Section.80

Section.80
Studio album by Kendrick Lamar
Released July 2, 2011 (2011-07-02)
Recorded 2010–2011
Studio Top Dawg Studios, Carson
Genre Conscious hip hop
Length 59:24
Label Top Dawg
Producer
Kendrick Lamar chronology
Overly Dedicated
(2010)		 Section.80
(2011)		 Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
(2012)
Singles from Section.80
  1. "HiiiPoWeR"
    Released: April 12, 2011[1]

Section.80 is the debut studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 2, 2011, by Top Dawg Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from GLC, Colin Munroe, Ashtrobot, BJ the Chicago Kid, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and vocals from late singer-songwriter Alori Joh. The production was mainly handled by Top Dawg in-house producers from production group Digi+Phonics, along with THC, Tommy Black, Wyldfyer, Terrace Martin and J. Cole.[2] The concept album features lyrical themes delivered by Lamar such as racism and medication tolerance. The album's lead single, "HiiiPoWeR" was released on April 12, 2011.

Section.80 received generally positive reviews from critics. The album debuted with 5,000 copies in the United States, based upon digital downloads within less than a week, debuting at number 113 on the Billboard 200, with minimal mainstream media promotion and coverage – however, some sources suggest the album entered at number 104. Within a two-week period, the album sold in total of 9,000 copies in the United States. As of February 2014, Section.80 has sold 130,000 copies domestically.

Background

The album is his first studio release, followed by the release of five of his mixtapes and his first extended-play (EP). Lamar recorded the album at Top Dawg Studios in Carson, California.[3]

The lead single for Section.80 was the song, titled "HiiiPoWeR", which was produced by Lamar's frequent collaborator J. Cole, of which the concept was to further explain the HiiiPoWeR movement.[4] In the beginning of the music video for "HiiiPoWeR", a quote from Kendrick Lamar reads:

“ I wrote #Section80 because I was ordered to do so. You'll never understand my life and my world. Have you ever seen a new born baby kill a man? Kendrick Lamar. The very next scene is a visual of me with the eyes of a 6 year old. My mother told me to keep this outtake because it said who I was. An infant looking for answers. Will you forgive me, twice? Probably not. I watch this video and reminisce on that crazy am hour of September 13, 2010. I Got a visit from Tupac Shakur. I remember being asleep. His image said "Don't let me die". I was paranoid. I said "why"? He said "because you the....."[5] ”

Music and lyrics

Section.80 is a concept album that revolves around the life of Tammy and Keisha as it explains the personal hardships in their lives. "Tammy's Song (Her Evils)" revolves around two girls cheating on their boyfriends after discovering they were unfaithful, and eventually sleeping with each other because they can't trust men. "Keisha's Song (Her Pain)" is about a prostitute who seeks comfort and control, only to her demise. Lamar explains that Section.80 is for people born in the 1980s until now as he dwells on a variety of subjects, such as referencing Ronald Reagan and discussing how the crack epidemic occurred in the 80s. He explains how this is part of the reason drugs are popular for his Generation (e.g. drug dealing and drug addicts.) "A.D.H.D" addresses the high drug and medication tolerance of people born during the Reagan era. "Kush & Corinthians" notes that justice and morals are rarely cut and dry.[6]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute90%[8]
DJBooth4.5/5[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB[10]
HipHopDX4/5[11]
MSN MusicB+[12]
Pitchfork8/10[13]
PopMatters8/10[14]
RapReviews.com8/10[15]
XXL4/5[16]

Section.80 sold only in 5,000 copies in the United States, based upon digital downloads within less than a week, debuting at number 113 on the Billboard 200, with minimal mainstream media promotion and coverage – however, some sources suggest the album entered at number 104. Within a two-week period, the album sold in total of 9,000 copies in the United States.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] As of February 2014, Section.80 has sold 130,000 copies domestically.[24]

Section.80 received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 80, based on 11 reviews.[7] Nathan S of DJBooth said "Section.80 may not be a sacred text but I've got the feeling that in five years it may just prove to be prophetic."[9] Andres Tardio of HipHopDX wrote that Lamar "may have been searching for answers, but that journey allowed him to find out of this year's most outstanding albums with Section.80."[11] Tom Breihan of Pitchfork believed that, "self-serious flaws and all, Section.80 still stands as a powerful document of a tremendously promising young guy figuring out his voice."[13] In the opinion of XXL journalist Adam Fleischer, the record reveals "its author's brain is neither lost nor useless, as he weaves together carefully constructed thoughts before spewing raps on each of the project's 16 tracks, ensuring nothing is disposable or without purpose."[16] David Amidon from PopMatters compared Lamar to a Ice Cube early in his career, as "he's only telling us what he sees, and while he might not offer solutions as often as [Ice Cube] did, he's certainly able to paint us vivid a picture."[14]

Pitchfork placed the album at number 45 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011".[25] Complex named the album the 7th best album of 2011.[26] In honor of Section.80's fifth anniversary, Forbes columnist Ogden Payne wrote an article explaining how the album had propelled Lamar into "hip-hop royalty", deeming it "the genesis to Kendrick Lamar successfully balancing social commentary with mass appeal, while simultaneously laying the foundation for his label as King Kendrick".[27]

