Maybe the Voice of an Era status seemed inevitable more in retrospect than at the time, but either way good kid, m.A.A.d city endures as both the launch point for Kendrick’s front-of-culture popularity and an artwork that endures even into his post-Pulitzer era. His stress-rap storyteller bonafides see him in confessional mode as a way to connect with his wider world rather than just a solipsistic self-wallowing session, and the beats are the reflection that bring millions of other faces into the mirror.

– Nate Patrin