To Pimp a Butterfly ALBUM REVIEW

[Bobo 514]

To Pimp a Butterfly ALBUM REVIEW

 

 

“K-Dot’s second studio album is an emotional rollercoaster that has touches of irony, grief, and chaos all at once.”

 

2015 was Compton rapper/singer/songwriter Kendrick Lamar’s year. Three years before the release of his second studio album, he released his critically acclaimed breakout LP good kid m.A.A.d city. An album that would be dubbed as the greatest album of a decade. After such a successful release giving him so many expectations regarding his next project, would he rise to the occasion? Well, using his storytelling and lyrical ability from the 2012 masterpiece, and a new sound: he blew everyone out of the water. 

 

Using his experiences with gang culture, violence, and drugs, Lamar pieced together a story of a young Kendrick who was institutionalized around street life. It was all he ever knew. Then being a rapper from the streets, he felt guilt and pain inside for abandoning the life that he lived for his entire life, all for the benefits. The music industry’s expectations for artists like Lamar are outlined on For Free? (Interlude): where a woman who wants a perfect man who gets her what she wants represents the music industry and its standards for artists. On Momma, Grief and guilt tells Lamar to go back to his roots and set up his family for life. End the eternal struggle they’ve faced. He has the money to do it, and ‘Lucy’ who promised these benefits on For Sale? (Interlude). The Lucy character also makes a notable appearance on the optimistic Black Lives Matter anthem of Alright. Lucy is short for Lucifer, who promises the best for Lamar and his family, if he gives in and sells his soul to him. Ending his internal struggle..In theory. 

 

Irony, symbolism, and storytelling find their way to the track The Blacker the Berry, where K-Dot talks about how he is the “biggest hypocrite of 2015”. In the track, he talks about how he continues to kill innocent people in gang violence while weeping whenever it happens on television. Grief and emotional, raspy vocals are shown on the dramatic track u. A track that shows what happens when Lucy is all around you. Guilt, sadness, anger, and anguish surrounds the rapper, as he confronts his demons while he is drinking. It was a stark turn from the happier and more mainstream track These Walls. A song all about sexual themes, or a jail cell as some think. Complexion ties into the Irony of the album, with Lamar saying that, “Complexion ain’t a thing,” which goes against his viewpoint on The Blacker the Berry. You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said) goes into the ways that people lie about their possessions to gain fame and to look cool, but Lamar likes to keep it real. i is one of the album’s singles released prior to the LP’s release. It talks about overcoming his internal struggle, and serving as a positive way to recover from the stressful and emotional side of the LP. The album’s very last track--Mortal Man--sees Kendrick question his fans’ loyalty to him. He also ties everything together, finishing the poem that he’s been building on every track of TPAB. In an interview with famous 90s era rapper Tupac, he explains what the title of the LP means. You can see what he says here. 

 

My rating goes as follows: I liked how Lamar used his past experiences living in gang life, combined with a new jazzy rap sound that utilizes horns and bass guitar. Plus his ability to paint a picture of what he’s saying in our heads; this album was an audible motion picture. It’s hard to get something this special. 

 

FINAL RATING: 10/10

 

Listen to To Pimp a Butterfly Here