>I've never made it a secret that I don't quite feel Kendrick
>as much as others on here

I'm in this lane as well. The only release of his that I can honestly say I like is untitled.unmastered. On paper, I should like TPOB since he took serious effort with the bars and overall music, but it just didn't grab me on repeated listens. I'm surprised you're critical of Kendrick since I've seen you be fairly positive with most material I've seen you post on this message board.

>, but I enjoy this stripped-down,
>back-to-basics approach. I also appreciate the lack of
>shrieking and funny voices (at least most of the time).

This is where I am at with the album based on the single time I listened to the album last night. It is a way easier listening than the times I first spun Maad City and TPOB. The weird pitch effects he did with his voice on the album and the fact he didn't name names in terms of the rappers he felt were subpar took me a little bit out of the album.

In this day and age where rappers are allowed to literally mumble and abuse auto-tune to great success, I think I'll give this album more listens to be fair.