i i don't i don't have anything more to add dude it's it's they do actually obvious again i need to get a better one of these like that album i mean obviously i see to pimp a butterfly as being more daring more ambitious more unique lyrically stellar and while this album does have a philosophy to divulge kendrick doesn't skimp on the music on this album all they talk about man kendrick man kendrick is the best rapper man it's the best album ever made i don't even think they're really listening and sitting down and saying this is what this album means to pimp a butterfly is the best album kendrick has ever made no no that didn't sound right to pimp a butterfly is the greatest album of all time a bold statement perhaps yes but i'd say it's a true one music has come and gone throughout the generations with each one being a staple of the particular era they were born in michael jackson thriller is an album often personified as the era of the ages and music the chronic is an album made in the 90s and as characterized as an album was triggered a spark for gangster rap in the mainstream this kind of thing happens to a lot of music produced but what happens when an artist looks past that what happens when an artist creates something so transcendent that it can be looked on and listened to by future generations and beyond well you get something like tepima butterfly june 17th 1987 the date of birth of kendrick lamar duckworth born and raised by paula oliver and kenny duckworth kendra grew up in quite this strange predicament his family moved from chicago to california to escape the gang culture that ran rampant around the city what was strange about that well the city that he moved into was compton detectives say that two men forced their way into the home and demanded money from a 34 year old the intruders were armed one of them shot the man hitting multiple times kendrick's early life was rough violence gang culture drugs pyrus and crips were just some of the many gangs that kendrick was involved in during his early days and at the young age of five kendrick would witness his first murder right outside of his apartment do i have this right you saw your first murder when you were five years old yes sir what happened it was outside my apartment unit when guy was out there serving his narcotics and somebody rolled up and with a shotgun blew his chest out we're kids playing in this apartment unit you know riding our bikes or whatnot so immediately it does something to me right then and there to let me know that this is not only um something that you know i'm looking at but it's something that maybe i have to get used to growing up with a lifestyle like that would alter the way he perceived the world for the rest of his life kendrick attended mcnair elementary school and this was the place where he was first introduced to the art of poetry this was also the place where he was introduced to the writings of martin luther king and other social activists alike kendrick would begin to write poetry of his own often writing day in and day out thinking of what he could apply to his writings kendrick personified himself as the kid who grew up too fast and this was definitely true given that countless years living in the killer be killed society of compton not long after kendrick would attend centennial high school a local high school from where he resided and this was the time where kendrick would really start dabbling in the art of gang life [Music] this wasn't exactly the fault of kendrick however during this era of compton crime rate was at an all-time high numbers raised from a rate of something close to 3100 violent crimes per hundred thousand residents that is [ __ ] insane this is a staunch difference compared to other american cities so we have to compare to something similar like los angeles the crime rate of l.a in the 90s go short of one thousand crimes for a hundred thousand residents over three times less than in compton with that taken into account that left many young teens to indulge in drugs gang violence exploitation or having their life ended from someone who didn't like the color of their shirt while in high school kenzik would continue to take big strides into perfecting his poetic craft making lyrics for some freestyles that he would wrap in front of his friends this is behind me your honor i [ __ ] over these beats with no condom this ain't rap it's really your porno rewind it back he wasn't only inspired by the works of pock but also other artists one that stands out is the work from rapper dmx obviously being involved in gangs would influence what kendrick would write about around this time of writing kendrick would befriend a local dj at his high school named dave free a guy who years later would become the president of top dog entertainment kendrick's record label anthony tiffeth is another important player in the story who was formerly involved in the gang lifestyle and around the same time as well kendrick would release his first ever mixtape [Music] initially dave suggested her connector show it to anthony so that he could be shown the industry during this era of kendrick's life top dog was a neighborhood name only having jay rock signed to the label however anthony seemed to be uninterested in the works of a 16 year old so it became the challenge to even get him to give it a try quote one time i posed like i could fix his computer and the whole time i was playing him the music and just taking apart his computer and he started paying more attention to me and i came over and joined the company and brought kendrick in we started grinding from there in the eyes of anthony topdog kendrick had proven himself to have the skill and ability to be a part of the label kendrick would rise above