{"id":35138,"date":"2025-03-15T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=35138"},"modified":"2025-03-15T13:07:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T17:07:25","slug":"to-pimp-a-butterfly-10-years-later-vgu-blind-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vgu.tv\/?p=35138","title":{"rendered":"To Pimp a Butterfly: 10 Years Later – VGU Blind Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ten years ago, when Kendrick Lamar Duckworth released his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly<\/em>, he most likely wasn\u2019t considering my thoughts on the matter. I fully understand that Kendrick isn\u2019t exactly focused on making his music accessible to middle-class white dudes from New England, like me. Growing up in Compton and being exposed to the horrors of gang violence at an early age, Kendrick took to rapping to express his trauma through music and poetry. Over the course of 22 years in the game, he\u2019s used his platform to speak out about issues that plague Black culture, like systemic racism, police brutality, and organized crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few rap albums have been as impactful in recent years as To Pimp a Butterfly<\/em> \u2013 or TPaB<\/em>, for short \u2013 which was inspired by a trip to South Africa in which Kendrick felt drawn to the environment and its people, as well as the oppression experienced by folks like Nelson Mandela. What began as emotion transformed into action and thus, To Pimp a Butterfly<\/em> was born. Now, going back to my initial claim, I\u2019m fully aware that Kendrick has a massive<\/em> number of white fans who can relate to his bars in their own ways. I\u2019ve never been opposed to giving his music a chance, I just haven\u2019t been exposed to much Kendrick over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This brings us to March 15, 2025, perhaps the day you are reading this very article. With all the Kendrick hype following the Drake feud<\/a> and the Super Bowl Halftime Show<\/a> (if you have no frame of reference for either of these events, I\u2019ll link some external assistance), I thought it might be fun to dive headfirst into Kendrick\u2019s most celebrated piece of work. Having only ever heard a handful of his tracks \u2013 \u201cHumble,\u201d \u201cNot Like Us,\u201d and the Black Panther<\/em> soundtrack seem to be all I can recall \u2013 I\u2019m genuinely excited to don these headphones and experience just why TPaB<\/em> is considered a \u201cdazzling masterpiece\u201d (according to The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Neil McCormick).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This one\u2019s for you, Emmett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the first beat of \u201cWesley\u2019s Theory,\u201d I\u2019m sucked into a funk infusion that had me wondering why it took me so damn long to give this a shot. I can see how this album is heavily inspired by jazz and soul singers of the ’70s and \u201980s, especially Nile Rogers and James Brown. Considering Kendrick included artists like George Clinton in the recording process, it\u2019s clear he wanted to emulate the vibe as true to form as possible. Even so, TPaB<\/em> successfully brings that classic funk feel into a fresh future, going so far as to sample tracks from not only rap legends like Tupac, but even The Jackson Five (I heard that use of \u201cI Want You Back\u201d on \u201cComplexion;\u201d one of the greatest songs of all time isn\u2019t going to slip by me that easily, even if it is<\/em> using minor chords).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the topic of Tupac, it took me some time to realize just how much of a love letter this album is to him. Having not grown up with much Tupac in my life, I wasn\u2019t catching the samples or the references or the fact that he tremendously impacted the views and beliefs of Mr. Kendrick Lamar. From top to bottom, To Pimp a Butterfly<\/em> is coated with a message of not only self-love, but also loving your fellow man. This was probably the most profound epiphany I had while listening to these songs, that Kendrick doesn\u2019t exactly speak on the world\u2019s treatment of black people so much as he speaks of community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image<\/em><\/strong> Credit: IMDb<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much like Tupac, Kendrick started on the ground floor with this movement, using his music to bring Black people together against the common enemy that is racism. You can hear it in the words of tracks like \u201cInstitutionalized,\u201d \u201cHood Politics,\u201d and especially \u201cThe Blacker The Berry\u201d (So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street, When gang-banging make me kill a n\u2014blacker than me?). Kendrick is clearly frustrated with the infighting that not only affects communities and the children within them, but also distracts people from the bigger picture: systemic racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it\u2019s also intriguing to look at TPaB<\/em> through a lens of knowing Kendrick\u2019s work since<\/em> this album, considering back in 2015 \u2013 a pre<\/em>-Trump America with a black president \u2013 there were many<\/em> issues within the culture still unaddressed. Looking at his career in 2025, in which he has not only spoken out against police brutality and racism for years but also headlined the biggest sporting event in America, it\u2019s safe to say Kendrick has made quite the impact on the zeitgeist, and the issues addressed within this album. All this being said, however, the music still holds up as a spectacular call to action and a tracklist of expertly crafted bangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Credit: CheatSheet.com<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As stated earlier, this album goes hard right out of the gate, with an intense burst of funk and soul, complete with saxophones and other jazzy accompaniments. This was all quite unexpected, but welcome, nonetheless. Being a huge fan of Gorillaz, I gravitated to these vibes, and with every track, it seemed to get better. \u201cKing Kunta\u201d was an instant standout, providing a catchy, upbeat energy that I wished I\u2019d heard sooner. I knew this album would include a few songs that had me thinking, \u201cWhere has this been for a whole decade?!