Kendrick Lamar has returned with his powerful messages, smooth instrumentals, and overall fantastic sound with his 4th album release: “D*MN.”

Kung Fu Kenny brought 14 tracks with features from Rihanna, U2, and Zacari, all wrapped up in complex web of fear and power.

D*MN. tells a story of Kendrick’s mental health defined by two different means of living: living through fear and living through rap.

From hard trap beats by Mike Will Made It to smooth R&B hits, Kendrick gives an clear overview of his sound in the past.

Senior Phillip Karpouzie is absolutely in love with the instrumentals on this project.

“Kendrick Lamar rapping over trap beats and smooth jazz in the same album was something that I desperately needed,” said Karpouzie.

Each track gives insight to the happenings in Kendrick’s mind or events in Kendrick’s childhood.

He looks at these memories as a double edge sword for the pain they have caused him and for making him into the man he is today.

The two most popular songs on the album from listeners so far are the tracks “DNA.” and “HUMBLE.”

These two tracks are very trap influenced and have a punch sound that you can not help but nod your head to.

Both of these songs are aggressive and have Kendrick putting himself on the pedestal, as his DNA is superior to others and telling other rappers to “sit down” and “be humble.”

There were some rumors of a second album release, dubbed “NATION.” to “DAMN-NATION.”

There was evidence to support this as well; Kendrick changed his Spotify picture to him standing in front of a blue wall instead of a red one, and some believed the m in “D*MN.” looked like devil horns, so the o in “NATION.” would be a halo.

Unfortunately, a second album was not release, but its absence made his audience  listen closer and find that there was a second album all along.

If the album is played in reverse order, starting from tracks 14 to 1, Kendrick tells a different story than the heartfelt, somewhat insecure story told from tracks 1-19.

This story tells of a darker character that loses himself, experiencing the sins all around him, a topic that Kendrick has not really brought up before.

Senior Hailee Yeager absolutely adores this new project and thinks it is one of Kendrick’s best releases so far.

“This album is so heavy. It tells a powerful message along with some fantastic music,” says Yeager.

Everyone wondered what Kendrick would release after his critically acclaimed “To Pimp a Butterfly,” which even Former President Obama had in his presidential playlist, but “D*MN.” really stepped up to the plate and earned its spot in Kendrick Lamar’s discography.