 5. We are gonna dance!” This sets you up for the fun ahead and frees you to just go with the track.

Lyrically, this may not have the in depth social commentary we are used to from Kendrick, he did win a Pulitzer Prize, but that is not to say there isn’t depth. He starts off with “God knows / I am reincarnated / I was stargazin’ / Life goes on, I need all my babies.” Kendrick is having a cosmic rebirth of sorts on this record and I think it is a rebirth of his sound. Much like David Bowie or Dr. Dre, Kendrick is evolving to stay ahead of the curve and dictate where the genre is headed. The firs bars are still there, “…from the Westside to Senegal / It’s a full moon let the wolves out, I’ve been a dog.” This is Kendrick being grounded in his Compton roots and engaging in his genuine self, “…why you…rap, if it’s fictional.” Most of all, this is Kendrick having some fun.

This lush pop hip hop from Kendrick is a big move away from the sharpness of trap or the overbearing weight of the wall of sound rap from Kanye. It is a definite shift for the artist, which shows how Kendrick can evolve and remain fresh and the forefront of the genre. He along with Bennie the Butcher, Westside Gunn and Tyler the Creator are changing the face of hip hop…and it is very exciting.

Listen to Squabble Up