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untitled unmastered. is a collection of unfinished tracks from the sessions of Kendrick's previous album, To Pimp A Butterfly. I must reiterate that they are unfinished, because they seriously don't sound like it. This compilation for me acts like an expansion to TPAB, because these tracks are genuinely great. Rather than having traditional song titles, each of the 8 tracks here are given a number and a date.
These songs are very much in the same vain as TPAB, being politically and socially charged jazz rap bangers. Kendrick's flow and character is just as strong, and the tracks bounce around from weird, dark psychedelic tunes (in the form of untitled 01) to fun and funky (untitled 03 and 06). untitled 02 and 07 even lean into the more trap sound of Kendrick's next album, DAMN. untitled 02 fuses this with the jazz rap he was playing with at the time, and it's really unique and kind of hypnotic. untitled 07 is probably my least favourite of the bunch, as it's rather devoid of the jazzy instrumentation and the trap beat on its own is kind of dull. untitled 05 opens as this rolling jazz beat, and stays that way for a while with some smooth vocals on top from Anna Wise. It takes two minutes for Kendrick to start rapping, and he comes in with a real punch. This is really contrasting to the smooth jazz of the instrumentation. The vocal hook by Cee Lo Green on untitled 06 is really fun and gives the track this sort of lounge vibe. Like rap for hotel lobbies.
This album is a testament to Kendrick's talent, as it is and album of unfinished off-cuts, and it is this good. The shorter run time also makes it an easier listen; for as great as TPAB is, it's length and heaviness means I'm not always in the mood for it. Although I don't know it all that well, I have now listened to the rest of Kendrick's discography and this is definitely my second favourite after To Pimp A Butterfly.
Top Tracks: untitled 01, untitled 02, untitled 03, untitled 05, untitled 06
8/10
