Kendrick Lamar / to pimp a butterfly review

The consensus album of the year for 2015, an album of near innumerable nuances and ideas condensed into this hip hop opus. 

Aftermath / Interscope / Top Dawg

2015

Where to start with this album is difficult because there are so many different aspects to it in which to discuss.

To Pimp A Butterfly is the third commercial, studio album by the West Coast rapper from Compton, California...Kendrick Lamar. This decade has seen the rise of Kendrick, the rap game’s biggest new talent. Consistently releasing one brilliant project after another. The acclaim critically, as well as among his peers has seen his stock rise and his name become, justifiably, one of the biggest in music right now, across any genre.

Kendrick came through in 2011 with his debut studio album, the now criminally underrated, Section 80. He then broke through to new levels of popularity and exposure with his sophomore studio album, Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City in 2012. A cinematic and highly dramatic crusade through a young rap prospect’s life as he is caught up in relatable themes of love, lust, friendships and gang violence. This was the first time I personally heard Kendrick Lamar and I immediately joined everyone else on the bandwagon. 

I would’ve been prepared to fully discuss that album to be honest, as I assumed that one game changing classic would’ve been enough. That he wouldn’t come through just three years later with another classic and in my opinion an even better album. But of course he did, with, To Pimp A Butterfly. 

Everything about this albums release was stirring and exciting and produced interesting talking points; its premature release date, the album artwork, the features, the tracklist. This is still the most dense hip hop album that I’ve heard this decade so far; its long and it’s so full of ideas, anecdotes, riddles and queries. I haven’t even touched on the poem that interlaces much of the tracklist, connects the themes and brilliantly ties everything together by the end of the album. That is before we get an appropriated and surprising  Tupac interview to close things off completely. 

The production throughout is spectacular, as the beats range from old school g-funk to African influences to epic, full on Kamasi Washington led jazz instrumentals. Kendrick’s individual performances are typically great and versatile, at times its the character he portrays, or the current narrative he’s trying to get across or the themes he’s discussing that dictates which distinctive style and delivery he chooses to go with. 

The tracks individually are all so great, even if taken out of context with the album as a whole. So many are highlighted with all of the aforementioned qualities, while punctuated with punchlines that take turns in being funny, intense or mind bending and thought provoking, or all of the above. Check out tracks like; For Free, u, How Much A Dollar Cost and The Blacker The Berry for examples of these respectively. 

To me, yeah, the best album of the decade so far but it does also feel like it’s maybe the most important of the decade so far as well. From its social relevance to musical ambition. When you have masses of people, collectively and apparently, spontaneously chanting your words together, it’s a clear symbol, at that point it’s no longer just music. It’s broken through and means so much more to people. And that’s pretty incredible. 

10/10

Favourite Track(s)? u / Alright / How Much A Dollar Cost / The Blacker the Berry

If you’re a fan of this album here’s some recommended listening:

Jay Rock / 90059

Kendrick Lamar / Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City

Pusha T / My Name Is My Name

Schoolboy Q / Blank Face LP

Vince Staples / Summertime ‘06

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