About

A TAV Essential Listening Album.

To Pimp a Butterfly is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released in 2015 by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.

The album was recorded in studios throughout the United States, with executive production from Dr. Dre and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Boi-1da, Flying Lotus, Terrace Martin, Pharrell Williams, Knxwledge, Sounwave, Thundercat and several other hip hop producers also contributed.

The album incorporates elements of free jazz, funk, soul, and spoken word and its lyrics explore a variety of political and personal themes concerning African-American culture, racial inequality, depression, institutional discrimination and materialism.

To Pimp a Butterfly debuted atop the Billboard 200 and received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its musical scope and the social relevance of Lamar's lyrics.

Additionally, it was ranked as the best album of 2015 by many publications, including Rolling Stone, Billboard and Pitchfork Media.

It was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Rap Album at the 58th Grammy Awards. Its singles "i" and "Alright" each won Grammys for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, with the latter also nominated for Song of the Year. Additionally, "These Walls" won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Lamar described To Pimp a Butterfly as an "honest, fearful and unapologetic" work that draws on funk, free jazz, spoken word and soul while critics also noted elements of West Coast hip hop[28] and conscious hip hop.  Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly described the album as "embracing the entire history of black American music." Dan Weiss of Spin noted "shades of Miles Davis' On the Corner and free jazz all over [...], as well as Sly Stone’s There's a Riot Goin' On and Funkadelic and Erykah Badu's similarly wah-crazy but comparatively lo-fi New Amerykah (4th World War)," but stated nonetheless that "the sense of this album is vividly contemporary." Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune also noted the album's affinities with previous black music, but argued that "Lamar takes familiar musical tropes into new territory." The Atlantic noted the influence of collaborator Flying Lotus, writing that "his signature sound—jazz instrumentation and hip-hop layered into chaotic collages—is all over the album." Steve Mallon of The Quietus noted an "eerily warped psychedelia bursting out of its idiosyncratic arrangements."

In an interview with MTV, Kendrick discussed the meaning behind the tracks "Wesley's Theory" and "King Kunta".The album's opening track, "Wesley's Theory", is a reference to Wesley Snipes and how the actor was jailed for tax evasion. In the interview Lamar stated that "no one teaches poor black males how to manage money or celebrity, so if they do achieve success, the powers that be can take it from right under them". He continues by elaborating that "King Kunta" is concerned with the "history of negative stereotypes all African-Americans have to reconcile". The interviewer finishes by asking about Lamar's criticism of rappers who use ghostwriters on "King Kunta", after which Lamar reveals that he came to prominence as a ghostwriter, therefore having respect for writers, but says that "as a new artist, you have to stand behind your work... and honor the code of hip-hop." "These Walls" has been described by Billboard as "pondering sex and existence in equal measure; it's a yoni metaphor about the power of peace, with sugar walls being escape and real walls being obstacles."

Lamar revealed that "u" was inspired by his own experience of depression and suicidal thoughts. He also mentioned feelings of survivor's guilt as inspirations for the album. "Alright" begins as a spoken-word treatise before exploding into a shapeshifting portrait of America that brings in jazz horns, skittering drum beats and Lamar's mellifluous rapping as he struggles with troubles and temptations. Yet at the end of each verse, he reassures himself that "We gon' be alright" - a simple rallying cry for a nation reeling from gun violence and police brutality. For critics a "celebration of being alive", Lamar described "Alright" as a message of hope. "The Blacker the Berry" features a "boom bap beat" and lyrics that celebrate Lamar's African-American heritage and "tackle hatred, racism, and hypocrisy head on." The song's hook is performed by Jamaican dancehall artist Assassin, notable for performing on Kanye West's 2013 LP Yeezus, whose lyrics similarly address racial inequality, specifically against African Americans. - Wiki

 Pitchfork - Best Album of 2015 - #1

 Rolling Stone – The Best 50 Albums of 2015 - #1

 2016 Grammy Award Winner

• Best Rap Album
• Best Rap Performance: Alright
• Best Rap Song: Alright
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: These Walls

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