On March 13, Young Guru premiered a snippet of the song's official remix, which featured Jay-Z. On March 9, 2013, Kendrick told Rap-Up that his next single off the album would be 'Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe'. Cowie of Exclaim! observes a 'transformation' by Lamar's character 'from a boisterous, impressionable, girl-craving teenager to more spiritual, hard-fought adulthood, irrevocably shaped by the neighbourhood and familial bonds of his precarious environment.' Slant Magazine 's Mark Collett writes that Lamar executes the character's transition by 'tempering the hedonistic urges of West Coast hip hop with the self-reflective impulses of the East Coast.' David Amidon of PopMatters views that the album provides a 'sort of semi-autobiographical character arc', while MSN Music 's Robert Christgau writes that Lamar 'softspokenly' enacts a 'rap-versus-real dichotomy'.
Lamar introduces various characters and internal conflicts, including the contrast of his homesickness and love for Compton with the city's plagued condition. The songs address issues such as economic disenfranchisement, retributive gang violence and downtrodden women, while analyzing their residual effects on individuals and families. Lyrically, the album chronicles Lamar's experiences in his native Compton and its harsh realities, in a nonlinear narrative. whose various dreamy styles have very little to do with the legacy of the West.' Okayplayer's Marcus Moore writes that its 'expansive and brooding' instrumentals eschew 'California's glossy West Coast funk' for a 'Dungeon Family aesthetic.' Dre's G-funk during the early 1990s, but adds that 'Lamar often sounds like Drake. Andrew Nosnitsky of Spin cites the music's 'closest point of reference' as 'the cold spaciousness of ATLiens-era Outkast, but as the record progresses, that sound sinks slowly into the fusionist mud of those sprawling and solemn mid-2000s Roots albums.' Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker finds its use of 'smooth' music as a backdrop for 'rough' scenarios to be analogous to Dr. Writers draw comparisons of the music to Outkast's 1998 album Aquemini. It eschews contemporary hip hop tastes and generally features tight bass measures, subtle background vocals, and light piano. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City has a low-key, downbeat production, with atmospheric beats and subtle, indistinct hooks. These snippets pepper the album providing an anthropological glimpse into his life in Compton. MC Eiht.â Like prog rock, Lamarâs tracks have songs within songsâsudden tempo changes with alter egos and embedded interludes, such as unscripted recordings of his parents asking for their car back and neighborhood homies planning their latest conquest. Verbally nimble, Lamar experiments with a variety of different lyrical styles, from the Bone Thugz-type of delivery on âSwimming Pools (Drank)â to the more straightforward orthodox G-funk flow on âm.A.A.d. His second studio album good kid, M.A.A.d city, conceptual enough to be a rock opera, certainly uplifts the genre with its near-biblical themes: religion vs. West Coast hip-hop elders like Snoop and Dre have virtually anointed Kendrick Lamar to carry on the legacy of gangsta rap.