Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly | (Discussion Thread) *Stream*

[wire28]

So for those saying this album heavily pro-black, in what sense? Just curious

The sounds production wise (as hinted at with Terrance Martin explaining who all they were listening to in making the album)

Lyrically/ thematically its throughout the album as well from the end of mortal man, complexion, blacker the berry, momma (if you take the stance that he's talking about Africa), we gon be alright, black man takin no losses, negus (and the video for I), etc

You could go deeper and say he is speaking on the collective conscious of a lot of black people on for free talkin about needing a baller ass nikka and I picked cotton for all these years now these D ain't free to institutionalized and stuff

I actually would have liked for him to be even more straightforward and direct but on a mainstream "hip hop" album this has been the most blatant discussion of modern day black life in years

Side note: FHD was said to be heavy on the black consciousness tip on here too but I might have to sit down and give a closer listen cause I don't hear it, even though I enjoyed the album

 

[MaNu Minu]

Proof? What idiotic stuff has he said/done in regards to hip hop?

told me Chuck D was garbage

 

[SirBiatch]

told me Chuck D was garbage

yeah that's questionable. Anything else?

 

[Pool_Shark]

So for those saying this album heavily pro-black, in what sense? Just curious

I don't know if it's heavy one way cause Kendrick is going in all kinds of directions on here. Songs like For Free, Blacker the Berry, Momma, King Kunta (kind of), Complexion, and Alright help give the album that theme. Also 2pacs interview at the end and the last part of i.

 

[No1]

I don't know if it's heavy one way cause Kendrick is going in all kinds of directions on here. Songs like For Free, Blacker the Berry, Momma, King Kunta (kind of), Complexion, and Alright help give the album that theme. Also 2pacs interview at the end and the last part of i.

I guess I was asking because when I think of pro-black, I was thinking a politically-charged album about black empowerment. It just seemed (lyrically) more like an album covering general topics a black person growing up in America from an impoverished area would go through once they get money. But if it's musically like @wire28 stated and obviously there are tracks like (Complexion and Mortal Man's convo) where I can see it. I just didn't get what is so lyrically offensive about this album to the point where people think that someone who is not highly pro-black would be taken aback.

 

[CASHAPP]

2 years is the standard wait time between albums breh, from GKMC to TPAB was actually 2 and a half years

Only in hip hop do you guys do these things. I mean as long as the artists are not on some Dr Dre/Lauryn Hill/D'Angelo(before Black Messiah) steeze of every 10 plus years then im good. But 2 yeras is nothing bro. I think guys forget this is not the NBA or NFL. Its alright for a career to slow process so you build yourself up to be a legend instead of just moving faster than you need to be.

 

[wire28]

I guess I was asking because when I think of pro-black, I was thinking a politically-charged album about black empowerment. It just seemed (lyrically) more like an album covering general topics a black person growing up in America from an impoverished area would go through once they get money. But if it's musically like @wire28 stated and obviously there are tracks like (Complexion and Mortal Man's convo) where I can see it. I just didn't get what is so lyrically offensive about this album to the point where people think that someone who is not highly pro-black would be taken aback.

True.

Probably best to say lyrically it's speaking moreso on the current black condition with sprinkles of "pro black" in terms of action, which it sounds like you mean.

Even taking into account just the lyrics it's still the most conscious, black, or whatever you want to call it, mainstream album I've heard in a while. Especially selling and streaming as successfully as it has in its first two weeks.

Overall yeah I agree it isnt so potent where other races wouldn't be able to enjoy it, though hearing blacker the berry and hearing hooks about how the popo wanna shoot us dead might make some uncomfortable.

Edit: which would be interesting if alright becomes a single because it's probably the best fit for radio but the hook with all these recent highly publicized police incidents might have everybody like

 

[Black Ball]

so i finally listened to it.

not feeling this at all. first half i'm not feeling the whole spoken word vibe and pitchy voices. second half which is more "traditional" i feel is a little underwhelming (especially musically). i like Cost of a Dollar and Blacker the Berry (especially the beat).

i don't know, maybe i went in in the wrong mood. maybe i had preconceived notions of what it was gonna sound like and felt disappointed. i'm gonna let it rest for a couple of weeks and go back to it with fresh ears to see but yeah, not my cup of tea.

