To Pimp A Butterfly, An In Depth Analysis
To say that this album was a breath of fresh air to fans of Kendrick Lamar would be an understatement. After the 2012 release of his major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d. city, it was hard to imagine that there was any way he could release a follow up project that would come a across just as compelling, let alone be a better overall record. What we were given was possibly one of the most well done and creative albums in the history of music. It brought the true definition of “album” back to the forefront like he did within the tracks of GKMC, but instead of telling a story about one kid growing up in Compton, To Pimp a Butterfly takes on the systemic oppression of his people, and how they have been used for government and industry profit. It transcends being just a political statement however and contains individual themes that everyday people can relate to like pain and resentment. Before going any further, it should be worth noting that each individual song on this project has its own central idea that I could spend hours explaining. This essay is my attempt at allowing someone the chance to understand why this album is so well done, and the underlying messages within.
From a purely musical perspective, this album soars above most rap albums, past and present. Although still certainly using hip-hop drum machines, G-Funk synthesizers, and sampling, TPAB sets itself apart through blending elements of soul, jazz and funk to create an “old but new” feel. Many small aspects are tweaked to utmost perfection, which if they were average, would have gone unnoticed. A prime example of this are on the songs “Wesley’s Theory" and “These Walls” where Kendrick enlists the help of Thundercat, the revolutionary and eccentric bass player, which creates other worldly bass-lines that give the song a lot of experimental funk. Couple this with the top-tier lyricist in modern hip-hop, and the end product is incredibly layered, cutting edge, and memorable. The production on the rest of the album follows this incredibly complex format, which adds a second form of experience for the listener outside of the already highly eloquent lyrics. Production contributors to the record include but are not limited to: Pharrell Williams, Dr. Dre, Flying Lotus, and Knxledge. TPAB thinks outside the box by having the best producers in hip-hop work with high-level musicians, as well as using samples from parts of history that make the listener reevaluate the genre of hip-hop altogether. Additionally, the selected features come from a wide genre range from Snoop Dogg to Anna Wise to Ronald Isley. It is the perfect blend of original music and well-aged tributes to the past.
Conceptually, the album is one of the most ambitious undertakings ever attempted. It is structured using a poem as a template, a few lines of which are read at the end of each song. Each of these lines gives a precursor to the idea of the next track, and this is how the album is organized. The actual story sees Kendrick symbolically represented as a caterpillar, but one who is a product of Compton and may only survive through consuming the world around him. This caterpillar becomes “pimped out” by Uncle Sam, a representation of modern America. He lyrically conveys that his success and domination of the rap game is being used for the profit of Uncle Sam, and that although he is on the top, he is oppressed at the very same time. Soon the caterpillar begins to build its cocoon, which institutionalizes (an actual song title) him and traps him with his own thoughts of self-doubt. This continues a mental downward spiral in which Kendrick enters a deep depression and screams at himself and the voices in his head. This climaxes when the listener hears the sound of liquor bottles and Kendrick’s contemplation of suicide, after which Kendrick then returns to Compton with the cocoon, wishing to share what he has learned with his people, only to see his home has changed in his absence. While at a gas station, he meets a homeless man who asks him for money, which he refuses, only to find out that the homeless man is God. God explains to Kendrick that if he keeps being greedy to those from his hometown, all he will amount to is a pimped-out butterfly trapped in its own cocoon. Now enlightened, he sets out to teach the other “caterpillars” what he has learned, which reveals when of the most introspective ideas of the project. Kendrick believes that in Uncle Sam’s pimping of the caterpillars, a mindset was created in the black community that sabotaged their way of thinking. Their “gangbanging” is the primary cause of death every day, and yet they weep after Trayvon Martin is killed in the streets. This is derived from the Willie Lynch theory, a, old idea that to control slaves, you must pit them against each other. After delivering this message, Kendrick completes his transformation into a butterfly, a representation of all things unique and creative within the caterpillar.
As the album comes to a close, the listener is given the twelve-minute conclusion “Mortal Man.” Kendrick calls his fans into question, asking if he is framed for a crime if they will remain supportive. If they will stay with him through all things good and bad. Then the rapping ends, and we are given the most compelling part of the album. Kendrick reads all of the lines from the poem together, and it is revealed that it is being read to none other than Tupac Shakur. Kendrick and Tupac then begin to converse about the future, in which Tupac delivers the revelation that the poor will rise up and swallow the rich. He continues in stating that, “In this country a black man only have like five years that we can exhibit maximum strength…once you turn thirty its like they take the heart and soul out of a you, and you don’t wanna fight no more…if you don’t believe me you can look around cause you don’t see no loud mouth thirty-year old motherfuckers.” This ties together all the themes of the album, of how Kendrick’s struggle with success and his long journey has all been a test. In his journey, he has exhibited maximum strength in pushing against the forces that hold down the oppressed courtesy of Uncle Sam. Tupac elaborates that next time there is a riot, it will be worse than ever before, comparing it to Nat Turner’s rebellion. Kendrick then reads one more piece to Tupac, which wraps up all of the themes from the album, referencing many of the song titles scattered throughout the project. A jazz instrumental begins to overwhelm Kendrick’s voice, and Tupac disappears as Kendrick calls out “Pac?” unable to figure out where he went.
This project leaves the listener with a lot to think about, and I think that’s why it didn’t garner the same mainstream popularity as Kendrick's other work. It is a ton of information to digest and deconstruct, almost leaving you overwhelmed. It goes both ways in the fact that some people just straight up don’t hear the message because of its complex nature, but some are too ignorant to understand its importance. In today’s world where racial divide has been brought to the forefront, a lot of people hear this project and see it as someone complaining about nonexistent oppression. However, what Kendrick delivered is ultimate artistic statement to the public, allowing all types of people to understand what it is like to achieve success in America as a black man.
*The following is for reference purposes when you listen to the album, which I hope you do
I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence
Sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power, full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screaming in the hotel room
I didn’t wanna self-destruct
The evils of Lucy was all around me
So I went running for answers
Until I came home
But that didn’t stop survivor’s guilt
Going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I earned
Or maybe how A-1 my foundation was
But while my loved ones was fighting the continuous war back in the city
I was entering a new one
A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination
Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned
The word was respect
Just because you wore a different gang color than mines
Doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a black man
Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets
If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us
But I don’t know, I’m no mortal man, maybe I’m just another nigga