To Pimp a Butterfly (Review)
Hi. Hey. Hello. ItzSonny...and Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale, KDOT, BABY. The modern rap goat and legend whose the king of the top of this generation, FUCK THE BIG THREE, IT'S JUST BIG HIM, HE'S HIM, KENDRICK--I've never listened to Pimp a Butterfly (*SPONGEBOB SUSPENSE NOISE*), nah, to be honest like always, as a kid like you and I...only a very dumb fucking kid who hated anything that wasn't what he liked...including hip hop...or should I say modern hip hop, see I wasn't all bad. Yes, I only adored the hip hop I grew up with from the 90s, 2000s, hell all that throwback shit and honestly even today, I still hold that sentiment, old school anything just hits different, yet getting older and more wise about my music expansion, and learning of Mr. Morale from the big beef with uh that one guy, I think he was uh...from this show called "Drake & Josh", I forgot who, and uh yah, though there's still a lot of modern hip hop I don't enjoy due to being stale, repetitive, and uninspired...I've come to realize that aside indie rap...there are those rap artists that keep the spirit of the genre alive and aside Tyler, the Creator and others...nobody holds this mantle up more...than Kendrick the goat Lamar, so let's rewind and uncover the mastery of his all-time album that is considered one of the greatest music releases EVER in "To Pimp A Butterfly."
BACKGROUND
To Pimp A Butterfly is an album we all recognize, even if you're not in the music sphere, it's celebrated as one of the greatest releases ever in the current age and a very culturally impactful project. As far back as February 2015, Lamar announced plans to release the LP. For inspiration, he traveled across South Africa and visited many historical sites there, being heavily impacted by the culture and basing the album around his journey. Quoting Lamar:
“I felt like I belonged in Africa. I saw all the things that I wasn’t taught. One of the hardest things to do is put a concept of how beautiful a place can be and tell a person this while they’re still in the ghettos of Compton.”
He didn't make this album for fame, glory, or even himself...yet to provide a necessary message to the world, getting the assistance of many talented producers, lyricists, and artists in the industry to aid him in his goals. He also wanted to go above and beyond traditional hip hop and add in fusions of soul and jazz, thus putting their every being into the project and releasing it to the world as "To Pimp A Butterfly", the album we all know, love, and are about to unravel like a Christmas present in this further inspection of its pure creativity.
REVIEW
"Wesley's Theory"
IF THIS AIN'T HOW YOU OPEN AN ALBUM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS BECAUSE GAWDDAMN, THIS SONG DOES WHAT A PERFECT OPENER DOES IN SETTING IN THE TONE, THEMES, SOUND, AND COMPLEXITY OF THIS ALBUM INTO GEAR. (sorry for caps) No, but seriously the overall funky ass production and mix just goes insanely hard and is deliciously addictive in sound with Lamar and everybody else's delivery going insanely hard with the right form of portrayal with the writing and showcasing Kendrick's core element that makes him stand out from the rest in conveying so many ideas through verse and rhythm by this song focusing on how America racially exploits black people into paying beyond their necessities and creators for profit, all about money and the Wesley in the title referring to Wesley Snipes, who is of course, the OG Blade from Marvel Comics/Films, so yah...OFF RIP, WE'RE IN FOR A MASTERPIECE.
"For Free?" (Interlude)
(*INTERNALLY SCREAMING*) FUCK, THIS ALBUM IS SO GOOD, JUST 2 SONGS IN, (*calms down*). Okay, well, THIS SONG IS AMAZING. Holy shit the jazz arrangement in this goes so hard that gawddamn JK Simmons from Whiplash would smile at this amazement, not only in that, yet with Lamar's delivery, especially in his final section going insanely hard with the comprehensive, yet fast rhythm output being both complex in writing and fantastic in his saying that it almost comes off as the solo in this jazz track is insane and the overall concept of it presenting an exterior of him arguing with his lover, yet on deeper examination, it being Lamar presenting the American civilian and the lover being the embodiment of America's spirit and how she exploits Lamar and Lamar coming back with some real shit and the comparisons being so well-presented, just, CHEF'S KISS, FUCK.