You mean you listened to it once?

Most people wasn't digging this shyt on the 1st listen, so that could be the case. It took me at least 3 listens to really start digging it. But if you didn't like it at all then you may never like it. shyt definitely takes time to sink in though.

 

[Turbulent]

You mean you listened to it once?

Most people wasn't digging this shyt on the 1st listen, so that could be the case. It took me at least 3 listens to really start digging it. But if you didn't like it at all then you may never like it. shyt definitely takes time to sink in though.

yeah, only once. i'm gonna give it another try in a few days (maybe a week or 2) but it was a hard listen for me. the more the album went, the more it felt like a chore listening to it. damn voices and overall deliveries. and then i kept waiting for the Untitled track to come on cause i was curious to see what the album version would sound like and it ends up not even being there.

I actually didn't like Stankonia at first but that shyt ended up growing on me down the line so who knows. but to be frank, i really wasn't feeling this album. maybe it's just not for me

 

[SuburbanPimp]

You mean you listened to it once?

Most people wasn't digging this shyt on the 1st listen, so that could be the case. It took me at least 3 listens to really start digging it. But if you didn't like it at all then you may never like it. shyt definitely takes time to sink in though.

I definitely didn't love it the first time I listened to it. Maybe it was high expectations or the fact I was skipping around tracks.

It's just hard to appreciate what he is doing with the poem at the end of tracks and the fact he was using the songs to tell the complete story....

I also thought on the first couple of listens that the production kinda over powered the lyrics so I didn't catch everything he was saying....

I'm not saying it's super lyrically but he uses all his bars for the content and stays on topic on every song... Whether you like the song or not you know what each song is about.

I love the production though......

The Saxophone is damn near the co-star of the album.....

After listening to it plenty of times now there is honestly not one song on there that I dislike.... If I had to choose a song I like the least it would probably be King Kuna but now even it has grown on me and that hook is stuck in my head



I

 

[Big Mel]

Who is this Max reviewer dude?

 

[SirBiatch]

Who is this Max reviewer dude?

I don't much about him. But he's had that website for YEARS. I remember looking at his Supreme Clientele review in like 2007, and thinking: 'hmm... he seems to know what he's talking about'.

He's a Wu stan. I'm assuming he's a cac, but a cac who actually listened to hip hop when it was not a kiddie genre.

 

[subletteafterdark]

Took me a couple weeks to really sit down, listen, and learn to appreciate what this album is. Listened 4 times in a row, uninterrupted while driving. This is an absolute masterpiece. It took a good 10 listens to get to this point for me, but I don't think I'll ever see other albums coming out in the future the same way. This was so well put together, the instrumentation, the mastering, the emotion, the lyricism, the music. It's okay if you disagree, but you're wrong if you do. I've got nothing meaningful to say, just had to say this album will be sacred 20 years down the road.

I did not expect to feel the way I feel about this record.

 

[Turbulent]

so i actually tried again sooner than i thought and i kinda figured out why i don't like it. two things. the u/alright/for sale sequence i don't like the performance on all three.

but more importantly, it's the fact that this album seems too focused on being clever for the sake of being clever. yes, it is a clever and intricate album. yes the whole poem that builds up, the multiple concepts, etc, etc. but just because a song/album is clever and intricate and mulch-layered in it's meanings, doesn't automatically make it dope. just like just because a song/album is simple doesn't make it wack. i'm not against intricate but i don't put it above vibes. the way the sound makes me feel is the most important thing to me in music and the extra (concepts, etc) can add to me. but the feeling is most important. this album makes me feel irritated. and i loved OD, S80, GKMC too. maybe i'll love the next one...

 

[GeeEffKay]

no lie, still havent listened to another album in full since this dropped