Kendrick released To Pimp a Butterfly , it came out March 15. Now i know its late but i wanted to wait to do the review because when it came out nobody knew what to expect with it. i think we all knew it would be a master piece but other then that we just didn’t know.

Prior to the albums accelerated release, the tracks “i”, “The Blacker The Berry” and “King Kunta” hit the net and clearly defined the tone of To Pimp A Butterfly. The combination of his mixtapes, Section.80 and Good Kid m.A.A.d City provided the world with countless certified trunk rattling, club dominating anthems. To Pimp A Butterfly was never going to be in a similar vein to the work that had gone before it. Times have changed and Hip Hop has been crying out for a voice that mirrors the angst of a new generation. Now to the music. Let’s see if To Pimp a Butterfly delivers.

What is clear from the first few listens of To Pimp A Butterfly is that true appreciation of this album won’t be understood on the day of its release. However, as is human nature, we love to throw out our opinions and impressions in a heart beat, so, yeah, here it goes…

After a first run through, the most striking thing is the feel of the album. Unlike a lot of hip hop in the charts that is bass-line led and rather thin on instrumental depth, To Pimp A Butterfly is dripping in rich and complex instrumentation. Right from the off, the album opens with “Wesley’s Theory”. The influence of Funk royalty’s George Clinton is obvious, as the wah pedal licks that helped to define the sound of P-Funk are strewn throughout this opening track. Clinton isn’t the only music legend that lends his talents to Lamar’s 3rd album. “How Much A Dollar Cost” is given a sprinkling of vocal class from Ronald Isley. To Pimp A Butterfly musically, is a clever fusion of the great, old and new. Producers such as Pharrell, Flying Lotus and Boi-1da keep the album relevant and stop it from being merely a pastiche.

The Track List for the album 

01 Wesley’s Theory (ft. George Clinton & Thundercat)
02 For Free? (Interlude)
03 King Kunta
04 Institutionalized (ft. Bilal, Anna Wise & Snoop Dogg)
05 These Walls (ft. Bilal, Anna Wise & Snoop Dogg)
06 U
07 Alright
08 For Sale? (Interlude)
09 Momma
10 Hood Politics
11 How Much A Dollar Cost (ft. James Fauntleroy & Ronald Isley)
12 Complexion (A Zulu Love) (ft. Rapsody)
13 The Blacker The Berry
14 You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said)
15 i
16 Mortal Man

What this album brings is the realness of Kendrick and it is stripped down and raw and the talent is unmatched. what i will say is that this album has brought out everything the hip-hop world needs.