Kendrick Lamar -- To Pimp A Butterfly

Rapper Kendrick Lamar is one of the biggest rising stars of this decade. After enjoying modest success with his first album, "Section.80", Lamar changed the game with 2012's "good kid, m.A.A.d. city". Lamar's sophomore release was subject to insane amounts of critical praise, and is now considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever released. After a few breakout guest verses on other artist's tracks, he became one of the most hyped rappers in the industry. After having a few amazing years like Kendrick Lamar has had, many artists would cower at the challenge of living up to their own hype. When it was announced that the 27 year-old Compton native would release another album in 2015, the world waited intently to see whether this new release could possibly live up to Lamar's lofty standards. With "To Pimp A Butterfly", I would argue that the rapper absolutely did just that.

Kendrick Lamar's previous effort, "good kid, m.A.A.d. city.", focused on the harsh realities of life in the inner city. Lamar, having grown up in Compton, was no stranger to gang violence and organized crime as a teenager, and this showed in his music. Lamar continued this trend of social commentary with his newest record as well. While the drama that was "good kid" was set in the streets, "Butterfly" focuses on the sociological burdens of being a Black American -- specifically, a black artist in a white-dominated music business. The overarching motif of the record was introduced by the title of the album: the butterfly. The metaphorical butterfly is the black artist who evolved from a caterpillar -- the caterpillar being the symbol of the poor, black kid stuck in the ghetto. The title, "To Pimp A Butterfly", is a reference to the white music industry "pimping" their black artists to the American audience. Now, this analysis is not my own; I only noticed these themes after reading interviews with Lamar himself about this release. This shows how intelligent and subtle the artist really is. Another recurring theme of the album is Lucy, who is a mix between a seductress and Lucifer himself. Lucy tempts "butterflies" like Lamar to forget their roots and accept getting pimped to society, but Lamar isn't falling for Lucy's evils. Lamar almost feels guilty about the fact that he is enjoying so much success while his friends back in the city are struggling day in and day out.

While one could analyze the subtext of this album for pages and pages, there is also a wealth of music to critique. The first thing that I noticed of "To Pimp A Butterfly" is that it is much more eclectic than its predecessor. While "good kid" was aggressive at certain times and somber at others, it usually stuck with the melodic West Coast style popularized by Lamar's biggest influence, Tupac Shakur. However, "Butterfly" heads in a much jazzier and funkier direction -- in a way returning to the roots of African-American music. There are horns and guitars where "good kid" had mostly synths and tight 808 kits. The album's first single, "i", sounds like a full-fledged rock song at parts. Also, while the production on "good kid" seemed to mostly be a vessel to get Lamar's words across, the actual instrumentation takes a more central role here. Verses and verbal hooks are sparse on this album, but when they do occur, they are powerful. Kendrick also flaunts his skills as a character rapper on this release, playing the part of a sad alcoholic on "u". While most of "Butterfly" is assertively calm, tracks like "The Blacker The Berry" show Lamar at his breaking point, employing the use of screamed vocals and abrasive beats. Ultimately, the album ends with a bone-chilling "interview" with the late Tupac, where Kendrick used samples of Shakur's voice and interplayed it with his own.

I do believe that Kendrick Lamar lived up to his hype with "To Pimp A Butterfly". While it was not "good kid" -- there were fewer instantly classic tracks -- the album was just as good in different ways. The subtext beneath Lamar's words is what elevates this album to greatness. Also, the more experimental nature of it feels like the exact direction in which Lamar was supposed to go after such a monumental effort in 2012. Here's to you, K-Dot; the hip-hop's most interesting man.

SCORE: 4.7/5

HIGHLIGHT: "The Blacker The Berry"