the negatives of compton life and embrace it for what it was finally having been given a good hand and a chance to accomplish his dreams over the next several years kendrick would release six full-length projects [Music] kendrick has one of the most impressive discographies out of any rapper ever he has a total of four full-length studio albums five if you want to include the compilation album untitled mastered and six if you want to include the black panther album each album he's released has been so much different from the last with each having a different sound to it to portray these emotions despite only a one year difference in their respective releases you can't really compare an album like section 80 to goodkid man city section 80 is kendrick's first full-length lp released on july 2nd 2011 having a total of 16 tracks the themes of the album begin to show just from the names of the tracks alone [ __ ] your ethnicity adhd ronald reagan era poem and dreams cush and corinthians the names of the tracks alone paint the story of kendrick lamar's outlook on the world at the ripe age of 24. diversity among the industry racial strife high drug tolerance poverty the effects of biblical scripture in kendrick's life and kendrick explores each of these topics with such grace and versatility that you can't help by being raptured in the story that he tells the album immediately opens up with a no [ __ ] approach on the previously mentioned track [ __ ] your ethnicity the lyrics of the song begin with this campfire narration of kendrick lamar with a lower pitch voice in which he delivers to the audience that he doesn't care about what your ethnicity is the song has this upbeat yet at the same time melancholic sound which melds perfectly with a message of the opening i don't care about your ethnicity you're all the same to me so let's unite and rise above the [ __ ] that is life the later tracks continue to emulate this message the track hole up has kendrick saying that his experiences in life have led him to have the mindset of an adult at a very young age quote as a kid i killed two adults i'm too advanced i live my 20s at 2 years old the wiser man truth be told i'm like 87. the following tracks continue to dive into the theme of a young kid maturing far too quickly especially on the track adhd where kendrick describes himself as having a non-existent age due to taking his eat for granted from doing too many adult activities both tracks no makeup her vice and keisha's song are dedicated to kendrick's sister who sold herself to prostitution the songs are meant to deliver the message that kendrick understands the struggles that women go through and the mental and physical damage that come with it i'm glad we were able to talk about her vice and her evils there is an even more important topic i'd like to discuss the dysfunctional bastards of the ronald reagan era young men that learned to do everything spiteful this is your generation live fast and die young who's willing to explain this story a quote delivered on the track meant to derive a reaction from the audience a reaction of realization and a willingness to listen being born in the 80s kenzik and his generation live under the negative effects of the reagan administration the term crack babies isn't just some random tournament to describe drug users who use crack but a callback to the crack epidemic which swept the impoverished cities of the united states in this case compton the epidemic which altered kendrick's youth and turned it into a drug-ridden dystopia who's willing to explain the story well kendrick is this album was followed up by kendrick's 2012 album goodkid mad city an album which in just over seven years has been referred to as one of the greatest hip-hop albums to date the name of the album has a triple entendre to it with the most popular interpretation of the mad acronym meaning mad in other words insane or crazy however the other two renditions of the meaning dive much deeper m-a-a-d can either stand for my angry adolescence divided or also my angels on angel dust with that interpretation being a reference to cocaine now just going back to the title of the album you know it's a good good kid mad city right yeah what does that acronym m-a-a-d stand for it's two two minutes the first one is um um um my angry adolescent is divided and the the basic standout meaning is my angels on angels does wow yeah i've been curious about that answer too man that's the reason why i don't smoke do you so you knew somebody on angel though no that was me that they got laced oh the reason why i don't smoke and it's in that album oh who's the [ __ ] [ __ ] it's in the story it's in the story find out did you get that person it was it was it was just me getting my hands on the wrong thing at the wrong time when i you know the story is centered around kendrick's adolescent life with many of the songs diving into the details of his complicated mind state and mentality during that era of his life the opening track charane aka master splinter's daughter has kendrick recalling a night in which he and a young girl he knew named shireen went to a party and exchanged numbers sharain's family however is known for being involved in gangbanging but this doesn't drive him away under the influence and having sex on the mine kendrick ignores all rationale and drives to her house in his mom's minivan only to see shrain outside with two guys in black hoodies waiting for him the art of peer pressure progresses the story even farther telling the story of kendrick's first real crime a house robbery stealing anything of value you could find and the further down the album you go the more you realize something kendrick has gone through things that aren't even most adults go