DRIVE SLOW

The other day Matt sent me this video with the simple commentary “no limit era snoop: the most under-appreciated era of snoop.”

C-Murder – Down For My N’s (feat. Magic & Snoop Dogg)

I probably don’t know enough about other people’s opinions of Snoop to confirm or counter Matt’s assessment, but I think that song is pretty interesting in light of this one.

Kendrick Lamar – Tammy’s Song

I think the relationship between these two songs is a nice microcosm of what Kendrick Lamar is: his roots, background, and inspiration are unquestionably in the street, but he adds a level of nuance and balance by subtly shifting turns of phrase (and also introducing a genuine interest in a female perspective), and then occasionally goes a little off track with it (the whole “turnin’ dyke” direction).  That part just feels a little too late in the game to make a joke, or at least that joke.  Don’t get me wrong, you can ask my girlfriend, my blog, or my iTunes play count if I like Kendrick Lamar a lot and the answer will be unanimously “yes”, but every now and then I remember that he also particularly turns me off sometimes.  Usually not though.  Usually he’s doing something cool like turning a C-Murder song into a relationship analysis or a Janet Jackson song into a complex reference to a Janet Jackson movie.