Section.80

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.

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. In the beginning of the music video for "HiiiPoWeR", a quote from Kendrick Lamar reads:

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.

Release and reception

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. As of February 2014, Section.80 has sold 130,000 copies domestically.

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. 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." 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." 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." 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." 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."

Pitchfork placed the album at number 45 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011". Complex named the album the 7th best album of 2011. 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".

Track listing

 • (co.) Co-producer

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits for Section.80 adapted from AllMusic.