Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)
When this album dropped, you simply could not fucking escape it. So many people were deeming it an instant-classic, just as many people were hating on it, and years later, you'll seriously see people saying shit like "I only really like two songs off of it, and I don't really like listening to it, but it's absolutely a classic" because they're too fucking afraid to admit that they don't like the album, which is HILARIOUS AS FUCK to me. This, by all means, is a very important album for 2015, showing the pain that the black community faces on a daily basis, and I think getting Kendrick Lamar of all people to deliver that message is great, because he can be lyrically deep, and also appeals to white people, so it's getting its message of "holy shit, we're fucking hurting, how CAN'T you see this?!" to the right people as opposed to just preaching to the audience, so by all means, the message behind this album is very powerful, and as a person with Mexican blood in me who's been racially discriminated against a time or two in my life, I think the message of this album should be closely paid attention to, no matter who you are.
..But have you HEARD how highly people praise this album? Have you HEARD this album?! It's good, yeah, but what the fuck? A 10/10 across the boards? Are you people fucking deaf and just buying into the hype? Of course, there are good songs on here, with my personal favorite being "These Walls (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat)", but other favorites like the super-aggro "The Blacker The Berry" and the anthem "Alright" not far behind, but.. Have you guys seriously heard this album? It becomes kinda boring by the second half, the mixing can be pretty shoddy (drums often get buried in the mix in what seems to be unintentionally, just listen to "Wesley's Theory (feat. George Clinton & Thundercat)"), and it's just.. SO FUCKING FULL OF MEMES. Kendrick KNEW what he was doing when he's repeating "Yams", "BOOBOO", etc, constantly because he saw how memeified "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" became, so it becomes absolutely fucking ridiculous to listen to some of the cuts on here as a grown, mature adult, because you start to see through the ridiculous shit as being unintentionally funny, and then you realize it was perfectly calculated in an attempt to give the album multiple catchphrases that stick with people like a Bring Me the Horizon lyric on a teenager's MySpace profile circa 2007. Look inside of yourself and realize it's abso-fucking-lutely no different.
Alright, let's focus back on the positives: I love some of the instrumentals on here, mixing problems aside. I think the focus on funk and jazz was a great move for him, even if at times it can feel kinda restrained, which jazz should -never- feel, for the sake of making hip-hop loops, and it fits -really- fucking well on here at times, especially due to the fact that funk and jazz are both seen as predominantly black music genres, so it's Kendrick Lamar essentially embracing the music of his father, grandfather, etc, to help nail the message of "black is beautiful, love who you are" home, and I think that's a really nice detail, if anything, past the general feel of the music, and more onto context, to help this sail across smoothly. Can you imagine how fucking dumb this album would sound if it were just trap beats? I imagine most people wouldn't even listen to the lyrics if it were just nonstop bangers and bangers, so this, in essence, makes people sit down and actually take in Kendrick Lamar's words.
Is this album powerful? You'd be a fool to say it isn't. Is this album a classic? I really don't know. Is it perfect? Fuck the fuck no. I'm of the opinion that most of the people who're saying that are just getting lost in the hype to the point of not being able to see the album's flaws, and thought that we need a new hip-hop album to hold up as being art to fight off haters of the genre as if to say "if hip-hop is shit, then what is THIS?!", while ignoring flaws such as the album coming straight-outta-the-gate with most of its best material in the first half, leading to a mostly lackluster second half, and the mixing oftentimes sounding off at times for an album that prides itself on its varied instrumentals. Regardless.. I think this album is one of, if not -the- album we're going to associate 2015 with, given that it came out so early in the year (March 15th, 2015) and managed to stick around in the public eye for the entire year, especially as terrible shit and riots happened because of said terrible shit.. But come on, open your fucking eyes and realize this album just might not be (quality-wise) what everyone was saying at release, and you don't have to come through with that whole "I only like a few songs but I can't deny this album is perfect" shit, just fuck the hell off with it, we all know how you really feel about it.
7/10
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