through at a very young age however that's the important thing to note he's still a young teen he does know how to process and rationalize certain scenarios in his head and this leads him to get into the trouble that he does on goodkid mad city tracks like good kid exemplify the exhaustion of the violent lifestyle in compton to which it seems like he's lived long enough he wants to leave he wants to rise above it he wants to be the guy who was able to succeed despite his rough upbringing and he did but there's one thing that he can't shake off compton has consumed his outlook on life and it'll stay like that for the rest of his life almost every song has the small interlude like skit of a voice recording these recordings range from his mother calling him to get back home to his friend's brother being shot dead piecing these recordings together gives a story which i have pieced together like this the voice recording on shrine shows a prayer being performed by kendrick and his friends asking god for forgiveness of the sins that they have and will continue to commit the final recording on [ __ ] don't kill my vibe has kendrick's friend picking him up in a white toyota so they can freestyle this leads to the events of backseat freestyle the end recording of the art of peer pressure has kendrick's friends asking if he's faded from the blunt that gave him barely realizing that they gave him the one lace with cocaine after completing the robbery and avoiding the police kendrick is driven back home by his friends still faded from the laced blunt he tells his mother that he's gonna borrow the van for 15 minutes the second recording of charan has kendrick's mother calling him asking them to return back home with the minivan in the midst of that call the two hooded guys next to charan begin to approach kendrick when the two hooded men approach him they ask him where he's from and then jump him kendrick's mother gives him another call asking for the van back so she can get to her appointment the man city recording has kendrick's friends giving him a bottle of alcohol and telling him to not worry about what happened last night in the swimming pool's recording kendrick's friends threw out the idea of getting revenge on the guys who jumped kendrick the other night while shooting them up kendrick's friend dave is shot and killed kendrick and his friends ask themselves what to do after the death of dave and kendrick screams that he's tired of it all while grieving they get approached by an older woman who recites them the same prayer that was told in the beginning of the album the voice recordings of real have kendrick's father giving us condolences to dave's death and kendrick's mother telling him that top talk called she tells him to use his experiences in compton to make music and to give back to the city the city the city the city hey turn this [ __ ] up [ __ ] turn this [ __ ] up sound way turn this [ __ ] up [ __ ] tell me who the [ __ ] [ __ ] hating on me jumping on my dick but this dick ain't free until people butterfly another classic cd get a lullaby for everyone you remember your first interview you did up here no i don't i know i know y'all y'all saw me charlemagne somebody but no but that wasn't stunning it was so early that we didn't even have it it didn't even go on air it was on a webisode yeah it was it was on a webisode and and i just remember back then i was like this kid is going to be something we were having a conversation the other day about who the best lyricist and best rappers and i mention you and charlemagne was like i don't think he has enough in yet do you still yeah yeah cause you said he was one of the greatest of all time a man only got two albums but just some time just hearing him snap in some of the things that he said he gets busy but give him that most odd is the most empty i don't think they do y'all no favors when they automatically put y'all with the goats already yeah sometimes of course i can hear it of course you you you gotta have that time and that's the thing i say with the word classic and an instant classic album um me putting to pimp a butterfly out i mean you hear the speculation of kids saying that all over again prior to when we put good kid matt city out and i always told him listen to the music a few times man before before we start throwing words out like that even when it's on my behalf because i want you to live with it live with it live with it live with it live with it live with it the reception of good kid mad city was an astounding feat for kendrick rising up the ranks into what many artists only dreamed of in just one year of its release it sold over one million copies but now it's 2015 and many fans were anticipating the release of his next project march 15 2015 to pimp a butterfly was released [Music] tipimba butterfly mixes the writings of consciousness with the sound of jazz influenced rap to create a new type of sound jazz rap has been around for decades but t-pap applies it in a different way giving the sound a crisp and mixed mellow voice and splicing it over saxophones bass guitars and synth keys to create many of the songs on the record as of today tipping the butterfly has given him multiple awards and nominations for the greatest album of the year but what exactly made people love this album so much what makes tepa resonate with so many people what makes people call it the greatest album of all time well let's answer this question together let's get into the crux of this video and take a deep dive into the inner workings of to pimp a butterfly [Music] the album opens with the track wesley's theory this song establishes the story and theme of the overall album and gives the audience an idea of what they're getting into the intro of the