Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly ALBUM REVIEW

BAM hey everyone Anthony Fantana here the Internet's busiest music nerd and it's time for a review of the new Kendrick Lamar album to pimp a butterfly West Coast rapper black hippy member Top Dawg entertainment member Kendrick Lamar and I've been telling you telling you since 2011 Kendrick Lamar has something he's got something going on section 80 great album and album on which Kendrick showcased a kind of nasal high-pitched voice but a lot of personality he had flow he had a lot to say and he had a knack for writing catchy kind of accessible enjoyable hip hop songs with a socially aware edge a talent he would go on to sharpen with his next full-length LP good kid maad city an album that in a few short years has been widely acknowledged as one of hip-hop's best records and one of modern music's best concept albums this record told the story a story of a young Kendrick Lamar or maybe many a young man from Compton California caught up in dreams of success peer pressure drugs gang violence the record is a fantastic nuanced and very detailed character portrait this was really Kendrick Lamar's break out album he was sounding so much less like an outsider with this LP with the Drake feature the trendier beats the dr. Dre feature big singles like swimming pools that had a trap influenced instrumental as well as a message that was obviously anti substance abuse but the song was kind of masked as a drinking song even though I loved this record when it came out and I still love it now I couldn't help but feel like Kendrick kind of compromised on this album I'm gonna make trendier music but I'm gonna do it on my own terms and even if it is trendy or I don't really mind if the music itself and the the message behind the music is fantastic but I was left after this album wondering where could Kendrick go after this will he continue to try to appeal to more mainstream tastes in a way I felt like that might have been the case the first time I heard I the blend of pop hip hop and soul on that track certainly had kind of a radio friendly sound and the track actually ended up winning Kendrick a few Grammys kind of proving that songs pop appeal but instead of just hanging in this safe zone and and making bland door music Kendra continued to experiment and make some pretty bold statements like with the track blacker the berry then we started getting word of some of Kendricks collaborators and producers on this record people like Flying Lotus George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic bassist extraordinaire Thundercat underrated FEM si Rhapsody one of the Isley Brothers and neo-soul singer Bilal among others and this change really shows up in the sound of this album there is not a trendy instrumental insight anywhere on this record there is no swimming pools and Kendrick is very upfront with the sonic direction of this album with a lot of strong instrumentals pulling from jazz some really groovy parliament-funkadelic inspired drums and bass psychedelic smooth dreamy creamy neo soul the instrumental flavor of this record has a distinctly old-school tone to it like Kendrick is really going back to the glory days of dr. Dre Snoop the farside and Tupac but there's something really modern and detailed about these beats to Kendrick even pulls a left hook in the tracklisting here by tossing in a live performance version of the song I rather than leaving in the gussied-up studio version which I actually prefer this move the raw aesthetic of the live performance of this track sounds fantastic the Isley Brothers sample interpolation on the song goes over pretty well and there's kind of an Outkast hey-yah vibe on this track to throwing this version on the record actually plays into the narrative of the album this anthem about self-love and self-esteem I think in a way Kendrick kind of sees this song as falling on deaf ears with the crowd of people he's trying to communicate it to which is why toward the end of the song the track gets derailed by a really kind of I guess angry frustrated and restless crowd with whom Kendra tries to plead and asks for you know calmness civility telling him that black people are tired of playing the victim saying that he has no time to waste time the very next track on here mortal man you kind of see Kendrick Lamar lyrically questioning the devotion of his fans asking them if they will still be a fan when the [ __ ] hits the fan and it's stuff like this that sets Kendrick apart from not just other rappers but specifically other conscious rappers while it seems like Kendrick might want to fix the world in a way I think he kind of sees it as futile or maybe even like an impossible task but for an artist like Kendrick changing minds with your art is a worthy cause worth the effort even if the boulder of problems in front of you moves just only in inch after you drop dead of exhaustion after all of your trying to pimp a butterfly is structured in a pretty interesting way it's not a story album it's not another good kid maad city it's like a series of separate but very much connected vignettes and given how dramatic and grand and rich a lot of the instrumentation and the vocal performances on this record are I actually feel like I'm watching not just