As The Colbert Report comes to a conclusion this Thursday, last night’s episode featured Stephen’s final musical guest: West Coast golden boy Kendrick Lamar.  He performed a new track, one that lacks a title, but even more interesting than that was how he was backed by Anna Wise, Thundercat, Bilal and Terrace Martin.  You have to pay attention to these things: they’re important.

Of course, that was really my opening reaction when I saw them all, not so much to the song.  Whether it’s a nod to the returning Black Messiah D’Angelo (review in progress) or just being artsy, Kendrick has left this song untitled (for now at least), and as he was getting ready to perform a question popped into my mind:

“Did he get touched… by the Badu?”

He began to perform.  His movements were jerky, his flow was untouched: he was in a new place musically.  I sat back, folded my arms across my chest and nodded.  “He’s been touched by the Badu.” 

Now if you’re not familiar with the Badu then this term might come across as strange to you, but I’m here to explain.  Erykah Badu, sometimes shortened to the Badu, is a mythical creature hailing from a land of cowboys and mavericks.  She is rumored to be nearly immortal, going on and on as she cultures her famed afro.  Much like a phoenix she goes into moments of hibernation and then rises in her next lifetime.  A religious movement was born of her actions, a curious faith practice that draws worship to both her talent and her booty. 

The Badu has a weird habit of attracting the attention of talented musicians and taking them to her lair.  They vanish for a little while and then return, with a more eclectic style or persona that manifests into some interesting music.  More on this will come in the following days as this piece is not about the Badu but about the Kendrick.

The song itself was standard Kendrick flair in terms of lyricism and subject matter.  He’s found a strange niche where he can be just as socially in tune and literate as an early Lupe Fiasco, without being pretentious and trying to prove that he’s socially in tune and literate, like modern day Lupe Fiasco.  One might even draw comparisons to American Terrorist in the way multiple ethnic heritages and perspectives are drawn upon in the span of the song.  Not surprisingly the perspectives in both songs were that of minorities within the United States.

But where Terrorist is a macro view of how America responded and responds to such minorities, Untitled chronicles the perspectives as taught to a young man seeking realization and comprehension in his life.  Kendrick acknowledges how geography influences belief, how ownership influences longevity, how sexual pursuit influences worth and how wealth influences growth.  The Badu makes men more experimental in what they perform, but rarely does she affect the actual subject matter.  And as much as I tried to dislike Untitled, I find myself nodding my head to it.  Much like Chris Rock has a habit of making you laugh at a joke, even if you’re uncomfortable with the subject, Mr. Lamar has a habit of making songs that you may not like right off the back but it grows on you. 

Besides: Terrace Martin plays his saxophone and Bilal is on supporting vocals.  That’s so epic I have to rewrite it.

Terrace Martin plays his saxophone and Bilal is on supporting vocals.

With two songs now, Kendrick has shown signs of being touched by the Badu, and at this rate I wonder if he’ll be the second person to have gotten the touch and evolved into something amazing.  So far there has been one other.  And he might be the greatest rapper of all time.