The album, it seems, was a success, but there is a temptation to say, “well, it’s no To Pimp A Butterfly ” and disregard it as an afterthought, a victory lap after a successful year for Kendrick Lamar. The reviews have been pretty positive across the board. Then, with no real promotion or warning, Untitled Unmastered showed up on the iTunes store and this strange compilation/abandoned-recording-sessions/album-that-maybe-almost-didn’t-happen is in our hands. Internet forums went crazy, fans were skeptical and even NBA star Lebron James begged Kendrick to release whatever it was he had locked up in the studio. Then, all of the sudden, the CEO of Lamar’s record label dropped a hint that a new project might be underway, before promptly shutting the lid on any more speculation. Several other verses from Untitled Unmastered premiered in performances on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and the Grammys, also without any stated intention of releasing them in electronic form. Terrence Martin (a producer and instrumentalist who’s worked with Kendrick Lamar in the past) said in an interview that recordings of the song “don’t even exist nowhere in the world but The Colbert Report.” But when TPAB was eventually released, the track was nowhere to be found. One song from the project, “Untitled 3”, was first unveiled months before To Pimp a Butterfly was released, when Kendrick delivered it with emphatic force on the final episode of The Colbert Report, while promoting his forthcoming album.

The origins of the album are strange to say the least. And yet, just as good kid, m.A.A.d city managed to present a complicated story of drugs, violence and growing up under the disguise of anthems and hard hitting bangers, there is more to Untitled Unmastered than meets the eye. Sporting flat, washed out, swampy-green cover art and equally spartan name, Untitled Unmastered might give the impression of a low-effort project. On Thursday, March 3, Kendrick Lamar unexpectedly dropped his 5th project/album/mixtape/B-Side collection or whatever you want to call it, I’m not really sure.

Untitled unmastered review