To Pimp A Butterfly, the 2015 hit album by Kendrick Lamar, is regarded as one of the best hip hop albums of all time. He references racial prejudice in his albums, along with referencing his situation growing up in Compton. In this album, Kendrick Lamar experiments and samples a lot of jazz in his songs, making for some more funky/groovy beats throughout the entire album. Speaking of, this project presents us with 16 songs making up an hour and sixteen minutes, with the question being: is this the greatest hip hop album of all time?
Yes, it is.
Introduction:
Kendrick Lamar has proven time and time again why he is one of the greatest rappers in the 21st century. To be frank, I listened to this album a while ago only thinking it was Kendrick’s second best album compared to his Sophomore album Good kid, m.a.a.d city, ignoring the significance and thematic topics introduced throughout this project. Kendrick’s production is thoroughly consistent along with his flow and vocals. All around, this album is considered perfect by most. Kendrick Lamar has some of the best samples and production known to man, making this album considered perfect by most.
Story Telling:
There are multiple themes throughout the “story” of To Pimp A Butterfly. Some of these themes are, exploitation, living up to responsibilities, the importance of staying true to yourself, and finding strength in the face of adversity. Throughout the album, he tells us the story of a rapper finding fame and essentially learning how to “pimp” a butterfly for its talent. Along with the temptations that come from fame and wealth, the burden of his new position of influence, referring to Black History and his ancestry for guidance, dealing with “survivor’s guilt” after leaving Compton, and eventually finding self-belief and wisdom to share with his community.
Another aspect of his storytelling is his references to the darker parts of U.S. history regarding slavery. These references cause the listener to feel conflicted as to how the narrator feels. Along with his references to the “dark side” of the industry, Kendrick also provides solutions to all of these issues through various songs on the project, whether it’s personal struggles or the reality of an African American’s life. One of Kendrick’s inspirations for To Pimp A Butterfly was the everyday struggle of living in Compton, notoriously one of the biggest ghettos in America, and what most people tend to overlook when the subject is brought up, something he grew up in. Helping Compton to Kendrick means helping African Americans everywhere who have similar struggle.
Production
Production is credited to the infamous Dr. Dre, who is known globally as one of the founding fathers of N.W.A. It is widely said that although Dre is credited as the head producer, Kendrick had most of the ideas for how he wanted production to go. The production on this album is, to say the least, flawless. With heavy influences of jazz on this project, Kendrick not only provides us with amazing and consistent beats throughout his songs, but I would say everything about this album’s production is perfect. A song who’s production stood out to me the most is “Alright”, with it being one of Kendrick’s most popular songs. It lives up to all the hype surrounding it with his flow being amazing, storytelling being fluid and consistent, and of course, the outstanding production throughout the entire song.
Conclusion
Overall, Kendrick proves to us how he is the greatest rapper of the 21st century. This album alone is an instant classic and as previously stated, one of the greatest rap albums of all time. The production, story telling, and his flow on this project is flawless. I will be the first to personally say that Kendrick Lamar does not miss. This project is a 9.7/10. There is not much more I can say about how perfect this album is, as I would 100% recommend giving it a listen.
Weakest Track: The Weakest Track on the album is “Mortal Man.” This take may be controversial to some, however, this song is the weakest due to it being too long. The song starts strong, but then it ends with Kendrick talking to an unknown man for the next 8 minutes.
Strongest Track: The Strongest Track on the album is “i,” which was released as the debut song for this project. It shows why Kendrick picked this song with it’s fantastic production, amazing verses, impeccable storytelling, and his vocals are, in my opinion, at their peak on this track.
Song Rankings:
- “i”
- “King Kunta”
- “The Blacker The Berry”
- “Alright”
- “You Ain’t Gonna Lie (Momma Said)”
- “Momma”
- “Wesley’s Theory”
- “u”
- “Institutionalized”
- “These Walls”
- “Complexion (A Zulu Love)”
- “How Much a Dollar Cost”
- “For Sale? (Interlude)”
- “Hood Politics”
- “For Free? (Interlude)”
- “Mortal Man”
Final Notes:
Song rankings are always subject to change over time, so don’t take these too to heart. They also are just my opinion. With that being said, I would love to hear your opinions, so leave them in the comment section below. We also suggest subscribing to our blog. To do so, go under the tab “Contact” and fill out the form. That will allow you to receive emails of new blogs and maybe get them ahead of time. Finally, go give To Pimp A Butterfly a listen for yourself, as I highly recommend this album to anyone just wanting to get into the hip hop scene, as it’s a great introduction into a great genre.