listening but watching in my mind a really elaborate stage show and that is not a far-fetched comparison considering all the strange sonic detours on this record the effects the instrumental interludes the various voices we have Kendrick changing up his flow his voice is inflection constantly a pretty wide instrumental palette you have smooth sexy funk music on here like with the song these walls and then you have hardcore hip-hop with just a little bit of 90s boom bap inspiration on blacker the berry and this is something I've never heard before we have this poem being told at the end or maybe at the very beginning of nearly every track on this album and as Kendrick starts this poem with each attempt he just gets a little further into the poem each time reciting what he has already said in the poem on previous tracks and whatever words he leaves off on before the next track starts sort of dictate the theme or how tell you about the oncoming track and then at the very end of the album he tells the entire poem that he's written and it reveals a few different things one that this entire poem ties up very beautifully every single theme on the album and the second thing that's revealed is that the entire time Kendrick has been telling this poem to Tupac yes he's telling this poem to Tupac he just sort of you know talks a little bit after he's finished and you know goes to ask a question and and who is answering back none other than Tupac Shakur and Kendrick continues to converse with this no longer alive man about things like politics and money and success in the music industry in a very natural way I thought this was like an actor or maybe some kind of crazy voice hologram thing because you know we had the dance and Snoop Dogg Tupac hologram thing and thing anything anything but then I came to learn that everything Tupac is saying comes from this old interview recorded in the 90s Kendrick took his favorite snippets from it and then wrote the questions afterwards and pulled together this just beautifully cohesive conversation it's really a mindfuck moment and then he ends the entire track off with another poem recitation that actually sort of ties up and explains the whole to pimp a butterfly theme which is actually pretty beautiful and makes me feel bad for anybody who is a you know currently hating on the title of this album because it actually has quite a bit of poignant sand meaning if you actually pay attention to the final words of this record so there are some completely new and whacked-out things that Kendrick does all over this record and and every single one of them goes over incredibly well flying colors and he has a lot to say on this record as well like with his previous albums and even though Kendrick on this album is addressing a lot of hot-button issues taking on things that we see is as being very large and very political he brings it down and makes it person makes it relatable or at least emotional or something to sympathize with he's not this rapper who's just gonna like spit statistics at you like oh this many people died feel something rather than that Kendrick gives you a compelling point of view or at least connects the dots so that you can kind of see why someone would have the mindset that he has or the mindset of people who he might be talking about war portraying on this album he does this as he raps about black artists who are blinded by money and fame and success while simultaneously being exploited by the music industry he raps about living up to musical and political heroes he raps about trying to stay in touch with his roots and his neighborhood and his friends while being this really prominent entertainment figure we have black pride and black confidence on this record but also conversely racism versus the black community and the black community versus the black community and his lyrics are consistently witty and thoughtful and poetic and nuanced but there are moments on here where Kendrick doesn't really mince words either one line in particular that it's actually pretty awesome where he's talking about music critics saying that they miss when rap was about rapping if that were the case [ __ ] killer Mike would be platinum I agree as well as Kendricks proclamations of this dick ain't free on the for free interlude track where he's kind of talking about issues of slavery and sexuality on the song - a track that fuses together beat poetry jazz and like this Saul Williams s insanity it was really a moment for me on the album when I first heard it I thought is this genius or is this garbage but but it only took one more listen to figure out yeah yeah it's genius and this track actually is the biggest sense of humor of any song here while this record does have a few bones to pick it's not necessarily just Kendrick shoving ideology down your throat or even really tell you what to think because there are moments here where Kendrick will say something out of one side of his mouth and then maybe he'll contradict himself a little but not necessarily just contradicting himself I sort of see it as him trying to engage with maybe every side of the issues he's trying to tackle showing that heavy problems such as the ones addressed on this record aren't just black and white they're layered onions that have a lot of