Kendrick Lamar was leaked to the waiting public during the weekend, a week before its originally slated March 23 debut. Lamar’s album “To Pimp A Butterfly,” which nods to Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has already broken Spotify records since the famed rapper decided to officially release it on Monday, according to NBC News.
Since its release, however, the reception of his fans have been varied. “To Pimp A Butterfly” is considered to be Lamar’s least appealing work, especially as he has been recognized for his knack of deviating from mainstream rap, as pointed out by The Atlantic. Despite a noticeable change in tone, it is still note-worthy that his talent and creativity cannot be denied.
Although “To Pimp A Butterfly” picked up where his previous album, “Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City,” left off, the angst-ridden voice, which is Lamar’s signature, by far, is nowhere to be found. Instead, for the entire 16-track album, he speaks of himself as an influential man who has had his fair share of pain and success.
Gone is the violent tone of Lamar’s tracks, and in its place are more abstract lyrics which suggest that in order to fix gang violence, everyone must respect one another.
Among all the tracks of “To Pimp A Butterfly,” the one that has created the larger buzz is “Mortal Man.” In this track, Lamar gets to “interview” rap legend Tupac Shakur. The late rapper’s voice was grabbed from an interview that he had with Mats Nileskar in 1994. Shakur opened up about how today’s youth needs to be inspired in order to become leaders in the future.
Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Bilal, Lala Hathaway, Anna Wise, and Ron Isley all make an appearance in “To Pimp A Butterfly.”