Kendrick Lamar,a Compton-based rapper was recently acclaimed the “New King of the West Coast” by Dr. Dre and Snoop Lion. Lamar fan and junior Johnny Rodriguez said, “I think he’s an amazing artist and has a very unique way of rapping. I think he’s changing up the rap game by expressing lyrics and songs that people would have never heard before.” After a delay, “Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City,” Lamar’s debut studio album, was scheduled for release yesterday under Aftermath, Interscope and Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Though Lamar said that his new album won’t sound like his acclaimed mixtape, “Section.80,” Lamar still has the full attention of many of his fans. Complex magazine ranked “Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City” as 2012’s second most anticipated album. “The Recipe,” featuring Dr. Dre and produced by Scoop DeVille and Dr. Dre, was well-received by critics, devotees and hip-hop enthusiasts. Rodriguez said, “(The Recipe) is a really good single. It talks about living in California, and how Dr. Dre and Kendrick both hail from Compton.” The second single released was “Swimming Pools (Drank)” a song about Lamar’s alcohol struggles. On Oct. 2, Lamar released the track list as well as the song “Compton” produced by Just Blaze featuring Dr. Dre. Senior Patrick Appleton, an up-and-coming rapper under the name of Pat App, said, “He’s just different from all these rappers that have been making the same music. He’s got this whole new style, most rappers just give people a sound that they want to hear, but Kendrick Lamar is all about his lyrics. It’s impressive.” “Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City” features artists such as Jay Rock; Dr. Dre; Drake; Mary J. Blige; Anna Wise; and MC Eiht. “Seeing how far he could make it off of his own style instead of how most rappers do mainstream music to get their popularity up. But Kendrick Lamar has made it this far off of his own style. It inspires me to stay true to what I do. He’s so unique,” Appleton said. “I want to be like Kendrick Lamar someday. I want to be making my own type of music, just being Pat App. Just like Kendrick Lamar is Kendrick Lamar.”

Listen to good kid m.A.A.d. City and other Kendrick Lamar tracks