\u201d \u201cKing Kunta\u201d was certainly one of these, as was \u201ci,\u201d but I love that one for even more reasons I\u2019ll get to in a bit. Rest assured, it wasn\u2019t hard to see why Kendrick\u2019s sound took the world by storm all those years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, not all songs can be jovial and upbeat, but Kendrick tackles even this challenge head-on. Perhaps the darkest and most poignant track, \u201cu\u201d serves in direct contrast to the aforementioned \u201ci,\u201d swapping the optimistic messaging for one of struggle and self-loathing. You can tell there\u2019s a real battle going on within Kendrick on this one, and according to interviews, that darkness was apparent in the studio as well. Kendrick\u2019s engineer, MixedByAli talked about the recording of \u201cu\u201d in The Oral History of Kendrick Lamar\u2019s \u201cTo Pimp a Butterfly<\/em>,\u201d<\/em> stating \u201c[The] session for \u201cu\u201d was very uncomfortable\u2026 super emotional\u2026 I never asked what got into him that day.\u201d The frustration is palpable in Kendrick\u2019s vocals, and that adds to the melancholy tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pardon me for getting sidetracked, but I\u2019ve always struggled to see why some rappers shift their voices during their songs. Being a fan of Kanye until\u2026 you know\u2026 I have seen him do it on some songs before, and some modern-day raps that make it big on the pop charts even do it. If you\u2019re confused by what I mean, I\u2019ll point you to what Kendrick does in the chorus of \u201cu.\u201d When reciting the lines \u201cLoving you is complicated,\u201d he shifts the tone up on the end of \u201ccomplicat-ed!\u201d and normally I would hear this in passing and think, \u201cwell, that\u2019s just a silly song.\u201d But I wanted to touch upon this because TPaB<\/em> got me to respect this artistic choice for the very first time. Especially in \u201cu,\u201d Kendrick\u2019s usage of the tone fluctuation connects to how chaotic the situation at hand feels. His emotion is better conveyed through this wild flailing of the chorus and helps relate to said dysfunction. I know it\u2019s a very simple concept to go into detail on, but I wanted to give props to yet another aspect of this album that changed how I view the medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Credit: Dissect Podcast<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned Kanye there for a moment, and I\u2019m already wishing I hadn\u2019t. So perhaps I\u2019ll spin this to another rapper that I couldn\u2019t stop thinking of while listening to TPaB<\/em>: Logic. I know, he\u2019s a bit much these days, and yes, his songs can be very<\/em> cheesy. But I think it would be remiss to leave him out of the discussion considering he\u2019s arguably the rapper I follow the closest these days\u2026 and he is heavily<\/em> influenced by Kendrick. I could tell almost instantly how Logic has drawn from not only the instrumentations K.Dot uses (have you heard those saxophones?!) but also the way the man raps! Their flows are very similar, and I think that honestly helped me connect with Kendrick more from the get-go. I appreciate how in his rambling it never feels nonsensical. Kendrick raps so poetically that every word feels expertly crafted, even if it\u2019s being shouted at you rapid-fire. He truly is one of the best in the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something that will stick with me about To Pimp a Butterfly<\/em> is the tonal whiplash between upbeat, optimistic songs and darker, poignant ones. I think Kendrick intended to do this, paralleling the experience to life\u2019s own roller coaster of emotions. Tracks like \u201ci\u201d and \u201cAlright\u201d bring a sense of hope to this album, with the latter being a particular standout. Looking into the release history of To Pimp a Butterfly<\/em>, it seems \u201ci\u201d was the lead single, and \u201cAlright\u201d \u2013 produced by the inimitable Pharell Williams \u2013 earned Kendrick several Grammy awards. I think if I had given it a chance earlier, \u201cAlright\u201d would\u2019ve been a favorite of mine for the last decade. It has that aforementioned Logic feel, a catchy beat, and a hopeful message \u2013 what\u2019s not to like about that? \u201ci,\u201d on the other hand, feels like a love letter to loving each other, and I absolutely adore how the album includes a live version rather than the studio recording. Don\u2019t get me wrong, the studio version \u2013 which I checked out after the fact \u2013 does go pretty hard. However, the fact that the album version of \u201ci\u201d literally breaks down in the middle to allow Kendrick to get up and preach a cappella? I mean, come on, was that off the dome? I was left speechless by the end of it, truly. That song\u2026 I\u2019ll get back to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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