To Pimp A Butterfly Review: Thank god I didn't make some stupid title that had to do with moths instead of butterflies. Just Because they're both in the family Lepidoptera it doesn't mean it's okay.

It was meant to be!

OKAY I’ll admit it I was really, really intimidated by this release. To Pimp a Butterfly right off the bat was acclaimed by listener and critic alike, and the attention wasn’t only on the internet and social media. One of my friends told me that she saw people straight up running home the night of its release because they heard, “the album dropped.” The thing is I can’t deny that I wasn’t excluded from the hype. If it isn’t already apparent by our domain name I was a really big fan of Good Kid M.A.A.D City so I had a lot riding on this album before it’s initial release, a lot of people felt that way too. To my pleasant surprise on my first listen I was thrown into To Pimp a Butterfly with nothing but pure fascination. It’s an album that sounds entirely different as a successor. Section 80, and Good Kid M.A.A.D City have this smooth, tranced flow to it, with a trap inspired track or two mixed in, making them more predictable and concrete. To Pimp a Butterfly, on the other hand opts to be stylistically experimental and in that framing it’s nothing short of mania, but that’s not a bad thing, it’s actually refreshingly ingenious. 

The first thing that’s noticeable about the album is the diverse and collaborative production. It doesn’t sound like anything Kendrick has put out before considering how many different genre’s it borrows from track to track. The album’s irrevocably strong opener “Wesley’s Theory,” which features the production skills of Flying Lotus, Thundercat on bass, and some voice overs by George Clinton and Dr. Dre outline the ranged genre choice and sampling that sets itself as the framework for the album. An example of this diversity is the album’s interlude “For Free,” which starts off with a praising gospel choir and then transitions into a jazz track where Kendrick scat-raps. Another example of this genre experimentation would be the contrast between the album’s singles “i” and “The Blacker the Berry.” "i” has a production that feels like a Motown track because of its electric guitars, upbeat kit, and backup singers, where “The Blacker the Berry” has this ethereal beat and an edgy hook that reminds me of reggae dub vocals--both of these are great songs by the way. All of this seems pretty all over the place and confusing but the album has this impenetrable strength with bringing the tracks together through it’s breaks and transitions--I’ll touch upon this more later. It provides a really enjoyable experience as a listener.

One thing that is really appreciable about the album is how its artistic and tone setting experiments, skits, and samples don’t detract from its musicality. I would actually say it really contributes to their artistic value. Particularly “These Walls” come to mind. The distorted moaning at the beginning of it  is a little agitating but if you give it a chance  it’s a really sexy and smooth track that features Thundercat again. It has actually grown to be one of my favorites of the album. “For Sale?” the album’s other interlude is another really good example of this. When looking at it’s symbolism it’s a really ironic point in the album; it’s production reminds me something that could be featured on an early Flying Lotus track because of it’s dream like and calm IDM qualities but from what I can tell he didn’t produce it. It’s a very unexpected part of the album because the song is about an aged Kendrick reminiscing about a conversation that he had with the devil and there’s a lot of contrasting tonality.

I need to preface the rest of this review by saying that I’m not going to go into anymore of my analysis of the album, I might do a video or a separate blog entry for that, but right now I need more time to digest it. With that being said the album certainly has A LOT to say, and a lot needs to be said about the non-musical aspects of the album such as Kendrick’s spoken word, the contrast between the tracks “u” and “i,” the constant references to the character “Lucy,” and the interview he has with Tupac at the end. But what I can say though is that the album’s writing is very strong. It has clever one-offs--the line in the opener “look both ways before you cross my mind” is one I personally love, a bunch of skits, and aforementioned spoken word that really transitions each track effectively to create a cohesive package. Kendrick and the writers and producers of this album really know how to musically tell a story. This is something that they did with Good Kid M.A.A.D City that really makes it a great album. Admittedly I think it’s done better in To Pimp A Butterfly and Kendrick has really perfected his method of message, which is something I see other rappers struggle with; I feel like Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet is a way too ambitious attempt to be something like this, and you can read that review to see why it didn’t work.

Even though the album tells a strong, thought provoking  story and is literarily significant, it’s musicality is obviously the strongest part of the album. Most tracks that are on it are just down right good songs. “King Kunta,” has a killer groove, with great flow and lyrics: I really like the line “a rapper with a ghost writer? What the fuck happened?” “Institutionalized,” has a verse with Snoop Dogg where he just killed it. “Alright,” is a pretty good trap track. “Complexion” sounds like an old school Tupac song. “ “How Much a Dollar Cost?” reminded me of Good Kid M.A.A.D City. I liked “You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said),” that was solid. I seriously didn’t have a song that I thought was bad or that I didn’t like. I mean, there were some that I wouldn’t go out of my way to individually listen to like “Momma,” or “Hood Politics.” However, I feel that they’re still necessary to the album as a whole, and I enjoyed them during each of my consecutive listens. 

Kendrick Lamar has more than proved his skills as a rapper, and I really feel that he is one of the modern day greats. Not only does he have good flow, but his technical skill and control over his voice is very strong too. Earlier in this review I talked about the genre hopping in the production, and I think the main reason why it works so well is because Kendrick is able to pull it together and apply his style to it. Throughout the album he reuses things that he’s done in the past that make it work, like the post production helium voice at the beginning of “Institutionalized” that sounds really reminiscent of the one used in “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” He also incorporates new voices too, in “For Sale” he changes his voice to sound like an old man’s, or in “u” he makes his voice crack and strains it so he sounds fucked up and staggered. Not only is it really entertaining but Kendrick changing his voice is a gimmick that really emulates his style, and a personal touch that he puts on the album. He knows what he’s doing and he does it well. It works musically and contextually to the story of the album.

Kendrick Lamar did an amazing job with this album. It functions as a hip-hop album, a story, a poetry book, a social commentary, and it’s an instant classic that will be remembered for a long time.

9.5/10

Favorite Tracks: Wesley’s Theory, King Kunta, These Walls, u, How Much a Dollar Cost, Complexion, You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said), i

Least Favorite Tracks: N/A