song starts with joseph lienberg delivering a phrase which metaphorically describes who kendrick and many other compton rappers go through when they break into the industry they get exploited by the industry plants and effectively pimped for their own benefits hence the phrase are you really who they idolize the verses are split between two different personas verse one being in the perspective of a black artist and verse two being in the perspective of uncle sam the overwhelming american industry the extreme side of capitalistic ideas which value money more than anything else the next track is the first of two interludes titled for free this song involves two people which can be interpreted in two very different ways with one being literal and another being metaphorical in a literal sense this song plays as kendra describing to a girl that he's not willing to please her in her materialistic ways with the intro of the song alone having the girl yelling at kendrick to continue to satisfy her money-driven lifestyle in a metaphorical sense however the song goes much deeper kendrick represents the black artist in the industry and the woman represents the standards of the industry quote i need that brazilian wavy 28-inch you plane or in other words the industry wants the average black artist to continue to produce more and more until they are wrung drive everything they have and once they do they move on to the next one the track king kunta is a reference to the character in the novel roots the saga of an american family kunta kinte a black adolescent from the 18th century who is captured and set into slavery the story of kinte is characterized as being very resistant to the constant attempts of the slave masters assimilating him to be more white choosing rather to take punishment while staying true to himself then live the rest of his life in a lie and this is exactly what is presented in kinkunta kendrick was raised in his hometown from where he resided like kinte kendrick was taken into a foreign land a place where he knew absolutely nothing about however he would soon begin to adapt while simultaneously choosing to stay true to his hometown of compton instead of switching to what the industry wanted him to track 4 is titled institutionalized which takes aston's turn from the confident stance of king kunta by its definition being institutionalized refers to being so used to living in a certain way where it becomes the only thing you know and this song serves the realization of kendrick's roots he's lived in compton for far too long that it's all he knows his past haunts them the crime the gang vans the hardcore druggies all of it still has living space in kendrick's mind and it eats away at him every day in his mind he's still living in compton and he still hasn't in him to continue that life the track these walls represents the walls of a woman's vagina the walls of his cell and the walls of his mind the opening line of the track starts by saying this quote i remember you as conflicted misusing your influence sometimes i did the same this phrase alone tells you an important thing regarding the song and the actions that kendrick has taken he uses the influence he has to get girls to have sex with him and in hindsight kendrick sees this as a misuse of his influence the story presented in this song follows kendrick and a younger mother who has the father of her children in prison the man was imprisoned for killing kendrick's friend on the first verse of sing about me kendrick is struck with revenge wanting to get back at the guy who killed his friend so he spends the song attempting to hook up with his baby mama and eventually does the resentment he has for that man and everyone else who's wronged him eventually forces kendrick to look at himself and it begins to take a toll on his mentality a resentment that turns into a deep depression and this leads on to the events of the sixth track you the track opens with screaming as stated by the ending line of the previous track the first verse has kendrick speaking himself in a very negative way saying that he despises himself and calls himself a [ __ ] failure every negative situation that he's had in common is still held within him the death of his friends not being able to give back all the time it all holds weight in him and this continues with the second part of the song in which a sobbing kenchik begins to question his entire existence and devotion to who he is he survived compton but he couldn't bring everyone along with him his career gets in the way of his family and it leads him to feel solely responsible for what happens in compton for when he left three of my homeboys that that summertime yeah was murdered you know close ones too not just somebody that i hear about these people i grow with so it all it all psychologically it it messes your brain up because you you live in this life you know what i'm saying but you still have to face realities of this i got to get back off that tour bus and go to these funerals you know and go talk to my moms and talk to the aunties the kids that that you know lost their lives all right is a song about picking yourself back up and looking at the brighter side taking the stance that while you may have it rough you must look past your previous transgressions and improve yourself as a person he references the struggles and complications with the law and assures himself and the audience of one thing speaking directly to them he says we gon be all right this song is also the first song where he mentions lucy in this case lucifer that concept would be expanded upon in the second interlude of the album for sale which is in my opinion one of the greatest interludes i've ever heard this song builds upon the concept of