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Journey with Kendrick in the M.A.A.D City

By Zach Roubos,
Contributor

DOOOS

he cover of

Kendrick Lamar’s
second album, Good Kid,
M.A.A.D City has the
subtitle “A Short Film
by Kendrick Lamar.”

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The songs are interspersed with interludes that consist
of conversations with his friends and somewhat humor-
ous voicemails from his parents that serve to drive the

takes you into his life as
a 17-year-old trying to
navigate life in Compton
and find his salvation.
The songs are inter-
spersed with interludes
that consist of conversa-
tions with his friends and
somewhat humorous
voicemails from his par-
ents that serve to drive
the narrative forward.
While the production

narrative forward.

Curious, until one listens
to the aforementioned
project from front
to back, and then it
all becomes clear.

With Good Kid...,
Lamar has weaved a
seamless narrative that

style is varied, none of
his beat choices feel out
of place, and in fact, most
compliment his subject
matter perfectly, which
serves to reinforce the
idea that this is more
than a mere album.

On “Backseat
Freestyle,” Lamar spits:
“All my life I want
money and power,
respect my mind or
die from lead shower,”
and continues to drop
uncharacteristically
ignorant lyrics over a Hit-
Boy produced banger,
while presumably riding
in the backseat with
his friends. This leads

 

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success as an artist, or

ADVISORY!

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perfectly into “The To call this album

Art of Peer Pressure,” cohesive is an extreme perhaps both, we’re bet-
which finds Lamar on understatement. It closes __ ter off for having taken
a solemn soundscape with the Dr. Dre assisted the journey with him.

lamenting about things
he usually would not
do, but does because,
he’s “with the homies.”

anthem “Compton,”
where Lamar has found
his salvation. Whether
it was through religion,

RZA challenges film with ‘Iron Fists

By Janella Bunda,
Contributor

a | a

ZA, hip-hop pioneer

of the Wu-Tang
Clan, stretched out his
directing and acting
skills into untouched

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heights in the new film
The Man with the Iron
Fists (released November
2). The film deals with
three warriors: Jack
Knife (Russell Crowe),
Zen-Yi (Rick Yune), and
The Blacksmith (RZA

himself), all with their
own objectives, until they
must battle a force that
threatens their village.

It is everything one
would expect in a sur-
realist Chinese martial
artsy film, with some
heavy rap and bluesy
rock as the music score.
Clearly the strength in
this feature was the fight

It is everything one would expect ina surrealist Chinese
martial artsy film, with some heavy rap and bluesy rock
as the music score.

choreography. The visual
intricacy of the weapons
each character uses
reveals the details RZA
had brewing in his head.
Madam Blossom (Lucy
Liu) and Brass Body
(David Bautista) serve

some aggressive action
goodness in particular.
Each scene is action-
packed and definitely
will not disappoint—
though beware of the
sometimes-shoddy CGI.
Where the film falls
flat is in the execution
of the plot. The tone
takes itself too seriously,
where flashbacks are all

too brief and character
relations are wrapped
up in a rush. Some per-
sonalities rely on clichés,
but who watches kung
fu movies for character
development anyway?
If you're into violence,

 

RZA in The Man with the Iron Fists | Photo courtesy of Arcade Pictures

be prepared for this
fast-paced gore ride to

the sounds of Cantopop
singers and Kanye West.