MB Classics: Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly
 

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly

https://ih0.redbubble.net/image.2191...8f8.lite-1.jpg

Your vote only counts if you say something about the album. It doesn't need to be a paragraph, just a couple sentences about the album.

Also, I'll ask mods to delete Votes this time. Just a couple of sentences. That's all.

No poll

I gave it a 6 out of 10 because it's above average and has some decent tracks.

Overrated because it's Kendrick and he talks about 'race issues'.

8

I’m not going to pretend like it’s not a quality hip hop record. I just think there’s something conservative and watered down about this album that keeps it from living up to it’s potential. Like a college chick who never gets drunk and slutty.

I'm not a hip hop fan generally but I was pleasantly surprised and gave it a 7. Watch out now because it must be snowing in Hell. I actually like something Frownie repped :laughing:

GKMC is better than it btw.

Now that is a good album.

a juicy 9’er

i think hip hop albums will have the toughest time joining the club because we have a lot of members here who don’t like the genre and will rate it poorly bc of it.

anyway, on the topic of the album it is immense. i agree that Kendrick has made tracks better than anything on this album, but as cohesive conceptual piece it is unlike nearly anything made in the last 10 years around hip-hop.

Pre-Listen:

I am suspicious of this album because of the vast amount of hype it's been given. I find that the more people talk something up, the more disappointed I tend to be when I actually experience it for myself. I mean, I like Kendrick Lamar, I liked DAMN, but I'm having a hard time understanding why he's so widely acclaimed. I mean it's not like he isn't good, it's just that his reputation is more than I think anyone can live up to. Anyways, this one is supposed to be his seminal work so I'm at least hopeful I will like it.

First Pass:

Wesley's Theory is a really great start. It's kind of awkward, kind of woozy, and there's a lot to admire musically. Kind of sounds more like an Ariel Pink song than Kendrick Lamar, but I like that. Music is always front and center for me; lyrics come much later. Never been a big fan of interludes. More often than not they're just wasted space, but For Free? has its merits nonetheless. King Kunta is rock solid too. I appreciate the variety in timbres he uses from song to song and the way the track builds is pretty great. These Walls starts out with a woman giving birth, but nevertheless becomes a very nice R&B neo-soul diddy. Hood Politics is the album's low point. Honestly, it's a little annoying, but it's nothing unforgivable, and it picks right back up with How Much a Dollar Cost, which is so smooth. Musically, it sounds like it came off of Amnesiac. The Blacker the Berry and I are a nice change in attitude towards the end.

Conclusion:

It took me about 5 hours to actually listen to the whole thing but that's because there's a 90 Day Fiance marathon on and it's a holiday tradition for my mother and I to binge watch trash TV.

Album on the whole is really varied, but consistent. I think I prefer this to DAMN. and it's definitely worth hanging on to. Even so, I'm not sure I understand why everyone and their dog has a boner for Kendrick Lamar--if someone wants to explain to me what he does differently that is so important to music and to hip hop, I am interested to hear it. Is he very good? Yes. Did my face melt and my understanding of the universe crack in half? No it did not.

In sum: 7/10 and I'm going to include it in my ongoing guide to hip hop for people who think they hate hip hop.

Used to love the **** out of this album, but it has not aged well at all. Every time I go back to it can barely listen to 3 songs before getting bored out of my mind and having to turn on something better. You could say the fact I don't really listen to hip-hop anymore might have something to do with this, but seeing as Flower Boy and Saturation II are two of my favorite albums of 2017 I don't think that this is the case. Going back the message seems entirely ham fisted and forced and the rapping is good at best. The beats are phenomenal in texture, but unfortunately never quite exit the "smooth" minutia of the album leaving it feeling underwhelming and bland.

5/10

*cough*