If you expect Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” to be anything like his previous album, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” I’m here to tell you that you’ll be sorely disappointed. However, the album itself is far from a disappointment.
“Butterfly” doesn’t boast a mainstream sound like “Good Kid,” nor does it follow any sort of narrative theme. Instead, it makes use of funk and jazz-inspired production to provide a soundtrack for Kendrick’s deft fusion of spoken word poetry and hip-hop wordplay.
A handful of collaborators, including Snoop Dogg, Ronald Isley and George Clinton (whom younger ones may recognize from his cameo in “Good Burger”), leave their marks throughout the track listing. Despite the different talents they bring, none of their styles manage to clash with one another.
As for the content, the best way I can describe it is to paraphrase my roommate, who said that the lyrics of each song sounded like they were just rampant thoughts that Kendrick wrote down while sitting alone in a room somewhere.
Although that may not accurately represent his creative process, Kendrick’s lyrics are more personal and self-reflective than his past works, and he wastes no time in letting the listener know how he feels about certain issues within our society.
“You hate me, don’t you?” he asks rhetorically during “The Blacker The Berry,” which is a take on race, black culture and hypocrisy in America. “You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture … You vandalize my perception but can’t take style from me.”
The words flow out of Kendrick’s mouth with so much force and aggression that you can almost feel a slight sting at the end of each bar, while simultaneously being hypnotized by the poetic rhythm of it all. It’s beautiful, it’s ugly and, most importantly, it’s honest.
The Kendrick Lamar you’ll hear on “Butterfly” is not the same one that we’ve become accustomed to in recent memory. While his talent remains in focus, his effortlessly calm and collected demeanor takes the backseat for most of the album.
Instead, we’re introduced to a Kendrick that is unrestrained and has a lot to get off of his chest. It may not be easy for everyone to hear what he has to say, but it’ll definitely get people talking, which is something we need more of these days.
