barryorchestra presents Top 50 of 2018 - #8
#8 - N.E.R.D. & Kendrick Lamar - Don’t Don’t Do It!
So in 2017, another Pharrell Williams project made my list, and I used that opportunity to talk about the N.E.R.D album that had just dropped at the time, and I was thoroughly impressed by the record. It still holds up to this day, and I even when and bought a hard copy. This is progressive hip hop at it’s finest. Conscious, uplifting, aggressive, experimental, and most of all fun, “NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES” is an album that I have already reviewed, so I won’t say anything else about it.
Don’t Don’t Do It focuses on police brutality, even listing the cities in America where specific incidents have taken place. The title refrain is a direct response to when cops ask one to put their hands up. If you’re still going to get shot anyway, what’s the point? The song progresses from a smooth jazz/R&B introduction to a punk rock chant all before Kendrick Lamar comes through and spits a killer verse without missing a beat. It’s a wild ride, and yet it never wavers from its stance, and never becomes overwhelming.
