Unlike many of the 1980s legends, the greatest rappers of the '90s -- from Jay Z to Andre 3000 -- maintained relevance into the next decade and the one after. One reason why is that despite the genre’s ever-shifting sounds, rapping didn’t change much as a craft since the end of the golden era; the techniques were largely the same, just over different beats. Until Kendrick Lamar came along. From triple and quadruple-time rhythms, his layered adlibs, and his multiple-personality voices, the Compton rapper is arguably the greatest rap craftsman to emerge this millennium, but his lyrical content never suffered. His last three albums -- Section.80, Good Kid Madd City and To Pimp a Butterfly -- are three of rap’s most vivid and topical.

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