different factors but despite his best intentions there will always be people who the moment they feel something political is going on at a piece of art they will reel back thinking they're too good to be told anyone else's point of view because they know the way the world works and even if you are that kind of person I ask you to give this album a fair shot because it's not like Kendrick half-asses his bars on this record I think he tries to give these topics a lot of care he's not delivering some kind of reblogged 140-character bumper sticker philosophy on this album if you listen to these songs and all you get from them is Kendricks just bitching about being black in America Kendrick thinks white people suck well that's really kind of a basic point of view and not because Kendricks being basic because you're being basic so get off that and really listen to what he's trying to say on this record cuz the way Kendrick goes about addressing things like race and sex and fame and money on this album is so artful that this record could go toe-to-toe with any album that tries to address wider social issues this entire LP kicks off with the incredibly funky fun and mystical Wesley's theory wait back up the entire record actually starts off with a sample of this Boris Gardner song which if you give a listen to this track it's actually a really fantastic manifesto for a lot of the moments on this album that have kind of a racial pride angle to them so do give this track a listen if you want a bit more context for this album but really what this track Kendrick is kind of tipping a hat to mr. Wesley Snipes and on the verses here he's rapping as characters once again in the first verse he's a successful artist who was blinded by the fame and to throw his money away on everything the second verse here we have an Uncle Sam character who is kind of taking advantage of this artist's ignorance to the industry and his money-making capability on this track Kendrick tries to portray that that this type of success comes with its risks and its debts the instrumental here is fantastic with appearances from George Clinton I love his lyrics on this track I love his vocal delivery look both ways before you cross my band Thundercats base on here fantastic and these wailing g-funk synthesizers are great to the matically the song for sale which is a very psychedelic dreamy interlude track it's actually longer than a lot of the other tracks here but interlude all the same this track is gorgeous and talks about a lot of the same stuff moving forward we get the p-funk James Brown concoction of King Kunta and with all the cartoony and zany background vocals and the kind of sad guitar line on this track as well as the uppity flow I dare say the song feels a little like old school and manemma influence too and on this track we see Kendrick kind of portraying himself as coming from just lowly beginnings but now that he's at his artistic peak or at least what we think is his artistic peak right now he is kind of this King Kunta figure the song bees walls is an incredibly sexy track about sex as well as abusing one's fame I think to get laid which plays into the bit of the poem that was recited right before this track Kendrick actually makes direct reference to this poem in the third verse of this song where he says he's sleeping with this girl who's man might actually be like in jail right now then we have songs like institutionalized where Kendrick has a lot of love for and a really strong desire to return to his old neighborhood despite the fact that he's this great success now and he could really live anywhere he wants to and it's really multifaceted track with one beat shift after another but sort of bringing the track from one moment to the next is a Snoop Dogg with kind of a Slick Rick flow inspired by the track children's story when my favorite hip hop song of all time and also on this track too we have Kendrick making reference to his grandmother and one of the refrains here talking about if you want [ __ ] to change you better clean or wipe your ass sort of putting it on Kendrick that if he wants things to change if he wants things to be different he has to enact that change he has to put in the work in order to make that change occur that personal responsibility I sort of see as another major theme of this album especially on tracks like the very intense song you where Kendrick sort of puts on himself a lot of bad things going down with family with friends maybe not blaming himself directly but sort of getting really angry at himself tearing himself apart emotionally for like not being there for his relatives and for the death of a friend the second half of this song is incredibly heartbreaking and as Kendrick whipping out that flow where his voice is cracking and breaking all over the place a lot like on the song bad city but rather than kind of pulling out this voice to portray like a young innocent kid he's really just broken up and drinking and you like get the bottle sounds in this album here it's like he's drinking in the middle of his verses literally I mean you hear the alcohol swishing around you hear the lips smacking against the bottle and being there for people who are close to you for your family are themes that come up again on tracks like mama as