Listen to Kendrick Lamar's New Album, 'untitled unmastered.'

Kendrick Lamar is a Compton, Calif. native, hip-hop artist, seven-time Grammy Award winner, and Afro-American male who bettered himself, his family, and his community in an environment disadvantaged from much of the U.S.A.

The neighborhood that raised Kendrick juxtaposes the disenfranchised African American experience some face daily. 

A music news channel on YouTube, Noisey, documented Kendrick speaking on the city, its lifestyles, and the rapper's longtime friends involved with street gangs, like Piru (Blood) and Crip. A segment in Part 5 of Noisey's "Bompton" series talks about how mass incarceration is used to hide problems such as poverty and institutionalized racism. The observation eliminates the classic, "get a job," or, "go to school," retorts from society because it acknowledges the situation many black people in Compton and America face. 

Through Kendrick's music and the light he sheds upon his home, it is necessary to understand that people sell drugs because they have to feed their families and kids, all the while supporting themselves. They never received proper guidance because one parent is in jail for life and the other was killed before the kid became a teenager. They never received a good education because low-income neighborhoods have school systems that do not receive a fair share of state and local funds. Lives like these are real, but not by choice. K.Dot shares the following:

“It’s both physically and mentally. It’s not only caging us in the prisons, but up here [points to head] as well. Making us feel like there’s no hope so you will always be institutionalized to know that up here [points to head] your son is going to be thinking the same way, forever locked up. You get cats that say, ‘I’m in the hood. All I know is the hood, I wanna go back to the hood and do this and do that and be on the block.’ They do that because they got to do that. They don’t want to be doing what they doing. It’s not for the luxury, it’s the circumstances that be.”

However, for some, Kendrick's songs about his unique experience, the on-going struggles, and self-improvement are entertainment, and for others his songs are inspiration and messages for fairness and equality.

Foremost, Kendrick's mission continues in the form of his newest album, which is called untitled unmastered. The project is eight tracks spanning from 2013 to 2016 and carries a tone of empowerment, insight, and celebration. He raps, "No more discriminatin' the poor," in "untitled 01 08.19.2014" and "The politicians always mislead the youth," in "untitled 07 2014 - 2016" (also produced by Egypt, Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys five-year-old son). iTunes editors call the latest album, "political and expressive currency."

In listening to Kendrick Lamar, one can understand that we all come from different circumstances, but different should should not mean disadvantaged. Hopefully, some may see aspects of life that are unequal for certain people when listening to Kendrick Lamar's untitled unmastered.

Sh'mi - My Wrist

@realshmi

The Company Only, an artistic collective, occupies a substantial part of Pittsburgh's rap scene. With six members, Joel Kellem, PK Delay, Seas, Deem Trill, Fat Corey, and Sh'mi push projects, perform, promote, and support each other individually and as a group. Viewers can peek at their lives through Kellem's "Just Chilling" episodes.

Sh'mi makes waves out of the bunch currently because of his new single, "My Wrist," which follows his effort on "See Me Ballin" with Seas. The new song chronicles a young man's come-up in an urban jungle. "My Wrist" is featured on Sh'mi's forthcoming extended play called "The Slicky Williams EP."

Aminé - Yeye (Lean Quatifah & Cautious Clay)

District of Columbia is home to a collection of eclectic sounds and producers. Hard hitting trap, rhythmic house, 808s, pleasant electronics and chimes, and live instrumentations are fused into the musicianship of two specific D.C. producers.

Lean Quatifah and Cautious Clay, co-founders of Proper Vibes record label, display their talents today in the form of a remix. Both Lean and Cautious flip a Kaytrananda produced song by Portland, Ore. artist Aminé, "Yeye."

Listen to the D.C. duo's re-work below and explore Aminé's Calling Brio project here.

