Kendrick Lamar says music helped save him from a life of gangs and crime.


ON KENDRICK Lamar's dizzyingly great album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, the Los Angeles rapper uses a film-like narrative and story arc to recall his younger, 17-year-old self's experiences in the notorious LA city of Compton. As his story unfolds, a friend is murdered, his mother and father plead for the return of their car, he and his friends narrowly escape arrest after breaking into a house, there is a planned robbery and, finally, an old woman helps him find redemption and a new resolve to stay on the straight and narrow.

One of the finest albums of 2012, these are all true stories, 25-year-old Lamar's compelling self-portrait of how music ''saved'' him from a criminal existence in gangs. ''Yeah, those are all my experiences,'' a humble, thoughtful Lamar says while on tour in New Mexico. ''I couldn't make the album without it being about my experiences … when you have experiences, it makes you understand different things that have happened and great memories you have. With that, there is knowledge behind it and you draw your conclusions.''

Having released music since he was 16, good kid, m.A.A.d city has made Lamar a major rap star. Just his second album proper - and debut effort on a major label - it went to No. 2 on the US album charts and has been listed on a slew of critics' year-end best-of lists. He has been anointed ''the most important rapper since Jay-Z'' by Spin, while Snoop Dogg, the Game and Lamar's mentor, rap mogul Dr Dre, have crowned him ''the new king of the West Coast''.

''It has been a crazy time, but it's been a good time in my life,'' Lamar says. ''I'm not taking it for granted. I'm travelling and seeing the world and a million different people.''

Initially recording as K-Dot, Lamar recorded his first mixtape in 2003. In 2010, his Overly Dedicated mixtape received attention and last year his Top Dawg Entertainment-released Section.80 followed.

With production by more than a dozen different beatmakers (including Just Blaze, Pharrell Williams, Soundwave and executive production by Dr Dre), good kid, m.A.A.d city chronicles Lamar's flirtations with a gang lifestyle and fledgling attempts at chest-puffing rap to a backdrop of the grounding influence of family. The Art of Peer Pressure depicts a change in Lamar's behaviour when ''with the homies'', though he ultimately opts out of the gang-banging on the stunning Sing about Me, I'm Dying of Thirst. With brains, heart, soul and vulnerability, the album is never preachy or boastful, nor glorifying of his surroundings.

''The kids can really understand,'' Lamar explains of the album's success. ''They're not used to hearing about Compton, so it's something new … They didn't grow up in the '90s like I did, but they get it. It becomes that much more real.''

Kendrick Lamar plays the Palace, city, Friday 8pm.