Heat Rocks

Kris Bowers on Kendrick Lamar's "Section.80"


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To talk about Kendrick Lamar's studio LP debut, we wanted to find someone of K-Dot's generation, another L.A. young gun, and who better than pianist and composer, Kris Bowers? Like Kendrick, Kris grew up in L.A. and just as Kendrick has ascended the hip-hop ladder, so has Kris in jazz, as he won the prestigious Theolonious . But more than that, the web of Los Angeles musical ties was bound to bring the two into orbit in different ways - something we discuss in the episode - not the least of which is the fact that Kris covered one of the biggest tracks in Kendrick's early career: "Rigamortis."

In our conversation with Kris, we got deep into how he put together both the song and video for his version of "Rigamortis," whether or not Kendrick has a jazz sensibility in his style, and what it's like to see a hometown kid become the Greatest Rapper Alive.

More on Kendrick Lamar's Section.80

  • Kendrick talking about Section.80 in an interview with Complex.com.
  • Ditto but in an interview with Billboard.
  • Ogden Payne's revisit of the album in 2016 for Forbes.

More on Kris Bowers

  • Kris on NPR's "Piano Jazz: Rising Stars."
  • NY Times on Kris winning the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Prize.
  • Website | Soundcloud | Twitter | Facebook

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Section.80 unless indicated otherwise):

  • "A.D.H.D."
  • Kris Bowers: "Rigamortis (Kendrick Lamar Cover)"
  • Kendrick Lamar: Good Kid M.A.A.D. City "m.A.A.D. city"
  • MURS: Captain California "GBKW"
  • Dr. Dre: The Chronic “Dre Day”
  • A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory “Jazz (We’ve Got This)”
  • "High Power"
  • "Rigamortis"
  • "Keisha’s Song"
  • Kendrick Lamar: “Sing About Me”
  • "Ab-Souls Outro"
  • "Kush & Corinthians"
  • Willie Jones III: The Next Phase “The Thorn”
  • Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly “If These Walls Could Talk”
  • Chapter Six

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