Overly Dedicated
Mixtape by
Kendrick Lamar
ReleasedSeptember 14, 2010 (2010-09-14)
Recorded2010
Studio
GenreHip hop
Length59:18
LabelTop Dawg
Producer
Kendrick Lamar chronology
Kendrick Lamar
(2009)		 Overly Dedicated
(2010)		 Section.80
(2011)

Overly Dedicated (sometimes stylized as O(verly) D(edicated) and shortened as OD) is the fourth solo mixtape by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on September 14, 2010, via Top Dawg Entertainment. The album features guest appearances from Dash Snow, Jhené Aiko, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Ash Riser, Dom Kennedy and Murs, among others. The album's production was handled by several TDE in-house producers, including King Blue, Sounwave, Tae Beast and Willie B; other producers such as Tommy Black, Jairus "J-Mo" Mozee, and Wyldfyer, also contributed production.[1] The mixtape had sold a total of 12,000 copies as of October 2012.[2]

Background

On September 4, 2010, Lamar unveiled the cover art for Overly Dedicated, which was designed by ASTHTC.[3] On September 14, 2010, the music video for "P&P 1.5", a song taken from the Kendrick Lamar EP, featuring his Black Hippy cohort Ab-Soul, was released.[4] 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.[5] On September 23, it was released for free download online.[6]

Overly Dedicated includes a song titled "Ignorance Is Bliss", in which Lamar glorifies gangsta rap and street crime, but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss," giving the message "we know not what we do."[7] 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.[8] 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.[9][10][11] On the topic of the project's genre, Lamar called it "human music."[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Rolling Stone[13]
Tom HullA−[14]
Vice (Expert Witness)A−[15]

Writing for Vice, Robert Christgau gave Overly Dedicated an "A−" and found it to be as good as Lamar's first official album Section.80 (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, that’s a spiritual resource there’s never enough of."[15] Mikey McCray of Creative Loafing 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 but the weak chorus was far from a MJ fadeaway. 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.'"[16]

Track listing

Overly Dedicated track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
1."The Heart Pt. 2" (featuring Dash Snow)
The Roots4:54
2."Growing Apart (To Get Closer)" (featuring Jhené Aiko)
Tae Beast (of Digi+Phonics)3:41
3."Night of the Living Junkies"
Sounwave (of Digi+Phonics)3:32
4."P&P 1.5" (featuring Ab-Soul)
King Blue (of Sore Losers)6:02
5."Alien Girl (Today, W/ Her)"
  • Duckworth
  • Spears
Sounwave4:00
6."Opposites Attract (Tomorrow, W/O Her)" (featuring JaVonté)
  • JaVonté Pollard
  • Kendrick Duckworth
  • Willaim Brown
Willie B (of Digi+Phonics)4:32
7."Michael Jordan" (featuring Schoolboy Q)
Sounwave5:51
8."Ignorance Is Bliss"
  • Duckworth
  • Brown
Willie B3:28
9."R.O.T.C. (Interlude)" (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid)
J-Mo2:43
10."Barbed Wire" (featuring Ash Riser)
Sounwave4:26
11."Average Joe"
  • Duckworth
  • Wyatt Coleman
Wyldfyer4:16
12."H.O.C"DuckworthDrop5:17
13."Cut You Off (To Grow Closer)"
  • Perkins
  • Duckworth
Tae Beast6:04
14."Heaven & Hell" (featuring Alori Joh)
  • Duckworth
  • Fredrik Halldin
Tommy Black3:12
Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."She Needs Me (Remix)" (featuring Dom Kennedy and Murs)
Sounwave3:16
16."I Do This (Remix)" (featuring U-N-I, Skeme and Brown (of Sore Losers))
Sounwave4:08

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] 72
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[18] 46

References

  1. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – O.D. (Mixtape)". 2DopeBoyz. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
  2. ↑ Meadows-Ingram, Benjamin (October 22, 2012). "Kendrick Lamar: The Story Behind 'good kid, m.A.A.d city'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar - O.D. (Artwork)". 2Dopeboyz. Complex Music. September 4, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – P&P 1.5 f. Ab-Soul (Video)". 2Dopeboyz. Complex Music. September 14, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Overly Dedicated [Explicit]: Kendrick Lamar". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – O.D. (Mixtape)". 2Dopeboyz. Complex Music. September 23, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ Hanna, Mitchell. (2010-09-27) Mixtape Release Dates: Kendrick Lamar, K-Os, Terrace Martin, Sheek Louch | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
  8. ↑ Jacobs, Allen. (2010-12-17) Dr. Dre Says In 2011, He's Focusing On West Coast Hip Hop – Kendrick Lamar, Slim da Mobster | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
  9. ↑ Graham, Nadine. (2011-01-06) Kendrick Lamar: The West Coast Got Somethin' To Say | Rappers Talk Hip Hop Beef & Old School Hip Hop. HipHop DX. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
  10. ↑ Paine, Jake. (2010-12-25) Kendrick Lamar Reacts To Dr. Dre's Cosign, Considering Aftermath | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales.
  11. ↑ Kendrick Lamar Says J. Cole Collabo Mixtape is Gonna “Shock The World”. Xxlmag.Com. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
  12. ↑ "Video: Kendrick Lamar Interview w/ Lu Parker". Nah Right. 2011-03-31. Archived from the original on 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  13. ↑ Reeves, Mosi (July 14, 2017). "Mixtape Primer: Reviewing Kendrick Lamar's Pre-Fame Output". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  14. ↑ Hull, Tom (March 30, 2016). "Rhapsody Streamnotes". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  15. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (March 18, 2016). "West Coast Warriors: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  16. ↑ McCray, Mikey (2010-09-23). "EP Review: Kendrick Lamar's Overly Dedicated". Clclt.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  17. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
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