Benji Wild - Watch and Learn

Rap is used as a vehicle to improve one's surroundings. Much is the case for this artist from Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

26-year-old MC Benji Wild is a native of Cardiff's Splott and Tremorfa neighborhoods and uses the environments to inspire his progression and growth needed to succeed in his musical endeavors. Wild strives for positivity with the preparation of a new EP, A Wild Life Documentary, which comes after serving a stint in prison.

The first release in support of his project is a music video titled "Watch and Learn." Visuals and the song key in on the grey days people from the UK are so familiar with and matches with the gloom of the low-income area Wild tours through. "The song itself is aimed at the people I familiarize myself with, and I hope that it makes us take notice of how our grey world can be and give us the hunger and drive that is needed to prosper and turn our lives around," he said.

Thanks to bold statements and knowledge Benji Wild drops over the grime-laden beat, the musician is primed to turn his life around. See for yourself below by viewing "Watch and Learn."

Time Spent with Choo Jackson

Choo Jackson via Alex Young

Choo Jackson un-paused his game, Tomb Raider on Xbox One. The rapper by way of Vero Beach, Fla., Chambersburg, Pa., and, most present, Pittsburgh now maneuvered a battle-tested Lara Croft throughout the map.

The moment of leisure came one day before Choo released his first project of 2016, a nine-song mixtape titled Anime. The work is "journey of youth music," he said, inspired by the wacky and colorful Japanese cartoon. Choo has watched anime since his uncle showed it to him as a kid, and he made the music to, "explain my life in a different way."

In his debut album, Broken Hearts Make Money, Choo spoke on personal relationship heartbreak; he detailed how a breakup took away his cheer and left him in solitude. However, his newest record, Anime, helped drive him away from his melancholy. Anime is about, "fucking fun, being out of this broken heart rut, and me finding myself again through the music," he said. Executive producer Christo helped Choo craft the EP's cheery sound.

"I made Anime for me to have fun to. I wanted to make cool ass music to be raw as fuck to, and that other people could have fun to as well," Choo said. Now, the rapper is back on the market, and waiting to see the women that come out of the woodwork after he drops new music.

Along with rapping, Choo cites weed and his friends as the positive influences to bring his swagger back. Nigel, co-owner of Pittsburgh lifestyle brand Daily Bread, sat next to Choo on the couch while he played Tomb Raider. Daily Bread was one of the first companies to promote Choo and expand his creative image more thoroughly throughout the 'burgh. Another friend and Choo's roommate, Staxx, also known as Swing, is a producer who motivates Choo with his dedication and effort.

Currently, life is blooming for Choo Jackson, a valuable member of RememberMusic. Since releasing BHMM, "I am a grown man now. I know my vision, and I know what I want to do," he said. One of those desired accomplishments is to make "50 genuine albums" in his career. 

Choo Jackson and Nigel of Daily Bread

A sample of that catalog came from loud bass hits and various melodies that rung from upstairs in Staxx's room of Choo's crib. A tall recording mic stood at my left, and it became apparent Choo records music where he lives. He put the Xbox controller down and invited Nigel and me up to listen to some unreleased songs that detailed his next two projects. The first song he played was a sung freestyle, and the following was a diddly with the words, "stunt on you," repeated in the hook. Here he delivered sage advice, "there are some people that always need to be stunt on because there are some people that stunted on you and told you that you wouldn't be shit."

The most endearing aspect of Choo's music is its purity. He allows his fans to enjoy his heartache and his accomplishments. By being both vulnerable and prideful himself, Choo instills confidence in everybody who listens to him. He receives gratification from knowing his music has helped someone. Choo even calls his fans family, "but distant, though."

As Choo looks to the future of his career, he hopes to use his sharp ear to expand the roster of his Foreverkool Records label. While I visited his home, Choo alerted me to new artist Nav and a song by Lil Yachty, "1Night."

Most importantly, Choo Jackson wants his fans to remember him as somebody who sacrificed himself to help the good of many. "Imagine a candlelight vigil for me," he said.