To Pimp A Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar has finally released the successor to his gigantic success and modern-day classic "Good Kid m.A.A.d City" (2012). Many people, myself included, wondered how he could possibly match the enormous success of GKMC. After all, it was widely-regarded as the best hip-hop album in years, and in my opinion is the greatest hip-hop album of the 2000's or 2010's. So it's impossible Kendrick could possibly find enough inspiration to match the masterpiece that was GKMC, right? Wrong. He proved that completely and utterly wrong with "To Pimp a Butterfly." From the opening sample of the album that quickly turns into a cacophony of old-school west coast G-funk assembling the bassline for the opening track, "Wesley's Theory," it's clear that Kendrick has taken an artistic turn since GKMC, which with some exceptions had a very modern hip-hop sound. P-funk legend George Clinton even laces the track with vocals to make the funk influence more conspicuous. After hearing the next song, the "interlude" (even though both interludes are decently long) "For Free?," it is apparent that this album's sound will be very funk- and jazz- heavy. "For Free?" really displays how Lamar is not at all looking for a mainstream audience with this album as it has Kendrick rapping in a scat-like form over a straight-up jazz backbeat. No bass, no catchy hook, just quick-hitting rapping of "This d*** ain't freeee" over saxophone, piano, and some jazzy percussion. "King Kunta" then displays a James Brown-esque groovy rhythm and "These Walls" combines some soul and funk with great vocals contributed by Anna Wise. While there are some tracks later on the album such as "Alright" or "Hood Politics" that have more traditional percussion-led hip hop beats, there is a major jazz and funk influence on the overall sound of the album. It also must be noted that a majority of the songs contain some sort of beat change mid-song to keep the listener on their feet and rarely ever able to get comfortable with the music. This is a complete 180 from GKMC, which from the first listen was very listener-friendly with its sound. Building on top of the unsettling effect of having so many beat changes within songs is the lyrical content of the album. Anyone that heard the single "The Blacker the Berry" knows that this album has some major racial and social themes running through it. While many concept albums fall victim to the church effect of coming off as too preachy, Kendrick is absolutely incredible at never coming off as haughty or self-righteous. He does this by acting more as a reporter than as someone that is above the topics he's talking about. This gift reminds me of how Nas was able to tell stories fairly objectively in his early career. A good example of this is the song "How Much a Dollar Cost," which is a story about Lamar's confrontation with a homeless person in South Africa. While many rappers may simplify the societal issue of homelessness by rapping something along the lines of "Steal from the rich, give to the poor, you're terrible if you don't support a homeless person," Kendrick takes us through the roller coaster of emotions he experiences in this confrontation that really give you the feeling that this is a true story. Furthermore, it allows the listener to connect to an experience with which they likely have had similar experiences in the past. Overall, I could go on for days and break down each track's brilliant complexity lyrically/sonically, but I'll save that for professional music critics, and I'll just say that: The lyrics on this album explore a huge bevy of societal issues along with personal struggles giving insight into Kendrick's not-so-perfect life ("u"). What I love about it is that he explores how messy and seemingly impossible these problems are to solve, but resolves the album with a track like "i." The message is very similar to MLK Jr. or Gandhi's "Be the change you wish to see in the world," and this isn't even to mention the two beautiful poems that interweave throughout the album and wrap up its themes incredibly well in the final track, "Mortal Man." It's great that such a big artist is so focused on providing a positive message for the countless youth that listen to his music. And he still displays artistic brilliance while doing so. Another instant classic for King Kendrick!

