Rapper and musician Kendrick Lamar has shot to super-stardom over the past three years, and has become the most in-demand star of the rap and RnB industry. Lamar, a 30-year-old musician who was born in Compton, California, was initially known under the stage name K-Dot before returning to his given name. His cousin, Nick Young, is a professional NBA player. He is currently said to be worth US$35 million by the end of 2017, according to coed.com. Kendrick has released four studio albums throughout his career so far. His most recent album, “Damn,” received high critical acclaim. “Section. 80,” “Good Kid M.A.A.D City” and “To Pimp a Butterfly” are his other releases. In 2018, Kendrick went home with five Grammys — only being beaten by Bruno Mars who went home with six. These included best rap performance and best rap song for “Humble,” best rap album for “Damn,” and best rap performance for “Loyalty” with Rihanna. The wins were added to a staggering 11 wins he had already earned at the event over the years. At this year’s Brit Awards, Kendrick claimed the award for best international male solo artist. He beat out the likes of Beck, Childish Gambino, DJ Khaled and Drake in the category. In enlisting Lamar to make the music soundtrack for superhero flick “Black Panther,” Marvel Studios has hit upon a collection of songs as regal as the titular character. King Kendrick, as the celebrated rapper is known, cast his net far and wide to assemble a rich and diverse bunch of urban music collaborators. Besides his own solo output, there are recent chart-toppers such as singer-songwriters The Weeknd and SZA, new critics’ darlings Khalid and Anderson Paak as well as Lamar’s old Black Hippy hip-hop supergroup compatriots Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q. There are also contributions from South African act Babes Wodumo and rapper Yugen Blakrok as well as English singer-producer James Blake. Lamar takes on the “Black Panther” character on the album opener and title track, putting himself in the shoes of T’Challa, the superhero/king of fictional African nation Wakanda. Eight songs later, there is a satisfying balance as he turns the table and embodies the movie’s revenger Killmonger, distilling the character’s anger in a few incisive verses. While the track “King’s Dead” features Rock, Blake and popular rapper Future, it is Lamar’s adroit and wildly shifting flow that elevates the song beyond your usual hip-hop banger. On the album’s most aggressive song, “Paramedic!,” Lamar anchors the chorus while letting young upstarts from hip-hop collective SOB x RBE assert themselves with some red-blooded proclamations. Then there are the immersive slow jams, such as Khalid’s laid-back yet fetching drawl on “The Ways,” which features mesmeric production from Lamar’s regular producer Sounwave and jazz/hip-hop instrumentalists BadBadNotGood. Perhaps the album’s most defining aspect is that it works on its own, with tunes that can be savored as standalone songs or as a cohesive collection, and not just as mere accompaniment. (SD-Agencies) | 