March 16 was a good day: a day off from school, the day I got my permit and for me, Christmas arrived early.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar’s highly anticipated third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly was accidentally released on March 16, over a week earlier than it was scheduled to release on iTunes and Spotify. Within the first day he set the global record for most streams through Spotify in one day: 9.6 million. Lamar fans have been waiting anxiously for a followup to his 2012 masterpiece Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, and excitement soared when he revealed plans for it last year.
To Pimp a Butterfly surpassed my expectations for Lamar’s development as an artist. I appreciated Butterfly’s bold, funky, unapologetic and jazzy sound, which blends perfectly with Lamar’s intense tackling of social commentary.
Funky and poetic songs like “King Kunta,” “For Free? (interlude),” “u,” and “Wesley’s Theory” use older samples and references to past soul hits to show that this album was not radio-friendly, but soul-friendly music.
Lamar specifically references this decision in the outro of “King Kunta,” rapping, “Now if I give you the funk, you gon’ take it / We want the funk.” Lamar also uses the samples to try to bring back people’s roots alongside his own spoken account of the current state of black culture.
Much to my dismay, a lot of people didn’t like this album, claiming it wasn’t the same as the previous one Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. My point is that on first listen, this album may seem to cover the basics of racial unrest, but it’s not that simple.
Lamar delves into deeper subjects: his career symbolized as a caterpillar in the streets that survived and turned into a butterfly—the representation of all things good about the caterpillar—through an internal struggle and discovery of hope, creativity and talent, all in a poem he wrote for Tupac to hear.
In my own interpretation, the caterpillar views the butterfly as weak and wants to pimp it out to its liking, and thus the To Kill a Mockingbird-esque To Pimp a Butterfly was named. The very first line in the album in “Wesley’s Theory” summarizes this idea: “When the four corners of this cocoon collide / You’ll slip through the cracks hoping that you’ll survive / Gather your wind, take a deep look inside / Are you really who they idolize? / To pimp a butterfly.”
Lamar definitely outshines other hip hop artists like Drake by mastering an uncomfortable topic for other rappers and fans in an unconventional way. In “u,” Lamar writes about his insecurities, his habit of drowning his depression with drinking and the darker parts of himself from the song “i,” as he talks to himself about his depression.
To Pimp a Butterfly has been lauded by many, including myself, as the perfect album. Lamar’s use of funk effectively ties him to his roots and provides context for his account of current society. This album deserves to be listened to as a whole every time, and in my opinion sounds best if you have about an hour and thirty minutes of truly quiet, uninterrupted spare time.
Butterfly is hailed for its connection between soulful roots and modern hip hop, but the true genius comes from Lamar’s rap prowess and lyrical mastery of conveying his feelings through references to politics and history.
To Pimp a Butterfly ended perfectly, with Lamar speaking to Tupac Shakur from beyond the grave, taken from a somewhat obscure Swedish interview from 1994. It is seemingly revealed that the whole album was Lamar was reciting a poem to Tupac.
As if hearing Tupac’s voice again wasn’t enough to cause fans to shed a tear, the track ends with Lamar calling out for Tupac, who has already gone. He has left his fans and Lamar to find our own answers; Lamar asserts that we cannot keep looking to the past for help, as we have to be the ones to save ourselves.
However polarizing it may be, To Pimp a Butterfly is undeniably a great album. There is a certain respect that this album deserves in its message and the effort put into making it that most people should give even if it seems basic at first.
It is exactly what hip hop needed, and will most likely be unsurpassed in hip hop albums to come. Lamar has long since passed the realm of talented rapper and become one of the most celebrated rappers of all time for his two brilliant albums.