I am going to try to write a review here that is hype-minimal, even given my title is a bit strong. I know lots have been waiting for this album, as have I, and I want to put out something here that has some substance. It is rare that I am moved a great deal by a modern hip-hop album. We are far-removed from genre-shaping classics like "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" and "The Low End Theory". Upon hearing Kendrick's 2012 classic GKMC, I had renewed faith in the concept album in hip-hop, and after his "Control" verse, I was happy to see hip-hop's response to the challenge; specifically I think albums like "Cadillactica" last year, which for Big K.R.I.T. was quite a bit deeper than his debut "Live from the Underground", were developed with such precision and dedication to the craft *because* of the "Control" situation. I thought Lamar was almost certainly headed for a sophomore disappointment, solely for the reason that his major-label debut studio album was so intelligent, and captured his entire adolescence on wax. I thought, "what else will he have to draw on? Where will he find the fire?" I was thinking that this would be a "Reasonable Doubt"-"In My Lifetime, Vol 1" situation. Today, after hearing this album, I stand corrected, and am moved by what I heard. The central theme is Kendrick's take on the escalating racial tensions in the US resulting from institutional racism, and seemingly "takes place" in the 2+ years since the release of his first album, as there are several references to Lamar going through a post-GKMC depression on the album. With respect to institutional racism, Lamar discusses the multi-faceted emotional response to these escalating racial tensions; at some points the rapper is celebratory of his blackness, at others he is angry at the institution, and yet at others he is critical of the state of black culture and cries for change and self-empowerment. All the while Kendrick is also mapping out his personal emotional struggles since the release of GKMC and parallels these with the collective black culture, culminating in the powerful indictment "The Blacker the Berry". In this song Kendrick rasps out a lyrical assault on the institution, celebrating blackness unapologetically. The song describes a man who loves his blackness so much he desires to be more black, or to be perceived more black, to be perceived as the epitome of black culture. The crescendoes to a somber ending, citing the irony that such a strong stance may result in, explicitly naming black-on-black crime. The album then turns to its denouement, reinforcing the hypothesis that it's not about how you are perceived, not about the persona you put off ("You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)"); it's about self-respect, self-love, and the album narrative effectively ends on the album's premier single, with "Mortal Man" serving as a coda. Kendrick ties the underlying themes of self-doubt, naïvete, respect, self-pity, jealousy, perceived success and failure, and love from his own struggles and establishes a connection between these emotions and the black culture collective. The album is brilliant in its paradoxes, in its emotion, in his depiction of his life. Its blatant disregard of hip-hop's formula for success is its thesis: don't be number, don't fit in, you ain't gotta lie; be yourself, love yourself, empower yourself, and that is indeed beautiful. On top of all that, Kendrick's lyricism is absolutely insane on this album. I was a huge fan of Logic's "Under Pressure" last year, and thought lyrically that was perhaps a little better than GKMC, but that the album was a little too personal to be quite as good as GKMC. To Pimp a Butterfly took it to another level. "Momma" and "Hood Politics" to me stood out as just lyrical masterpieces. The production is very funk-heavy, obviously well-done considering the production team at TDE and the guest producers on this project. I'm not sure where this sits with the classics, only time will tell, but on my first listen through I feel that the moniker "King Kendrick" is definitely fitting. He has done it again.

First things first. This album's a masterpiece. It's both ahead of its time and long overdue. The more you listen to it, the more you enjoy it. So if you don't like it at first, that's cool, but listen again.. because you will eventually find yourself in love with it. I can see this being just as good 10 to 20 years from now as it is today. The best advice to anyone expecting his older material, is to check your expectations at the door as if this is your first time ever hearing Kendrick. Allow enough time for a full listen and just let the album take you on the journey/ride that it's made to; rather than where you thought it would/should go. My personal experience when first getting this in the mail: I think Amazon messed up or something, but it arrived about a week before it was released in stores. So I had the opportunity to spend some time listening before any of my friends would get the chance. The first few listens through the album I was definitely caught off guard because I was guilty of expecting more "good kid maad city". The reason for my title is because it was like this album had its own conductor. I was almost instantly reminded of that Mothers of Invention album "we're only in it for the money", especially the jazzy elements and segues. It felt orchestrated as if the album itself was as much of a production as each of the individual songs were. I didn't want to make that leap then and I hesitated even sharing my thoughts with anyone I knew...but I still feel it. It's like you could drop acid and listen to this, or at least try. The lyrical content is beautifully thought provoking and could stir up some of the darkest emotions in the best of us, but it's much needed and relevant to our day to day living. The themes intertwined throughout the album, especially the ones that lead up to his conversation with 2pac, do as good of a job keeping the listener grounded to the bigger picture while taking them off on journeys in the individual songs that are all relevant to the overall theme of the album. Throughout "To Pimp a Butterfly" Kendrick showcases a multitude of styles in his lyrics that all hold up together or on their own as examples of great hip hop. Some songs are reminiscent of something you might have found on Snoops first release while others are similar to something you might have expected from the Pharcyde, Deltron, or A Tribe Called Quest. Even Blacker the Berry gives the same feel as something you might have expected from early 90s Ice Cube/Da Lynch Mob or similar era Public Enemy. Toss in influences like Common, Mos Def, that girl that did the 5'O clock in the morning (where ya gonna be) song, old funk artists like Bootsy or George Clinton up through Soul artists like Isaac Hayes or Marvin Gaye, etc...etc...etc.. There's so much versatility on here, and yet it all flows together like circa 1970 Frank Zappa himself was in the cutting room piecing together the separate pieces into something that cannot be fast forwarded (even if you wanted to) without missing out on something critical to the larger experience. Also...If you're able, listening to this on Vinyl whenever and wherever possible would give a much better experience...for the basslines and overall warmth that vinyl adds. That said; I love both of Kendricks major label releases (as well as the indie ones and mixtapes such as Section 80, Overly Dedicated, Black Hippy, etc...); and while this and Good Kid/MAAD City are both exceptionally talented and great.. there are many different sides of Kendrick and I'm fan every time he switches it up.

