i mean shes definitely been making music with hip-hop artists her whole career but since she wasnt rapping (usually) i didnt see it as hip-hop. i do think hip-hop as a genre doesnt need to have rapping anymore. theres even music that has rapping that i wouldnt really consider to be hip-hop.

that said, i initially included her because i thought it was all time favorite albums, no genre. it wasnt until i read through some comments where i realized it was meant to be only hip-hop. i was tempted to leave it but figured it would be good to redo the list with albums that should be unquestionably considered hip-hop.

my memory on kendrick is a bit hazy. i know i had listened to section 80 and gkmc. im not sure if it was before tpab or after. i do think around tpab i wasnt really sure who kendrick was. if i had listened to his earlier albums i didnt really connect them to tpab. tpab made him a known rapper to me. i enjoyed the earlier albums but this one was impossible to ignore. i really enjoyed hearing an album with a consistent theme and all the nods he was doing musically. i didnt quite enjoy most of the songs as stand alone tracks though.

damn. made me realize i could actually enjoy the newer, at the time, sound. it was so consistent and i really enjoyed basically every song, even ones that are sometimes clowned. it seems like a lot of kendrick fans put damn. at the bottom of his discography. its definitely the one ive listened to the most. its just a really enjoyable album.