Although the production changed dramatically between the two, there's definitely seem to be some shared underlying principles in how Kendrick moves a narrative forward. It's kinda hard for me to describe and it isn't perfect, but look at the tracks in terms of dramatic structure

1. "Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter" / "Wesley's Theory" - The prologue, both cold opens. A character narrating some questionable life decisions from a first person perspective, making us wonder how he got there and where he's going.

2. "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" / "For Free? (Interlude)" - Act I/opening exposition. A break from the direct narrative that zooms out on the story to give a preview of what we'll be getting into. "I am a sinner who's probably gonna sin again" and "This dick ain't free" are both pretty good encapsulations of what Kendrick is going to discuss. Although the latter definitely needs more unpacking (eg. who's paying and what's being paid shift as the album progresses), he's literally pimping himself by saying "This dick ain't free", a metaphor that gives the album its title and will come up again.*

3. "Backseat Freestyle" / "King Kunta" - Act II/rising action (or perhaps the dramatic conclusion to Act I). Just in case you thought a conscious rapper with a concept couldn't swag on a banger, here's some uncut motherfuckin hip-hop braggadocio for your ass. It also serves a function in the narrative of planting some of getting the listener to empathize and root for a character who's got some obvious flaws (self-centered, aggressive, superficial, etc.)

4. "The Art of Peer Pressure" & "Money Trees" / "Institutionalized" - More Act II/rising action. The comparison stops working as cleanly on a track by track basis, but all of these tracks are looking at the context and consequences of the aforementioned character flaws. Also, compare the first verse of "Inst." with "Peer Pressure" and "Money Trees" - Kendrick talking about his friend(s) in a fairly negative light, transitioning into Kendrick's friend telling him "My home boy just domed a nigga, I just hope the lord forgive him" and "Remember steal from the rich and give to the poor? Well that's me at these awards," respectively.

5. "Poetic Justice" / "These Walls" - More Act II/rising action. After talking about his bros, Kendrick's going to talk about his lady. "Walls" takes a turn in the third verse that flips the whole story of the track into something much nastier, and the skit at the end of "Justice" does a similar thing, revealing that the song probably was Kendrick daydreaming about what he would have told Sherane but instead he got snatched out of his van and stomped on her porch.

6. "good kid" & "m.A.A.d city" / "u" - End of Act II. The tension that had been lurking in the background earlier bursts forth, raising the stakes of our story to the life and death level and really confronting the guilt and anger he's been hinting at for the first time. Also, the way Kendrick goes through voices in "m.A.A.d" and "u" to show his deteriorating mental state seems to strengthen the connection between these two, imho.

7. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" / "Alright" & "For Sale? (Interlude)" - Beginning of Act III. Kendrick has been brought to his lowest, saying he's "alright" even though his knees are weak and his gun might blow, and drowning his misery in booze and pills. Moreover, on "For Sale?" the devil pops up and starts flirting with him, which is a nice inversion of his conscience popping up on the second verse of "Pools" ("Lucy just want your trust and loyalty" vs. "I am hoping to lead you to victory, Kendrick). How do you raise the stakes past life and death -

8. [Skit at the end of "Pools" where Dave is killed] & "Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst" / "Momma" & "Hood Politics" & "How Much a Dollar Cost?" - Climax and falling action. Here Kendrick turns the corner and starts trying to move his life in a more positive direction. "Sing" starts out with two verse eulogizing people he knew and implicitly trying to redeem them in society's eyes (all we would see is another dead gang banger and another dead ho), before moving on to look at himself honestly and wondering about his own salvation (i.e., "Am I worth it? Did I put enough work in?"), and ending with him being approached by Maya Angelou (playing herself, I choose to believe) as the redeeming angel who offers a path back to salvation. Comparatively, "Momma" has Kendrick speaking to people he in the hood, expressing gratitude for what they've given him and asking them to treat each other better (all of which is heavily implied in the first two verses of "Sing"),

• Dang, I got called away here, before I could finish this. I'll come back to this tomorrow.

1. "Real" / "Complexion (A Zulu Love Story)" & "The Blacker the Berry" & "You Ain't Gotta Lie" - The resolution/dénouement.

2. "Compton" / "Mortal Man" - The epilogue. [The story you just heard is connected to a lot of other stories!]

*Another thing these songs seem to have in common that I couldn't fit in well above is that they're both pretty directly telling the audience to shut up and pay attention because Kendrick's about to tell us some complex shit and he ain't supposed to be anybody's background music. If you were not really paying attention when you heard "Bitch, don't kill my vibe" or a heard a nasty sounding woman ask why Kendrick was "trying to go all big" and "acting like he's God's gift" for the first time, I'd say that's you who Kendrick is addressing and parodying, respectively. At the risk of getting unbearably pretentious, this made me realize in hindsight that all those invocations you see in ancient literature are kind of a passive aggressive way of doing the same thing.