with kendrick lamar’s victory lap/pop off juneteenth performance fresh on my mind, i thought it might be cool to talk a little bit about one of my favorite tracks by him, that he performed on stage: king kunta! this track blew me away when i first heard it. everything about it is absolutely immaculate and shows musicians working at the very top of their game.
the first thing that stands out as soon as you hear this track is the bassline, courtesy of thundercat. walking upwards to the top note on the 1 (after which it drops down to repeat the process, almost like a shepherd tone), combined with the 100+ bpm pace (much faster than the norm for hiphop) gives the track a sense of “walking fast” energy that drives it forward the entire time, making it absolutely undeniable.
the music video matches this energy with pans following kendrick while sometimes “getting distracted” by the many other people and events going on. even the square aspect ratio contributes: a lack of peripheral means you have no choice but to focus on what’s in front of you. i really like the yellowy-orange tint as well, somehow it feels appropriate. (i feel like someone with more expertise on video editing could say more about the video)
the instrumental is incredible as well. it simultaneously feels like a continuation of that 90s g-funk era vibe in the best way, while also being fresh as fuck. if you imagine slowing the tempo down a bit, increasing the loudness of the kick and snare, and adding a sine lead, this would fit right into that 90s vibe, but it’s these changes that make the song almost totally unique. it actually drops the g-funk elements that would make this a pastiche, and creates a more minimal, intense vibe overall. the instrumental performances on this track are also top tier, the bassline we’ve talked about but the chaotic guitar/scratch dual solo at the end of this track is also incredible.
another highlight of this track is simply the way kendrick flows over this beat. the cadence is james brown, leaving plenty of gaps for infectious adlibs to fill (and for you to absorb what he’s saying). he has no time for intros as he barely waits for the fade in to let you know: “i got a bone to pick”. the structure is fantastic, hitting the chorus bright and early and each part flowing into the next one in a very organic way, despite the many surprise changes. the way each verse increases in complexity until we get a pretty athletic flow at the very end is such a cool buildup as well, culminating in a triumphant “oh yeah fuck the judge”. also, kendrick’s voice & delivery on this track just sounds so good. i’m not one of those that finds kendrick lamar’s voice annoying or whatever, but it has never sounded better than on this track (and now, “euphoria”), intense and energized but still full of joy and fun, just perfect for the track.
king kunta is the kinda track that i wish there was more of in kendrick’s euvre, it feels right in line with stuff from outkast’s stankonia (for me a high watermark for innovative hiphop production). this, “for free?”, “the heart pt.5” and a few others, are the tracks i keep coming back to and wishing his other projects had more of. i feel like he has mostly since chosen to trade this musical ambition for more impact on a visceral/storytelling level, but for me, having both is possible, and one strengthens the other!
(also i must say… opening a record with the 3 hit combo of Wesley’s theory, for free? and king kunta, i mean WOW that’s powerful stuff)
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