Review: Kendrick Lamar - "TO PIMP A Butterfly"

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On March 16, 2015, ten years ago, the third album of Kendrick Lamar was released “To Pimp A Butterfly”.

The album immediately revealed itself as a monumental work, destined to leave an indelible imprint in African American and global culture.

“To Pimp A Butterfly” quickly established himself as one of the most significant reference points in the Hip Hop history, capable of influencing both the music and political scene. Today it continues to be considered a fundamental record, both from a musical point of view and for its social implications, reflecting and feeding the tensions of a crucial period for racial issues in the United States.

With its 16 tracks and over an hour and a quarter of duration, to Pimp in Butterfly it configured as a phenomenal summa of African American music of previous years, but also of the musical traditions that have marked its history.

The disc boasted the participation of rap legends and jazz artists, funk and R&B, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, George Clinton, Pharrell Williams, Kamasi Washington, Thundercat and Flying Lotus. Dominating in the rankings and celebrated by critics, the album conquered a place at the top of the 2015 end of the year rankings, becoming an icon of contemporary music.

The curiosities

The initial title of the album was to be Pimp in Caterpillar (Tu-Pac), a tribute to Tupac Shakur. Lamar changed him in to Pimp to Butterfly (which can be translated with the expression “exploit a butterfly”). Lamar decided to replace the word “Caterpillar” (caterpillar) with “Butterfly” (butterfly), explaining the reason in an interview with MTV: “Using the word” butterfly “, I just wanted to show the brightness of life and the word” Magnaccia “(Pimp) has so much aggression and this represents many things.

The influence of a trip to South Africa – Kendrick visited Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and the journey deeply influenced the political and social tone of the album.

The imaginary interview with Tupac – The final trace, Mortal Man, includes a simulated interview with Tupac Shakur, built using real extracts from an old interview.

Jazz and funk as bearing columns-the album detaches itself from the conventional hip-hop sound, drawing on jazz, funk and soul thanks to the collaboration of musicians such as Thundarcat, Flying Lotus and Kamasi Washington.

The concept of “Lucy” – in many tracks, Kendrick refers to “Lucy”, the abbreviation of Lucifer, which represents the temptations of success and materialism.

The song that changed everything – ALIGHT became a hymn of the Black Lives Matter movement, despite the fact that Lamar initially did not write it with the intention of being a political manifesto.

An album recorded in secrecy – the disc was largely created in a house in Los Angeles, without external interference, to maintain artistic integrity.

The voice of a legend of the funk-George Clinton, a funk icon and parliament-Funkadelic leader, appears in the opening track Wesley's Theory, consolidating the influence of the P-Funk in the album.

Literary influences – Lamar said that while writing the album, he was inspired by books such as Ayn Rand's Atlas revolt and Joseph Stiglitz's price of inequality.

The cover, taken by Denis Rouvre, Show Kendrick and a group of African American men in front of the White House with dollars and champagne, symbolizing the struggle and claim of power by the black community.

Score: 10.00

The votes of others

The Telegraph – 10.00 vote
Spin – 10.00 vote
Pitchfork – 9.30 vote
Uncut – Vote 9.00
Rolling Stone – vote 9.00
Billboard.com – vote 9.00
Mojo – 8.00 vote
The Guardian – 8.00 vote
New Musical Express (NME) – 8.00 vote
The New York Times – Vote 8.00

Tracklist

Wesley's Theory (feat. George Clinton & Thundercat)
For free? (Interlude)
King Kunta
Institutionalized (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Snoop Dogg)
These Walls (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundarcat)
U
ALIGHT
For salt? (Interlude)
Mommasis
Hood politics
How Much to Dollar Cost (feat. James Fauntleroy & Ronald Isley)
Complexion (A Zulu Love) (feat. Featuring Rapsody)
The Blacker The Berry
You ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)
THE
Mortal man