海角大神

The latest artist to release a surprise record is rapper Kendrick Lamar, whose previous work has garnered praise from the music industry and even the president himself.

Mr. Lamar鈥檚 new album 鈥渦ntitled unmastered鈥� became available on various streaming services beginning on March 3. The album consists of eight songs. The material includes songs which Lamar has recently performed during appearances on 鈥淭he Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon鈥� and at the Grammy Awards, among other venues.聽

What are critics saying so far about "untitled"?

Early reaction seems positive, with writing of "untitled," "From dense lyrics, complex and often wilfully uncommercial music, to the influence of jazz, social comment rubbing against personal angst and references to 70s soul, 'Untitled Unmastered' is obviously intent on continuing down the path of 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' for better or for worse ...聽There are moments when the album is overwhelmed by claustrophobia and paranoia."

called the album "a聽shorter, more uneven release than 'To Pimp A Butterfly'聽鈥� and some of it is even darker than its predecessor 鈥撀燽ut it gives fans a fascinating insight into Kendrick's creative process."

Expectations were high for Lamar鈥檚 next release following the incredibly positive critical reception to the rapper鈥檚 previous work, the 2015 album 鈥淭o Pimp a Butterfly.鈥澛�

The work was brought up by Obama during held earlier this year.聽

鈥淜endrick 鈥� his lyrics, his last album, was outstanding,鈥� the president said.聽鈥淏est album, I think, of last year.鈥�

Meanwhile, record producer Tony Visconti said David Bowie and the others working on Bowie鈥檚 acclaimed final album 鈥淏lackstar鈥� were inspired by the rapper as well. 鈥淲e were listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar," Visconti said in . "We wound up with nothing like that, but we loved the fact Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn't do a straight-up hip-hop record. He threw everything on there, and that's exactly what we wanted to do."聽