well as hood politics when these songs begin they end on a moment in the poem where Kendrick is just going totally insane due to the very lush life he's been living and he was going back to his home for answers he kind of mocks himself a little bit saying that you know because he made this grand comment on the place where he's from he knows everything when in reality he kind of feels out of touch and with the track hood politics I don't totally have this track deciphered but the way I'm interpreting it thus far it's a little bit like the art of peer pressure part 2 he's returning home and maybe falling back into his old way of doing things a little bit and maybe how Kendrick is feeling on this track can be added up to the survivors Gill he talks about in the ongoing poem at the end of this song that he inches a little bit further in on and this sort of survivor's guilt makes him feel anxious and kind of uncomfortable that this lack of comfort in one's own skin is kind of put at ease on the song you ain't got a lie where Kendrick I think in a way comes to the conclusion that he can be himself but also be this prominent musical figure a lot like in the same way that we have the song you that is just filled with self-loathing but Kendrick eventually progresses toward I that moment where he has that self-esteem that pride that loss and the song I is surrounded by a handful of other tracks that delve into self-love self a introspection like black or the berry as well as complexion with Rhapsody to pimp a butterfly not only comes back to the trappings of Fame but also trying to use one's status in the music world for a positive gain not just for you but your listeners and just the world that you exist in it's not a story in the same way that good kid maad city is a story but we see kendrick change from this overly indulgent emotional wreck to this bold confident graceful smart next level human being a few years ago a lot of people got on me when I reviewed good kid maad city saying why not attend I mean how much better can it get well I think this album answers that question I see to pimp a butterfly as being more daring more ambitious more unique lyrically stellar and while this album does have a philosophy to divulge Kendrick doesn't skimp on the music on this album he realizes that making music is about the music if the music under your message is garbage the music is garbage so he has graced his messages in his point of view and his personal tales on this album with delicate detailed wonderful bits of jazz and funk and wherever else his heart takes him this album instrumentally would actually be a really sweet listen as well this project really marches to the beat of its own drum and it might be to its detriment to an extent because the people who might have gravitated toward the trendier sounds on good kid maad city might take a bite of this record and just say yuck instantaneously to some of those people I might say try listening to a hip-hop record that came out before 2010 other people though might have a beef with this record being so dense lengthy and kind of difficult to trudge through if you're not enjoying every single track on this album the songs on here do require quite a bit of attention even though I do think there are incredibly catchy standouts throughout the tracklist here like alright as well as I and blacker the berry and it's fantastic that for as famous Kendrick is right now for as grand as this album is and for all the success that it's seeing Kendrick has continued to make music that is down-to-earth and what's even cooler some of the most obscure names in the feature list here are sometimes the most prominent people on the record because it was just a few years ago just several years ago that Kendrick was the underdog in hip hop and now he's making what could possibly be the best rap record of the decade Kendrick has remained incredibly self-aware and down-to-earth as he has gone through this artistic metamorphosis into a butterfly or really the face of hip hop's next generation Kendrick is someone who I think signifies a new chapter and hopefully maybe a turn of the final page on the remnants of the bling era that have been holding on for dear life I'm not trying to say every artist should try to make this record I mean you know you only get so many Kendrick Lamar's so be happy with the ones that you get but it's albums like this that people use as benchmarks in musical history and it just happens to be fantastically enjoyable as well I'm feeling a ten on this record Tran it's 4:00 a.m. I'm going to bed it's 4:00 a.m. I'm going to bed it's 4:00 a.m. I'm going to bed

Channel: theneedledrop

Views: 6,478,479

Keywords: album, review, music, reviews, indie, underground, new, latest, lyrics, full song, listen, track, concert, live, performance, update, the needle drop, anthony fantano, vlog, talk, discussion, music nerd, loved, hiphoprvwz, kendrick lamar, section.80, Good Kid M.A.A.d City (Musical Album), swimming pools, bitch don't kill my vibe, backseat freestyle, sherane, king kunta, wesley's theory, for sale, these wealls, blacker the berry, i kendrick, george clinton, thundercat, flying lotus, snoop dogg

Id: qTmHuavOXNg

Length: 22min 18sec (1338 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 18 2015