"King Kunta"
Pure boss song, mang, a great empowering song that presents the fact (NOT THE CONCEPT, KING) of Lamar pretty much being on top of the world in all ways from his rap career to his influence in his hometown of Compton to pretty much the world going from in his words a "peasant" to a "prince" to a "MOTHERFUCKIN' KING" and him being on top, no matter the struggle, and the overall funky ass synth heavy frisky and bouncy mix is so incredible and addictive with a nice little extra detail upon learning the more depth of this album is the title of the track referring to a character, Kunta Kinte, being a slave who always used his real name and never his slave name as a sign of rebellion, similar to Lamar's rise to influence through his rebellious nature that I highly respect as a creator, believer, and person in general.
"Institutionalized"
A more chill and low-level song in overall feel and atmosphere with an incredible beat and mix that feels like a nighttime moment, presenting Lamar as his way of detailing how being rich can brainwash and corrupt us almost to the point of well, being "institutionalized" with great features from Bilal, Anna Wise, and Snoop Dogg, that makes this one of the more focused and well-rounded tracks that has a simple goal and goes for it, a great chill, yet thought-provoking track.
"These Walls"
I think this one might be my favorite because I just listened to this like 50 times, lol, nah but seriously, FUCKKK, this feels so goooooood, it's such a DELICIOUS and VIBE SONG, I LOVE THE VIBE, THE MUSIC VIBE (*calms down*) no seriously, I love it, the overall vocal ranges goes hard from Lamar's straight forward attitude, Anna Wise's backup, and Bilal's fun chorus, with just such luscious arrangement and mixing that feels good to MY EARS and a great concept again of 'these walls' representing a prison cell in how it feels to be famous, how corruptible and lonely it can be, the writing complimenting the sound with how lustful it feels, pure genius.
"u"
Woah. Love some personal stuff, man, this entire song is just Lamar letting himself out in a negative light, containing all these negative emotions and thoughts and just being real, the whole song, some real shit that I appreciate dearly and sincerely as a creator myself trying to let my emotions, specifically and especially my negatives ones out into my work as a way of communication in necessity as I feel we need to be more surreal and honest about it, rather than just be edgy in a lame way, which there's nothing lame like how Lamar delivers it here as he's honest, raw, and creative as hell.
"Alright"
Ah yes, the one song I knew from the "Best of the Best" experiment (Why Music Matters – YouTube/ItzSonny) and yah, it's even 10x more of a banger when listened to alongside the rest of the album and a true highlight by being a more hopeful and positive track that feels like an anthem of sound and celebratory with just the right kind of energy from Lamar and PHARRELL WILLIAMS, WOAH, yah that's a cool addition and just wow, what more can I say? It's just a banger in all forms of the term.
"For Sale?" (Interlude)
A great interlude that is a nice smaller song that helps with the album's flow as we are not close to being finished, yet a great song emphasizing an element that has been repeated from the previous tracks thus far, the album's through-line being presented in Lamar dealing with "Lucy" which is really a name for Lucifer and in his own personal inner struggle that is really ramping up for this album to be quite creative and mysteriously dark.
"Momma"
A song that continues the overall concept of Lamar reflecting on himself and his identity, with real verses that are personal and retrospective that really hit and are creatively endearing with a focused and straight beat that is fantastic and enduring for me, a song like others so far that I heavily appreciate and should be valued for being less energetic and crazy in sound (though this one still goes hard) and is more focused on the smaller moments of music, which is really making this album shine in how it balances its epic and large sounds with the more smaller and locked in valuable times as well.
"Hood Politics"
FUCK THIS GOES HARD, alright, this song is great (what a surprise, lol) and yah I love the overall concept here as it feels like multiple concepts with the ones I pulled being Lamar showing himself to his home and how he hasn't changed and also how America views the ghetto and hood, seeing it as inferior to their mindset of American life and yah for a song that dislikes politics in rap, it's a pretty good rap song with political ideas in it by reflecting from an ordinary figure's mindset and lashing out his feels, fantastic work as always.
"How Much A Dollar Cost"
Another more focused, yet less chill and more heavy banging flow to the overall rhythm of this track, really allowing Lamar, James Fauntleroy, and Ronald Isley speak out their truth as the song wraps its intentions around the costs of gaining wealth and the loss of somebody's values in the process, being another song with a great overall tight concept that is raw and really lay out perfectly through the writing and overall mix to really hit home its ideas to really leave an impact.
"Complexion (A Zulu Love)"
What a beautiful and cool song, man, might be my personal favorite off the gosh-darn album, LIKE EVERY SONG, I keep repeating the same phrases and terminology throughout this entire review BUT BUT BUT what else can I say, this album just slaps my guy. I love how this focuses on the recurring theme of colorism and systematic racial issues in America, yet this time doing it in a more positive mentality with it embracing how no matter our skin color, we are all equally beautiful and that our color doesn't define us and it's such a sweet and tender message that is greatly conveyed to the fun funky tone and flow alongside Lamar and Rapsody's incredible verses that convey that genuine love.
