By Ian Bremner

Few people not named Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian can get people on the internet as riled up as what Kendrick Lamar did to people last week. As opposed to the previously mentioned people, Kendrick actually did the country a favor by taking over the mainstream conscious.

There were reports that Spotify had blown the secret launch of Kendrick’s new project, because apparently it had been released, only to be taken off abruptly. Again, in the internet age, this sort of thing lives in infamy with people screenshotting and tweeting like they caught someone in the act. Kendrick’s To Pimp A Butterfly was mysteriously “leaked” in a similar manner as well, but he has yet to mention it, or even seem to care, as both projects have deservedly seen enormous success.

Sure enough, later the same day, Untitled Unmastered was on the streaming services and available for purchase digitally. As the name quite literally suggests, the 8-track album is full of untitled, unmastered songs from 2014-2016 during the TPAB sessions. They share the same jazzy vibe and collaborators, like Anna Wise, Jay Rock and even Cee Lo Green.

Though the packaging, mastering and naming of the songs seem sparce, these songs are in no way throwaways or simple demos left off the final cut of, To Pimp A Butterfly. The 8 songs flow beautifully and it plays like mini-movie as most Kendrick albums do. Like a good movie, each scene is set with anticipation and the viewer (listener) is down for the ride. The more you watch that movie (listen on repeat) the more familiar you become and you feel a part of it.

The few times Kendrick has taken the spotlight on late night shows and the Grammy’s, he would always surprise audiences with new, untitled verses. It now appears that they were already full songs hiding in plain sight.

Untitled Unmastered

Untitled 2 on Jimmy Fallon

To Pimp A Butterfly Medley