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Fuck Your Ethnicity"  THC3:44
2."Hol' Up"  Sounwave2:53
3."A.D.H.D"  Sounwave3:35
4."No Make-Up (Her Vice)" (featuring Colin Munroe)Sounwave3:55
5."Tammy's Song (Her Evils)"  THC2:41
6."Chapter Six"  Tommy Black2:41
7."Ronald Reagan Era"  Tae Beast3:36
8."Poe Mans Dreams (His Vice)" (featuring GLC)Willie B4:21
9."The Spiteful Chant" (featuring Schoolboy Q)
5:20
10."Chapter Ten"  THC1:15
11."Keisha's Song (Her Pain)" (featuring Ashtrobot)Tae Beast3:47
12."Rigamortus"  
  • Willie B
  • Sounwave (co.)
2:48
13."Kush & Corinthians (His Pain)" (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid)Wyldfyer5:04
14."Blow My High (Members Only)"  Tommy Black3:35
15."Ab-Soul's Outro" (featuring Ab-Soul)Terrace Martin5:50
16."HiiiPoWeR"  J. Cole4:39

 • (co.) Co-producer

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits for Section.80 adapted from AllMusic.[33]

  • Kendrick Lamar – primary artist
  • Sounwave – producer
  • Terrace Martin – producer
  • J. Cole – producer
  • Wyldfyer – producer
  • Tommy Black – producer
  • Dave Free – producer
  • Derek "MixedByAli" Ali – mix engineer
  • Ab-Soul – featured artist
  • BJ the Chicago Kid – featured artist
  • Colin Munroe – featured artist
  • Schoolboy Q – featured artist
  • Ashtrobot – featured artist

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[34] 113
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[35] 22
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[36] 13
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[37] 1
US Top Digital Albums (Billboard)[38] 21

References

  1. ↑ "HiiiPoWer – Single by Kendrick Lamar". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Section.80 (Album)". Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  3. ↑ Ahmed, Insanul; Michels, Eric (August 1, 2011). "Interview: Kendrick Lamar Talks "Section.80," Major Labels, & Working With Dr. Dre". Complex. New York. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Speaks On The Meaning Behind "HiiiPoWeR," Working With J. Cole". 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  5. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar 'HiiiPOWER' OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO". YouTube. 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  6. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Releases 'Ronald Reagan Era', Fans Buzzing". MTV. 2011-06-20. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  7. 1 2 "Reviews for Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar". Metacritic. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ McMullen, Chase. "Album Review: Kendrick Lemar – Section.80". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
  9. 1 2 S., Nathan. "Kendrick Lamar – #Section80 – Album Review". DJBooth.
  10. ↑ Wete, Brad (July 29, 2011). "Albums: Aug. 5, 2011". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Vasquez, Andres (2011-07-06). "Kendrick Lamar – Section.80 | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Reviews". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  12. ↑ Christgau, Robert (August 28, 2012). "Ab-Soul/Kendrick Lamar". MSN Music. Microsoft. Retrieved 2012-08-29.
  13. 1 2 Breihan, Tom. "Kendrick Lamar: Section.80". Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  14. 1 2 Amidon, David. "Kendrick Lamar: Section.80". PopMatters. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  15. ↑ Baber, Mike. "RapReview Of The Week". RapReviews.com. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  16. 1 2 Fleischer, Adam. "Kendrick Lamar, Section.80 | XXL". XXL. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
  17. ↑ "Section.80 – Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  18. ↑ "Album Charts: Beyonce Earns Fourth #1 Album With '4', Big Sean Debuts At #3". Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  19. ↑ "Album Review: Kendrick Lamar – Section.80". IHipHop. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
  20. ↑ "Update: Album Sales Week Of 6/28/11 (Kendrick Lamar)". IHipHop. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  21. ↑ "Album Sales Week Of 7/5/11 (Kendrick Lamar)". IHipHop. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
  22. ↑ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/3/2011". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  23. ↑ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/10/2011". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
  24. ↑ "Top Dawg's Kendrick Lamar & ScHoolboy Q Cover Story: Enter the House of Pain". Billboard. February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2011". Pitchfork. December 15, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  26. ↑ "The 25 Best Albums of 2011". Complex. December 19, 2011.
  27. ↑ Payne, Ogden (July 2, 2016). "How Kendrick Lamar's 'Section.80' Catapulted Him Into Hip-Hop Royalty". Forbes. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar's A.D.H.D. sample of The Jet Age of Tomorrow's The Knight Hawk". Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  29. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar's 'Chapter Six' sample of King (Neo Soul Group)'s 'Hey'". WhoSampled. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar's the Spiteful Chant sample of Iron by Woodkid". Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  31. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar feat. Ashtrobot's Keisha's Song (Her Pain) sample of The Alan Parsons Project's Old and Wise". Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  32. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Rigamortis sample of Willie Jones's The Thorn". Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  33. ↑ "Section.80 – Kendrick Lamar". AllMusic. Credits. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  34. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Chart history". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
  35. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
  36. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
  37. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
  38. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
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