"The Blacker The Berry"
This song is the embodiment of exactly everything I would've disliked as a kid from mainstream modern hip hop at the time and unlike every other song saying how being a gangster is cool, this song does everything right by actually speaking out a truth I feel that Lamar clearly feels in how this entire song is pretty much a diss track aimed towards the entire embodiment and spirit of America, not the idea of it, how it actually is and the way he was ANGRY AND PISSED OFF GOT ME IN IT TOO CAUSE I FEEL THE SAME WAY, he went completely hard in his frustrations and rage towards America and it was delivered so perfectly that it truly made me feel the same, SPEAK THE TRUTH, MR. MORALE.
"You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)"
Another great self-reflection song, especially as the album gets closer to its end with Lamar presenting to himself how to avoid peer pressure and evade his pitfalls, a song filled with wisdom and overall really fun and fresh bouncy and kinetic energy put into its mix to make this track truly work well as an upbeat feel.
"i"
Wow. I love the celebration in the first half of the song and its crazy all-out party fiasco going on with Lamar expressing his self-love and the whole crowd feeling into it only for it all to go down into arguments and then the second half to just completely cut all the sound together and Kendrick going all out in expressing his views and beliefs which is just beautiful and works well in serving this as the ultimate penultimate song that perfectly bleeds us into the closer.
“Mortal Man”
The closer...the perfect way to close an album, I feel like I say that a lot, yet it's true...it follows the same structure as the previous track with the first half being a song and the second half focused entirely on verbal discussion. The first half is great and honestly the highlight not just in production, yet Lamar legit asking if people really respect him, questioning that if shit hits the fan, are you still a fan? Which is a very out there and bold topic to discuss that I believe is necessary as its true, do we actually stand by our beliefs or are truly fake inside? Standing by our moral codes and our ways of how the things around us can shape us and reveal our inner core through actions. The second half being the perfect reveal of this album's intention with the album pretty much legit ending after the first half and it all sort of being just a way for Kendrick to express his inner self to a certain other somebody, 2PAC, having a discussion with him about all the topics brought up throughout the album and the two having a genuine, fascinating, and thought-provoking conversation, revealing the core of the album's title and ending on a cliffhanger that is truly haunting in all the best ways.
conclusion
To Pimp—it’s a masterpiece, it's a masterpiece, it's a masterpiece, come on NOW, YOU ALL KNOW ME BY NOW, YOU ALL READ ALL THIS AND KNEW I AM LOVE IN WITH THIS ALBUM. I'm going to be honest, I was honestly terrified to listen to this album due to the sheer critical acclaim that makes this come off as intimidating like some real life-altering shit ya know? And yah, it is very life-altering, like DUDE, this is exactly the kind of album every artist aspires to create, an album where every SINGLE SONG IS NEXT LEVEL, not one miss, the entire sound all across the board is PURE MUSIC and the writing is so thought-provoking, compelling, and generation-defying that it will be discussed ages later. Kendrick Lamar is truly an artist I've grown to love through his work, a hip hop artist I see a lot of myself in, a kid who had to what he had to in order to survive his hometown and when growing up, not only self-reflect on himself and learn to do better as I am right now, yet utilize his passion for art and creativity into expressing ideas and themes that need to be shared and discussed all across the world and this album is all of that and so much more, a truly beautiful, raw, honest, creative, wacky, funky, lustful, chill, aggressive, powerful, thought-provoking, AND real work of art, therefore, I might say, To Pimp a Butterfly might just be my favorite album...ever. The core of it being how...no matter the struggles of a caterpillar and the awe of a butterfly...they are one in the same. It's been Sonny and so long, farewell, and goodbye.
“I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence
Sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power, full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screaming in the hotel room
I didn’t wanna self-destruct
The evils of Lucy was all around me
So I went running for answers
Until I came home
But that didn’t stop survivor’s guilt
Going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I earned
Or maybe how A-1 my foundation was
But while my loved ones was fighting the continuous war back in the city
I was entering a new one
A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination
Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned
The word was respect
Just because you wore a different gang color than mine’s
Doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a black man
Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets
If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us
But I don’t know, I’m no mortal man
Maybe I’m just another ni—a*”
