The Witzard

Kendrick Lamar 's latest non-album single, "i" has a seemingly unlikely sample source, The Isley Brother 's 1973 Soul-Funk hit, "[Who's] That Lady," which many of you may recognize from Swiffer 's hilarious long-standing "Who's That Lady" campaign. Right off the bat, "i" itself is more blatantly "commercial" than the combined the whole of it's predecessor good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), but in the best way humanly possible. It's almost reminiscent of OutKast or even Native Tongues' 90's era brand of light-heated "conscious rap." Kendrick Lamar has supposedly recorded about 30 tracks for his as-yet-untitled second album, including "a bunch of tracks" with Dr. Dre . "Lamar says to expect "aggression and emotion" from the album, as well as some straight-up freestyling" laments a recent Rolling Stone profile; "if I can say anything about this record...

We have witnessed time and time again, attempts from new artists to make a breakthrough each year. Some succeed, but many prove that music as a profession is not as easy as it seems. To survive as a musician in modern times is as easy as shopping on Black Friday ; Not a simple task. The division of genres make an easy target for hipster's crazed opinions, often damaging a reputation or two. Marketing strategies; The key to a successful career. A catchy hook/bridge, controversial lyrics, and a mixture of genres can gain the attention needed to fuel a ride to the top. The golden ticket needed, may have landed in the right person's lap at the right time... when Hip-Hop freshman, Kendrick Lamar decided to leave his mark on the ever-so-popular chart-topping single "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster The People . Lamar proved his infinite potential earlier this year when he released his first charting digital album Section.80 . The Cali native stirred up heavy media buzz by di...