

Dre, and MC Eiht) and attractive production (from Pharrell, Just Blaze, Tabu, and others). City would be a milestone even without the back-story, offering cool and compelling lyrics, great guests (Drake, Dr. Dre, and the 'biggest debut since Illmatic' stuff starts to flow, but Good Kid, M.A.A.D. Top it off with a pre-release XXL Magazine cover that he shared with his label boss and all-around legend Dr. A series of killer mixtapes displayed his talent for thought-provoking street lyrics delivered with an attention-grabbing flow, and then there was his membership in the Black Hippy crew with his brethren Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock all issuing solo releases that pleased the 'true hip-hop' set, setting the stage for a massive fourth and final. Hip-hop debuts don't come much more 'highly anticipated' than Kendrick Lamar's.