Amazing album!

I will readily admit that I have had this album on repeat since the first day I listened to it. I was a massive fan of Kendrick Lamar’s previous studio effort good kid, M.A.A.D city, a concept album that truly tested how stories could be told in music. This LP left me and several others asking ourselves how Kendrick could possibly improve from here. To Pimp a Butterfly answers this question, quite confidently might I add. To Pimp a Butterfly is not as straightforward a story as the previous album, but rather it is a series of vignettes connected by a poem. This poem is progressed into further and further into as every song or two goes by, each new snippet dictating the general part of the album’s narrative that is covered by the following song or two. This method of storytelling, while not as direct as the cell phone recordings of the previous LP, dramatically increased the thematic scope of the story that is being told here. This story is not simply one of recollection. It is instead a black man’s painstaking journey from the depths of depression and self hatred to a true feeling of pride and self love, in spite of temptation, racism, and the pressures of home. It is an story that teaches you to never forget where you’re from. It is a story that teaches you to love yourself. This album accomplishes all of this with no sonic sacrifices whatsoever. It becomes very quickly apparent that this album stands quite separately from the vast majority of hip-hop albums in our time in regards to sound. This is not an album with “beats”, but rather one with surprisingly complex arrangements drawing influence from jazz, soul, and even acapella on two occasions. Simply put, To Pimp a Butterfly is the result of a confusing yet beautiful orgy between Kendrick Lamar, Soul Train, and the 2014 film Whiplash. I will not apologize for that statement. Never before have I been as much on my toes in regards to spoilage. This is an album that begging to be listened to from the first song to the last, in exactly the order in which the songs have been placed. What I can say however is that Kendrick Lamar will challenge you as an audience member. You may not agree with everything he says. But consider that Kendrick is by no means telling you what to think. I encourage you to instead try to understand that there is a very important and socially relevant reason for most of what is being displayed here lyrically. It’s far more than a simple clarion call. To Pimp a Butterfly stands quite easily alongside Sufjan’s Carrie & Lowell as one of this year’s most notable conceptual efforts. More importantly however, this is an album that pushes the boundaries of how a story can be told in music. Kendrick is certainly not alone in this venture, and in true Kendrick Lamar fashion, every musician accompanying him here is by no means wasted. Together, these talents have created one of the best hip-hop albums in years, and certainly a contender for one of the best records. How do you follow up a masterpiece? Just release another one. 10/10 “I know the price of life/ I know how much it's worth/ I know what I know and I know it well not to ever forget/ Until I realized I didn't know s***/ The day I came home"

Got a new record player and had to pick up To Pimp A Butterfly. I already love Kendrick Lamar, and this album absolutely slaps. It sounds great on vinyl, and the whole record is just an incredible listen from start to finish.

