The standard day for a 5-year-old usually involves Kindergarten, naptime, and a couple of episodes of “Curious George.” But Egypt Daoud Dean has made time in his busy schedule to produce a track for the multi-Grammy Award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar.
The son of Alicia Keys and famed hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz is credited on Lamar’s new album, “untitled unmastered,” which was given a surprise release late Thursday. The track “untitled 07” features a segment that Egypt produced himself, completely unaided. Lamar even gives a shout-out to the youngster on the track.
It’s a cute touch, but the vast majority of Lamar’s new album is far from child’s play. The eight songs are culled from the backlog of unreleased music that the Compton rapper performed on TV shows such as “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon and “The Colbert Report,” and last month’s Grammy Awards telecast.
All of them are called “untitled” and numbered, but that’s the only generic thing about them. The album shows the depth of Lamar’s musicality, reaching further into his love of jazz with “untitled 3” and “untitled 5.” Bossa nova beats and Latin soul dominate “untitled 6,” which also features a graceful guest vocal from CeeLo Green. And fans of “To Pimp a Butterfly” opener “Wesley’s Theory” will delight at the slick, futuristic p-funk Lamar creates on the final track, “untitled 8.”
Although “untitled unmastered” is merely a companion piece to Lamar’s 2015 tour de force, it still has more ambition and vision than almost anyone else in the rap world. And it’s definitely the only album that has a 5-year-old acting as producer.