Kendrick Lamar’s major label debut, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City,” is a concept album that has undoubtedly changed hip-hop music.

Lamar’s album features guest appearances from Drake, Dr. Dre, Jay Rock and MC Eiht. The album follows Lamar’s youth in Compton, which consisted of peer pressure, criminal activity, substance experiences and the longing for escape from it all.

The lyrical content of the album is strong, with Lamar’s unique style of storytelling shown in songs like, “Sing About Me, Im Dying of Thirst,” which is a 12-minute song telling a story from various characters. The stories touch on love, death, rape, violence and Lamar’s effort to write this song in order to make people aware.

One of the most important aspects of the album, and of Kendrick Lamar in general, is his ability to turn what most would consider a club song, into a piece reflecting on the issues associated with clubbing and excess. This example is highlighted in the song “Swimming Pools (Drank)” which was also one of the singles. Lamar talks of how he got into drinking, through peer pressure, and also talks about the alcohol abuse that surrounds our generation. The hook to the song says, “First you get a swimming poll full of liquor, then you dive in it,” from the perspective of someone at a party, taking alcohol use to the extreme.

The hook also says the lines, “I wave a few bottles, then I watch them all flock. All the girls wanna play Baywatch,” referring to our generation’s young females involved in the party scene, and their tendencies to lose themselves for alcohol. Lamar’s message is one very relevant to young adults, where situations like his are common, even in Bakersfield.

The production on the album is out of the ordinary, touching on a new sound that has taken hip-hop music to another level.

“Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City,” is one of the most important records to be released in hip-hop in the past 10 years, and is resurgence to west coast hip-hop.