Audioxide

Ambitious in its attempt to inspire a generation to change a damaging culture, To Pimp A Butterfly is an album mainstream hip-hop has been longing for. The hard-hitting, inspiring lyrical content is supported by wonderful fusions of hip-hop, jazz, and funk music, ensuring that not only is the album important, but also incredibly enjoyable. If Good Kid, M.A.A.D City introduced Kendrick Lamar to the masses, To Pimp A Butterfly cements his place in the hip-hop hall of fame. This is an instant classic, and I’m fascinated as to where Kendrick Lamar can go from here.

It’s candid, abrasive, and full of heart; an album as provocative as it is inspiring. The soundscape is varied and gorgeous, but the beating heart of the album is the voice of Kendrick Lamar, which is becoming increasingly important. To Pimp a Butterfly is a work that will quite rightly be revered for a long time. Amidst the frustration and despair there’s a lot of love in this album, and that love shines through.

I really enjoyed the album, the instrumentation is incredibly varied and very interesting, spanning various genres. The album remains fresh from start to end. There are little flourishes and additions which really do make some of the tracks that bit better. The production is great and adds atmosphere and realism all over the album, as well as putting the vocals front and centre. But putting that all aside, one can entirely hate this album, but they should still appreciate it. The time of release makes it incredibly relevant and important, with all of the various issues that it touches on, though as the final minutes of the album secretly inform us - it’s been relevant for a long time.