To Pimp A Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar album)

To Pimp A Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar album) Artist: Kendrick Lamar Released: March 15th, 2015 Recorded: 2015 Genre: Conscious hip hop • jazz rap • experimental hip hop • g-funk Length: 78:51 Label: Top Dawg Entertainment • Aftermath Entertainment • Interscope Records Producer: Boi-1da • Flippa • Flying Lotus • Knxwledge • KOZ • Larrance Dopson • LoveDragon • Pharrell Williams • Rahki • Sounwave • Tae Beast • Taz Arnold • Terrace Martin • Thundercat • Tommy Black • Whoarei

To Pimp A Butterfly is the third studio album by American rapper, songwriter and record producer Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15th, 2015 to widespread critical acclaim. Music critics praised the album's musical scope and the social relevance of Lamar's lyrics. To Pimp A Butterfly is the most acclaimed album of 2015.

Tracklist

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Wesley's Theory" (featuring George Clinton and Thundercat)	4:47
2.	"For Free? (Interlude)"	2:10
3.	"King Kunta"	3:54
4.	"Institutionalized" (featuring Bilal, Anna Wise and Snoop Dogg)	4:31
5.	"These Walls" (featuring Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat)	5:00
6.	"u"	4:28
7.	"Alright"	3:39
8.	"For Sale? (Interlude)"	4:51
9.	"Momma"	4:43
10.	"Hood Politics"	4:52
11.	"How Much a Dollar Cost" (featuring James Fauntleroy and Ronald Isley)	4:21
12.	"Complexion (A Zulu Love)" (featuring Rapsody)	4:23
13.	"The Blacker The Berry"	5:28
14.	"You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)"	4:01
15.	"i"	5:36
16.	"Mortal Man"	12:07

Why This Album Rocks

1. It has a powerful political message.
2. There are no bad tracks.
3. Some of the songs such as "These Walls", "Alright", "Mortal Man", and "The Blacker The Berry" can be considered to be Kendrick's best songs.
4. The first track "Wesley's Theory" has a really good sample of "Every N**** is a Star" by Boris Gardiner.
5. The production is amazing. The jazz elements are a high part here.
6. The music videos are amazing. "These Walls" might have the best video out of all the songs here as it feels like a short film. There are also some funny moments in the video.
7. Kendrick's lyricism is some of his best.
8. It has lots of great storytelling.
9. Some of the songs are emotional, especially "u", which most people, including critics stated that it almost/actually made them cry.
10. Even the interludes of this album are amazing and both got videos!

The Only Bad Quality

1. This album came under fire from FOX new due to how controversial the lyrics of songs on the album were. They stated: "Hip hop is doing more damage to African-American teens than the police:" However, Kendrick later defended the situation whilst also defending hip hop.

Legacy

Many critics have praised this album. Anthony Fantano gave it a rating of 10/10 which is a rating this and only five albums have received. The late David Bowie album Blackstar was said to be inspired by this album as Bowie was a fan of Kendrick. The album has been archived into Harverd's library with some production notes. The album is considered by many to be the best rap album of all time.

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