To Pimp A Butterfly - A Review

Hi guys. The long wait is finally over! Three years later, we at last get to listen to a new album from Kendrick Lamar. I was first introduced to Lamar’s music slightly over two years ago, and ever since, I have become a huge admirer of the chap.

To Pimp A Butterfly emphasizes Kendrick Lamar’s status as, in my view, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, lyricist to ever grace the earth. The album’s style strays quite a bit from that which he employed in good kid, m.A.A.d city, but the pool of genius Lamar draws from remains unchanged. However, a question I ask myself as I listen to the album is, did Flying Lotus, when he featured Lamar in ‘Never catch me’, sort of rub a bit of the jazzy, psychedelic, feel in his music off Mr. Lamar? Wesley’s theory, For free?, King Kunta and i stand testament to this. A Bee Geesque, 70’s funky feel, can easily be traced in these songs. I honestly at first wasn’t too impressed by this new approach Kendrick seemed to be trying out, but a second and third listen kind of have me thinking differently. You have to get this; I was at first sampling for songs with captivating vibes to them. You know, something “ROTCy”. I have to report though; Lamar didn’t do too well in that area. But one song stood out particularly – Alright. It, for me, is the song to play while driving to town on a Saturday with your window wound halfway down. When it comes to favourites though, it’s a close tie between i and Institutionalized.

Whereas the album debatably doesn’t do much when it comes to the catchiness aspect, it does exceptionally well lyrically. Lamar has always been known for his neat wordplay and stimulating infusion of metaphors into his lyrics. We kind of expected him to do that in this album (and any other song he features in). But Lamar really outdid himself.

“…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?...”

Kendrick in this album touches on the issues deeply affecting the Black American society around him: rogue capitalism, discrimination, class differences and so on. The universality of his lyrics is however quickly noted, with the ease with which one relates to what he mentions in his punch lines. This is the case in most of the songs. Well, except in For free? I honestly don’t get what Lamar was trying to put across there. But being Kendrick, I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me it’s about the civil rights movement or something.

Also to note is his eclectic musical style which brings to memory 2007/2008 Kanye. I however am of the opinion that Lamar does it better than West. Regarding his style’s deviation from his first release’s, a review on this album I read somewhere said:

“…Kendrick had to tell us about where he comes from first before telling us about where he is now…”

I couldn’t frame the statement any better. Lamar has a story to tell, and he has proved that he will use any style he deems ideal to relay it.

While I initially thought he would never get to the astral heights he did with good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp A Butterfly gets Kendrick Lamar past the moon, and still has enough in it to get him to the stars. This release further firmly establishes him as the finest hip hop artist alive, and at his age, with the sky already reached, limits seems only like a word Mr. Lamar would use in his witty metaphors.

Rating - 4.63457/5

Top tracks – i, Alright, Institutionalized, Hood Politics, The Blacker the Berry, Mortal man, Complexion (A Zulu Love)

“…one thing the caterpillar notices is how much the world shuns him but praises the butterfly. The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the caterpillar. But having a harsh outlook on life, the caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a way to pimp it to its own benefits…”