Wow, where to start...Kendrick is not only a musical and poetic genius, I dare say that he is the most important musical spokesperson of this generation. His albums leading up to TPAB are fantastic, being both artistically sound and enjoyable records in their own right and high-water marks for hip hop today, but the overarching message of this record is what sets it apart from the rest in my opinion. Racism is still, unfortunately, alive and well in America today, and this record acknowledges that, but it does so without pointing fingers at one person or group of people specifically; a lot of us are at fault in one way or another, and Kendrick realizes that. He raps about recognizing the bigger pictures of race, self-love, self-hate, fame, success, loss, and finding the good in oneself to try to make the world a better place on these songs, and I love that about this record. As far as the music and the rapping are concerned, both are absolutely top-quality here. The instrumentals are gorgeous blends of jazz, funk, soul, retro "boom-bap" beats, and electronica. Kendrick was able to recruit some of the best musical artists of the modern era to contribute their talents; Dr. Dre and Flying Lotus contribute production, Snoop Dogg and Rapsody lay down some great verses, Thundercat rocks the base, George Clinton and Bilal croon soulfully, and the Isley Brothers play the instrumental from their song "That Lady" on a live version of one of the songs, and those are just the ones I can remember. The rapping is nothing short of poetry - I've already written about the message(s) on the album, but the way Kendrick conveys his thoughts are creatively well-written and convey his points perfectly; he really does prove his talent as a true poet, I was not speaking in hyperbole. I could go on further about this album, but I think I'll wrap it up here. To Pimp A Butterfly is, simply put, one of the most important albums (of any genre) of this decade, bar none. If you remotely enjoy hip hop and you still haven't heard this album I implore you, give it a listen and see for yourself if it means as much to you as it does to me and so many other people. PS: Amazon did a great job with my order; it came as soon as was stated on the website, and it was in excellent condition upon arrival. I've order quite a few records on Amazon.com lately, and they've all came on time and have been in perfect condition - great job folks!

I usually do not buy recordings with explicit lyrics. I love old school, and yearn for a return to that form of popular music that includes lyrics that are so moving that they would silence the cynics. As we approached the end of 2015, I read a number of year-end lists that described this CD as one of the best. Every time I read another review, this recording was mentioned among the leading recordings for the year. It was hard to forget; the title is very unusual. Trusting these reviewers, I bought the CD. I listened to the recording for the first time while taking a long road trip. Initially, I was distracted by the explicit lyrics. I then concentrated on the music, and realized that the music was exceptional. The percussion is very good; the bass follows; and all musical sounds fall nicely into place. If I could tolerate the explicit lyrics, I would rate this as a five star recording. It really is superior. I have since listened to it several times, and it grows on you. I no longer recoil when I hear certain words. The tracks flow nicely one to the other. Spoken messages tie them together. This was done nicely by this artist. One track held my attention. It is track number ten, titled "Hood Politics." Lamar nicely uses the term "boo boo" throughout. Frankly, it is an innocent expression that he incorporates effectively into his messages. This lyrical structure is, in my view, representative of this man's musical genius. In closing, Lamar is a fine musician. This CD represents great work by him and his associates. For his sake, and ours, I expect Lamar to mature and evolve into a writer and performer who does not need explicit terms to express his messages. My sense is that this musician will grow into today's equivalent of Curtis Mayfield, a poet who happened to be a musician and someone who rarely used foul language. Properly guided, Lamar soon will write songs that do not depend on explicit lyrics, and we will celebrate his emancipation. I urge you to listen carefully to the music of this young man -- "boo boo."

para mi, de los mejores albums de la historia del hip hop vino en perfecto estado.

Another masterclass by Kendrick Lamar with this project that goes through all the phases. No damage to the vinyl and package

Anche se il mio album preferito è Mr. Morale (per me un 10/10) Capisco perché è così da critica e pubblico (per me è un 9,75/10). È un album con dei testi profondi e delle rime fantastiche, con una jazz che rende il tutto più spettacolare. E non mancano neanche le hit. Alright è un singolo fantastico. Kendrick è un grande

Nie ta płyta którą zamówiłam

goed album en was goed verpakt.