“And everything on TV just a figment of imagination
I don’t want plastic nation, dread that like a Haitian
While you mothafuckas waiting, I be off the slave ship
Building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs”

– Kendrick Lamar | HiiiPoWeR

So let me start this off by saying, Kendrick Lamar is my favorite rapper of all time…

With that being said, I’m pretty geeked up to finally bring K Dot to The Ghetto Activist!

With a catalog of classic projects underneath his belt, please believe me when I say this won’t be the last time you see Kendrick featured in this ongoing series.

But since this is basically Kendrick’s first feature on TGA, I felt like it was only right to kick things off by highlighting my favorite project.

Quick Background 

Section.80 is Kendrick Lamar’s debut studio album, released on July 2, 2011, through Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Although the project was marketed and distributed like a studio album, Lamar has consistently referred to it as a mixtape.

Even though, Section.80 is technically recognized as Kendrick Lamar’s “debut studio album,” it’s honestly not the full truth. Section.80 was actually Kendrick’s 7th project he released as a mixtape.

Kendricks earlier projects include; Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), Training Day, C4, The Kendrick Lamar EP, & Overly Dedicated.

Basic Need To Knows

Even though Kendrick had already had a mountain of content out, I didn’t find out about him until early 2011.

Like many of us back then, I was on a heavy Drake kick. I mean, I’d literally start my day browsing the web searching for any leaks I could find. It was early March 2011, and the word was out that Drake was dropping an album later that year (The album turned out to be Take Care: November 15, 2011).

I remember running across a blog piece that read something like, “Things You Should Look Forward to On Drake’s New Album,” or some shit like that. Anyway, being the Drake fan I was, I clicked on that shit without any hesitation.

Halfway through the article, I ran into a snippet of some leaked audio to “Buried Alive (Interlude)” by Kendrick Lamar. I was hooked from then on.

Fast-forward a few months later and Section.80 was presented to the world. Like I said earlier, Section.80 is by far my favorite project from Kendrick Lamar even til this day. And that’s saying a lot considering his most recent projects like DAMN and To Pimp a Butterfly.

Section.80 masterfully tackles issues like race relations, hood relations, parenting in the black community, and much more.

Favorite Tracks

Like every album featured in this series, I fuck with every track on Section.80 haha. So instead of listing all my favorites, I’ll just do as I always do and list off a few, and leave the rest for you guys to discover!

Favorite Joints off Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar

• A.D.H.D
• Ronald Reagan Era (His Evils)
• Poe Man’s Dreams (His Vice)
• Keisha’s Song (Her Pain)
• Kush & Corinthians (His Pain)
• HiiiPoWeR