Kendrick Lamar has been hailed as one of the greatest rappers of all time. All of this credit has come from just his officially released music, which is only the tip of the iceberg. In an interview with Consequence, Sounwave, a frequent producer of Lamar’s music, stated that Lamar barely listens to what is going on, and just comes up with his own thing. He has a reputation for making amazing songs and just not releasing them due to them not fitting the overall theme of the album. Lamar has even released an entire album of throwaways, “Untitled Unmastered.”
While many of his unreleased songs are excellent, there are two of these songs that have been claimed to be some of the best songs Lamar has ever made. Those songs are “Cartoon & Cereal” and “Prayer.”
“Cartoon & Cereal” is a song originally meant to be on Lamar’s sophomore album, “GOOD KID M.A.A.D CITY.” The title of the song is meant to symbolize society’s two favorite things: sugar and cheap entertainment. Like many other songs from that album, this song points out many problems with Lamar’s hometown of Compton, CA, such as teen pregnancy and gang violence. The chorus consists of Lamar relaying a story of his dad telling him to not become like he is, as Lamar’s dad was very involved in crime. However, while he was being told this, he was more focused with the show he was watching, sparking the line “‘You told me, Don’t be like me, just finish watching cartoons’ which is funny now cause all I see is Wile E. Coyotes in the room.” Sadly, this song was officially scrapped due to sampling issues, as it samples many cartoons. However, it is theorized that it was scrapped due to it being leaked.
“Prayer,” or “Pray,” was supposed to be on Lamar’s sobering 2022 album, “Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers.” According to Genius, Lamar “personifies a song by Michael Jackson and a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., respectively… he specifically delves into Jackson’s pedophilia accusations and King’s marital infidelity.” In the final moments of the song Lamar states how, despite their imperfections, they still bring great change to the world, asking the listener, “See, if Daniel Hale was a killer, would you not want a heart? If Carl Benz was a racist, would you stop driving cars?” This song was ultimately scrapped due to its being leaked, along with the less popular songs “Somebody and Gotta Love Me.”
Lamar’s success is undeniable, seen from his recent Superbowl performance and his 20 GRAMMYs, but his unreleased songs are amazing, and many argue that they are his best.
