Sample Flips: Kendrick Lamar – “Celebration” (Prod. By Sounwave)

On December 31st, 2009, Kendrick Lamar released his debut self-titled EP, The Kendrick Lamar EP. Featuring production from Sounwave, Black Milk, and Jake One, with features from Black Hippy members Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock, the EP foreshadowed a promising future. I think “Celebration” has all of the parts of Kendrick’s music that we’ve grown to appreciate. The passion is there and the lyricism is strong. Rhyming over a sample-based Sounwave production, Kendrick puts together a solid three minute track. He even delivers a line, “Good Kid, Mad City, evil in my heart” early in his first verse, which foreshadows the title of the album he goes on to release three years later. The potential Kendrick displayed on “Celebration” is an example of where his future was headed.

Kendrick Lamar – “Celebration” (Prod. By Sounwave)

Roy Ayers – “Hummin’”