''Overly Dedicated'' (sometimes stylized as ''O(verly) D(edicated)'' and shortened as ''OD'') is the fourth solo
mixtape by American rapper
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
, released on September 14, 2010, via
Top Dawg Entertainment
Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's f ...
. The album features
guest appearance
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
s from
Dash Snow,
Jhené Aiko,
Schoolboy Q
Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
,
Ab-Soul,
Ash Riser
Ash Winston Riser (August 29, 1989 – June 12, 2021), also known by his former stage name Ashtrobot, was an American recording artist and music producer. Born and raised in California, he embarked on his music career when he was 15 years ol ...
,
Dom Kennedy
Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically acc ...
and
Murs
Murs may refer to:
People
* Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist
* Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter
* Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper
Places
* Murs, Indre, France
* Murs, Vaucluse, ...
, among others. The album's
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
was handled by several
TDE in-house producers, including King Blue,
Sounwave
Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American hip-hop producer and songwriter from Compton, California, and an original member of the Californian hip-hop label Top Dawg Entertainment. Sounwave has worked on every Kendric ...
,
Tae Beast
Digi+Phonics is an African American hip hop production team, composed of California-based record producers Tae Beast, Sounwave, Dave Free and Willie B. They currently serve as the main in-house producers for Carson-based record label, Top Dawg ...
and
Willie B
Willie B. (C. 1957 - February 2, 2000) was a western lowland gorilla who lived at the Zoo of Atlanta for 39 years, from 1961 until his death on February 2, 2000. He was named after the former mayor of Atlanta, William Berry Hartsfield. Willi ...
; other producers such as
Tommy Black, Jairus "J-Mo" Mozee, and
Wyldfyer, also contributed production. The mixtape had sold a total of 12,000 copies as of October 2012.
Background
On September 4, 2010, Lamar unveiled the
cover art for ''Overly Dedicated'', which was designed by ASTHTC. On September 14, 2010, the
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for "P&P 1.5", a song taken from the ''Kendrick Lamar EP'', featuring his
Black Hippy cohort Ab-Soul, was released. On September 14, Lamar also released ''Overly Dedicated'' to digital retailers under Top Dawg Entertainment, the label that signed Lamar after he released his first mixtape, when he was 17. On September 23, it was released for free download online.
''Overly Dedicated'' includes a song titled "Ignorance Is Bliss", in which Lamar glorifies
gangsta rap and
street crime
Street crime is a loose term for any criminal offense in a public place. The difference between street crime and white-collar crime is that street crime is often violence that occurs in a public area whereas white-collar crime is non-violent crim ...
, but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss", giving the message "we know not what we do". It was this song specifically that made fellow West Coast rapper and legendary hip hop producer
Dr. Dre, want to work with Lamar, after watching the song's music video on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. This led to Lamar working with Dr. Dre and
Snoop Dogg on Dre's ''Detox'' album and him considering signing to Dre's label,
Aftermath Entertainment
Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records.
Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, ...
. On the topic of the project's genre, Lamar called it "human music".
Critical reception
Writing for ''
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...
'',
Robert Christgau gave ''Overly Dedicated'' an "A−" and found it to be as good as Lamar's first official album ''
Section.80
''Section.80'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 2, 2011, by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). In the years leading up to its release, Lamar previously produced various mixtapes under the moniker K ...
'' (2011): "Only three classics: the besotted "Alien Girl," the merely sexed-up "P&P 1.5," and "Average Joe," a position paper for the gangsta realism to follow. But the many
cameos document a party-crashing crew utterly delighted by how good they are at this shit. There’s a sense of fun and antic possibility here Lamar abjured on his road to iconicity. In
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
, that’s a spiritual resource there’s never enough of."
Mikey McCray of
Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of a monthly arts and culture newspaper/magazine. The company publishes a 60,000 circulation monthly publication which is distributed to in-town locations and neighborhoods on the first Thursday of ...
wrote: "Compton, Calif. emcee takes his place among the best of the new West," however also wrote: "A couple tracks felt out of place. 'Michael Jordan' had a
Weezy flow and
Jeezy beat
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery (c ...
but the weak
chorus was far from a
MJ fadeaway
A fadeaway or fall-away in basketball is a jump shot taken while jumping backwards, away from the basket. The goal is to create space between the shooter and the defender, making the shot much harder to block. The shooter must have very good accu ...
. Don't know who was imitating
Bilal on the 'ROTC (Interlude)' but they killed an otherwise stellar track with a cover fail of
Common's '
The Light.'"
Track listing
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2010 mixtape albums
Kendrick Lamar albums
Top Dawg Entertainment albums
Concept albums
Albums produced by Sounwave
Albums produced by Tae Beast
Albums produced by Dave Free
Albums produced by Willie B
Albums free for download by copyright owner