the for free interlude however in this track he personifies the music industry as an attractive woman with an enticing pull promising to provide aid for his family back home and rich is beyond his wildest dreams all he needs to do to receive this is to sign the contract or in other words have sex with her kendrick understood that the evils of the industry were all around him so he went running for answers until he came home [Music] [Music] this leads us to the most important track on the album mama this track runs as ken realizing that he must embrace where he came from instead of trying to look past it all of the dark memories of his past eat away at him every day so he sees only one way to overcome them he needs to come back home what is home well for kendrick that's compton it's his african roots it's kendrick his verses in this song emanate a feeling that kendrick is unable to describe a feeling of fulfillment that he only felt while in compton the chorus has kendrick's friends family the residents of compton all yearning for him to come back to where he came from the second verse has a constant repetition of the phrase i know everything and this isn't just a lazy way of filling out the second verse it's meant to tell the audience something kendrick felt as though he knew everything once he left the streets he felt that his successor taught him that he was able to make it in the industry and therefore the outside world he knows wisdom he knows bad religion he knows good karma he knows everything but the day he came home knew nothing he no longer understood his roots he had been away from compton for far too long and now he was completely lost on kendrick's trip to south africa he meets a young boy who resembles many of the features of kendrick himself he speaks to kendrick about the problems facing his life and how it makes him feel about the world itself negatively but he doesn't feel like involving kendrick in any of his problems because he's too big for that he's a big shot celebrity he wouldn't understand he tells kendrick to look around to absorb the environment around him so he can get a clear picture of what he was born from he tells kendrick that everything he learned about the world and thought was true was a lie but he empathizes with the struggles that kendrick is currently in the kid believes that kendrick is leaving a lie but with all that being said he wants to offer kendrick advice he says this quote i can attempt to enlighten you without frightening you if you resist i'll back off quick go catch a flight or two but if you pick destiny over rest in peace then be an advocate and tell your homies especially to come back home the 10th track on this album is hood politics a track where kendrick takes it back to a time when condom was all he knew kenzra discusses himself the politics surrounding america and the industry he's currently in this album discusses the misconceptions of the hood that are perceived by the public with many of the new stations looking to capture the many crimes on camera to paint a picture of the ghetto in a certain light there is one line that i really want to dive into and the line says obama say what it do this line has a very underlying meaning to it not only does it call back to when obama said in what it do when speaking to the african crowd but it also refers to the way kendrick feels about not only politicians but black politicians specifically many politicians can be perceived as self-serving but kendrick sees obama in a different perspective no matter how black obama may be he's still a politician and he still remains to be there when the rest of america gets [ __ ] over how much a dollar really cost is an anecdotal piece from kendrick's experience with a homeless man in south africa the homeless man approaches kendrick while pumping up his car and asks him for a dollar kendrick denies the man mainly off the suspicion that the guy is going to use it for crack the man begs and pleads with kendrick telling kendrick that if there's one thing he's defeated it's temptation kendrick denies the man and closes his car the man stares back in country disappointment to which kendrick takes it as disrespect the man then asks kendrick if he's ever read exodus 14 a section in biblical scripture which refers to being humble in the eyes of god by virtue of saying that cancer begins to feel guilty and resentment towards the man but still attempts to justify his reasons for not giving him the dollar in his head he smells like alcohol the man's walking with a stumble but the man ends the conversation with this quote know the truth it'll set you free you're looking at the messiah the son of jehovah the higher power the choir that spoke the word the holy spirit the nerve of nazareth and i'll tell you just how much a dollar cost the price of having a spot in heaven embrace your loss i'm god track 12 is title complexion and the meaning lies all in the name of the song it doesn't matter the complexion of your skin the only thing that defines a person is who they portray themselves as and this is a perfect leading to the 13th track the block of the berry which is by far the most controversial piece he's released as of now this track serves as a message to all people who claim to be against the white on black violence kendrick more specifically refers to people who say that they'd also indulge in violence themselves the line i'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015 acts as a wake-up call to those people to get them to reevaluate with their messages kendrick attempts to deliver a message to the audience that morality is arbitrary to whatever person you ask but regardless of it all equality among people should be respected regardless of personal opinions