Original Artwork Jason Jimenez-Garrido
As ‘To Pimp A Butterfly.’ (TPAB) reaches its nine year anniversary, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the album and its creation. We’ll take a look at some of the influences behind the album and its overall impact almost a decade after its release.
On March 15, 2015, Kendrick Lamar dropped his third studio album, ‘TPAB.’ This project is a sixteen-track concept album that would become widely regarded as one of the most important Hip-Hop albums in the genre’s history.
By 2015, Lamar had already become a respected figure in the music industry, due to social commentary-laden lyrics and pure rapping ability.
Unlike most artists, Lamar is not afraid to take risks. While he could have easily gone the route of curating an album filled with radio hits and filler tracks, Lamar instead chose to make a conscious rap album that touches on racism, class, poverty, and police brutality.
TPAB is a fusion of sounds of Jazz, Funk, Soul, R&B, Hip Hop, and other genres. Though the album may not be as radio-hit heavy as Lamar’s ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city,’ it was just as much of a success, selling 324,000 copies in its first week.
Many have likened the album to a novel, as it is divided into chapters that each encapsulate a different part of Lamar’s journey with fame. These chapters are broken up by a poem Lamar recites throughout the album.
After every few tracks, the listener slowly receives another piece of the puzzle that is completed in the album’s final track, ‘Mortal Man.’
The album draws from a few inspirations. In 2014, before creating the album, Lamar took a trip to South Africa that would be integral to the creation of the album.
In an interview with ‘The Big Hit Show’ podcast, Lamar stated that this trip largely influenced the message of TPAB, saying, “I took that experience and the whole concept about [TPAB] was to share that experience with them. To go back to Compton and to tell them what I’ve learned”
“It was me explaining my experiences and what emotions it brought up from that experience. And tell them, ‘Yo it’s something bigger than Compton and where we’re from.’” he continued.
As Hip-Hop fans have come to understand, making music means more to Lamar than just money and fame. Lamar hopes that with his music, he will leave a legacy that will inspire generations.
Via an interview with NME, Lamar stated, “I wanted this record to be talked about the same way Bob Dylan or The Beatles or Jimi Hendrix are talked about – When my time has come on earth, I want [TPAB] to live longer than me, for the grandkids and their kids.”
Another inspiration behind the album was the legendary Tupac Shakur. Lamar originally planned to name the album ‘Tu Pimp A Caterpillar,’ which creates the acronym ‘Tu.P.A.C.’
Therefore, it’s no surprise that ‘Mortal Man’ features a pre-recorded ‘interview’ with none other than Shakur himself, edited to create the illusion of the two having a conversation.
However, he ultimately decided on exchanging Caterpillar for Butterfly due to its meaning.
“I just really wanted to show the brightness of life and the word pimp has so much aggression and that represents several things, – For me, it represents using my celebrity [status] for good. Another reason is, not being pimped by the industry through my celebrity [status].”
The album has its gloomy moments in songs like “u,” in which Lamar reflects on his guilt for leaving Compton behind and not doing enough for his friends and family at their lowest points.
However, songs such as “i” and “Alright” serve as a reminder that despite the hardships the Black community has gone through, they will always endure.
Nine years after the album’s release, Lamar’s goal of creating an album that would inspire generations was reached much faster than he could have imagined. “Alright” has already gained a new purpose as a protest song, heavily played during 2020 ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests.
Though the album was robbed of a Grammy, most Hip-Hop fans would agree that the impact the album has had on the Black community and the genre as a whole far outweighs any award you can possibly give.