Good kid, m.A.A.d. City defied all convention and demanded to be heard in its entirety, from beginning to end. Part Boyz N The Hood and part Menace II Society, the album was Kendrick’s coming of age story and invited the world in to see how he survived the mean streets of Compton. The narrative was inter-dependent on both the music and the numerous skits in between songs, as its subject matter ranged from the typical cravings of an adolescent boy to the types of traumatic events typically reserved for war torn soldiers (and many inner city youths).
The songs on GKMC were sonically and thematically complex, and sprawling. Rather than the customary 3 minutes allotted for radio songs, the records on the album averaged well over 5 minutes, with “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” clocking in at a whopping 12 minutes, with its accompanying skit. Notably, “The Recipe,” the good kid, m.A.A.d. City‘s only true radio single, did not make the final cut for the album.
Instead, it was addended as a bonus track. The praise for GKMC was unanimous, with many hailing it as. The LP sounded like a classic and felt like a classic, yet, many, including Kendrick, himself, were reluctant to label it as such because it had not stood the test of time. In speaking with in 2012, Kendrick said “The attention and great reception it’s been getting it’s overwhelming. People are labeling this a classic even without the years behind it, so it’s a great feeling. It’s classic worthy, you know? But it has to stand with the time and have the years behind it.