instead of attempting to erase black culture and assimilate them into their own kendrick emphasizes that diversity is an important thing to have not only for the richness of the country's culture but also the people who hold that culture and this is a concept that has somewhat delved a little deeper in the 14th track you ain't got a lie a shotgun much kindred makes an example of people who try to be somebody that they're not and it's a phrase that it repeats in the course of the song you don't have to lie to kick it just be you don't try to be somebody else just be i and this is the exact theme of the 15th track i i is a track which completely juxtaposes the perspective of the track you instead of self-hate kendrick has learned to look past it and realize that not everything is able to be in his control and is therefore not his fault kendrick is all about self-love being stated very bluntly in the course of the track he's seen enough in his life that all he can try to achieve is to love himself in the album version of i kendrick has an off-stage argument with people who interrupt his performance this is meant to symbolize the disunity of the black youth and is supported by kendrick mentioning the many people who were killed by the life of the hood and now he finally reached the closing track of the album track 16 mortal man the album closes off with just one question when [ __ ] hits the fan will you still be a fan a question that kendrick not only has for the fans listening to him worldwide but specifically to the kids to look up to him in compton quote i felt that pressure in compton looking at the responsibility i have over these kids the world started turning into a place where so many people were getting no justice you gotta step up to the plate mortal man is not me saying i can be your hero mortal man has me questioning do you really believe in me to do this kendrick makes a reference to mandela on the chorus of the song seeing it as the torch passing of the late nelson mandela a man who fought for social equality kendrick strives to want to continue his legacy but he can't stress enough that he's still a mortal man a mortal man capable of making mistakes throughout kendrick's career he's tried to emulate the feeling that he was able to make it despite the effects of compton lifestyle he's preached his in all of his mixtapes and albums but this album takes a staunch realization that he wasn't able to fully escape it and that's not a bad thing he's come to understand that it isn't bad to embrace where you came from it isn't bad to appreciate your roots it isn't bad to be a mortal man at the very end of mortal man kendrick has to talk with tupac one of his greatest inspirations as not only an artist but as a black man after kendrick finishes speaking to tupac he delivers in one final poem to read that his friend wrote the poem metaphorically describes the process of metamorphosis in other words the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly a symbolic meaning of being set free and finally spreading your wings into the open world while young kenji compares himself to a caterpillar an organism which eats away at the environment around him in order to survive this isn't only meant to describe him but other people as well people who were affected by the hood attempting to break free kendrick begins the process of building his cocoon which institutionalizes him however when he's in the cocoon many of the other caterpillars begin to seek ways of pipping out what is to be for their own benefit milking the success and talent that it has all for themselves still in the cocoon he's trapped unable to respond to the leeches that bind themselves to profit however the cocoon allows for new ideas to take place and be brought out once it finally reaches its potential finally ready the caterpillar breaks free from the walls of the cocoon emerging as the butterfly that it always seek to be now free the butterfly reveals concepts to the caterpillar in which it never thought of before finally understanding each other the butterfly and caterpillars set aside their differences and come out united although the butterfly and caterpillar completely different they are one and the same this poem alone is what separates this album from any other instead of telling the audience what to think it tells the audience how kendrick thinks by offering a perspective on both sides kendrick has lived as both the caterpillar and the butterfly the young boy who was taught to eat the rich but in the process strove to be the rich and kendrick does this to portray the simple message although we are completely different we are one in the same and that's why i think that tibipipa butterfly is the greatest album of all time [Music] i remember you as conflicted misusing your influence sometimes i did the same abusing my power full of resentment resentment that turned into a deep depression i found myself screaming in the hotel room i didn't want to self-destruct the evils of lucy was all around me so i went running for answers until i came home but that didn't stop survivor skill going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes i earned or maybe how a1 my foundation was but while my love once was fighting the continuous war back in the city i was entering a new one a war that was based on apartheid and discrimination made me want to go back to the city to tell the homies what i learned the word was respect just because you were a different gang color than mine doesn't mean i can't respect you as a black man forgetting all the pain and hurt because each other in these streets if i respect you we unify and stop the enemy from killing us but i don't know i'm an immortal man maybe i'm just another [ __ ] [Music] you