To Pimp A Butterfly

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.

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!