The GOAT Albums: Kendrick Lamar's TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY
Celebrating 10 years of Kendrick Lamar's magnum opus through deeper study, reflection, and acknowledgement
Earlier this month, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly turned 10 years old. It’s the first temporal milestone of any album release that music writers can genuinely make a headline about without feeling disingenuous. The way we mark time in increments of five and 10 years breeds a sense of comfort in the content; they are consensus markers for claiming the timelessness of a work of art. 10 years is enough time where you can sit back and say, “Okay, if this album is still in our collective cultural conscience today, it’s likely going to remain that way for a long time.”
The truth is, To Pimp a Butterfly was so important, boundary-pushing, and powerful upon its release in 2015, it was reasonable to call it both timeless and a GOAT album back then.
I was paralyzed to write this post over the past couple of weeks, knowing that—as a white guy—I will never fully connect to the lived experiences of Black Americans. While I can fully acknowledge I’m not the best person to be writing about the importance or meaning of an album of this magnitude, I will still provide my own notes from a sonic viewpoint, while making note of some the lyrical themes that have stuck with me upon revisiting the record.
If you’re looking for more a detailed dissection of Butterfly in written form, I highly recommend Sequoia Maner’s entry into the 33 1/3 Books series, which I recently finished; it certainly informed a significant portion of my perspective here.
Make no mistake, this is not a book report. Allow me to change things up by giving an unconventional Power Ranking of every track on the album.
I say “unconventional” because anyone giving Butterfly a serious listen should first consume the artwork front to back, with little to no interruptions. But once you’ve given the album as a whole some proper attention and feel the desire to jump around when you’re in a playlist kind of mood, this Power Ranking can be your guide of where to start:
OFFICIAL MoM POWER RANKING OF TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY TRACKS
S Tier - The best singles; they capture the most uplifting moments of the album and are built for mass consumption:
“Alright” - A bona fide Anthem with pristine production by Pharrell Williams and popping prose that rolls off the tongue. The hope and joy that “Alright” inspires despite all that Kendrick, his community, and Black America have been through should be held in the highest regard.
“King Kunta” - This is Kendrick’s all-out assault on authenticity (or lack thereof) nearly a decade before his public and targeted takedown of Drake. It doesn’t get any clearer than, “…a rapper with a ghost writer, what the fuck happened? / I swear I wouldn’t tell / but most of y’all sharing bars like you got the bottom bunk in a two-man cell…” I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the dirty AF bass line on the track that drives the entire groove. More on this musicality below.
A Tier - The rest of the essentials if I were to introduce this album to a friend for the first time:
“Wesley’s Theory” - As I recall, this was my first exposure to Brainfeeder, the LA-based independent record label representing neo-jazz artists such as virtuoso bassist Thundercat and saxophonist Kamasi Washington. The groove these guys and their friends bring to the table across all of Butterfly sets the entire tone for the album musically, and introduces many of Kendrick’s fans to older genres of Black Music for the very first time. Featuring additional vocals from funk legend George Clinton, “Wesley’s Theory” sits at the top of this tier because it’s a true musically groundbreaking opener.
“These Walls” - Another feature of Thundercat on Butterfly’s lone ‘sexy slow jam’ has always been one of my favorites on the album, but digging deeper into the lyrical themes through Maner’s 33 1/3 book blew my mind a bit. The song tells a story of Kendrick leveraging his fame to have sex with the partner of a man incarcerated for killing one of Kendrick’s friends. It’s a slight indictment that it took me 10 years to reach this realization of “Whoa,” but hey: every day is another day we can learn something.
“How Much A Dollar Cost” - This was President Barack Obama’s favorite song from 2015. You can once again feel the power of the song through not only the message in the lyrics, but the musicality (specifically the piano) as well.
“The Blacker The Berry” - Another single from the album, it’s much more approachable than most of the album’s other cuts, and gives Kendrick a chance to channel his anger alongside all his other emotions.
“Institutionalized” - The feature from Snoop Dogg on this track brings an additional level of “legitimacy” to Kendrick’s rise to the top in 2015; the West Coast Hip Hop forefathers clearly acknowledge his prominence in the space. Sonically, Snoop complements the chill, jazzy vibe of the music.
B Tier - These are just as important as the S and A Tier songs, but I stand by they are best in sequence of the album:
“u” - “u” and “i” together tackle some of the toughest and most universal themes of the album, each song taking on either side of the coin of self-esteem. It puts things into perspective knowing someone as wealthy and famous as Kendrick Lamar also struggles with these dark thoughts, introducing some individual relatability between artist and audience.
“Mortal Man” - A massive theme from Hip Hop that Kendrick tackles head on (and Maner covers in her book) is the concept of “resurrecting 2Pac.” Tupac Shakur’s voice from a never-before-heard interview echoes throughout the final minutes on the album; his presence and prescience on the state of America is chilling. Kendrick conducts the conversation as if he’s speaking to Pac in real time, with his final question left unanswered. It’s clear that Kendrick has taken up the mantle that the West Coast Hip Hop legend left vacant upon his passing, but make no mistake: without Tupac Shakur, there is no Kendrick Lamar.
“i” - The positive side of the “u/i” self-esteem coin. The live version of this song on the album clears the single version easily with its final, spoken-word verse.
“Complexion (A Zulu Love)” - I love the gliding bass on here from Thundercat, and Rapsody’s feature verse is a great way to conclude the track.
C Tier - Not filler by any means, but tracks that either struggle to stand on their own. or get lost in the shuffle for me:
“Hood Politics” - My favorite lyric from this entire tier of songs is, “Critics want to mention that they miss when hip-hop was rappin'/Motherfucker, if you did, then Killer Mike'd be platinum…” This song also gets bonus points for its transition into “How Much A Dollar Cost.”
“For Free? - Interlude” - These interludes are important in sequence, but weaker tracks on their own in my opinion
“For Sale? - Interlude”
“Momma”
“You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said)”
All things considered, I still HIGHLY recommend listening to this album front to back uninterrupted to get the full experience of To Pimp A Butterfly, complete with the poem that Kendrick continuously builds on between tracks.
It’s a shame that musical works like Butterfly don’t illicit greater immediate change from society. Listening back on the album, one of my biggest takeaways is we’re just changing the names of victims every few years, from Trayvon Martin in 2015 to George Floyd in 2020. Police violence statistics seemingly have not improved, and the majority of the country for the past two years focuses its attention on the “hot-button issues” that our elected officials want us to focus on. It’s difficult to say things have gotten better.
That said, Kendrick hasn’t rested on his laurels since 2015. He’s released three major solo albums since then, two compilation albums, and he most recently eviscerated Drake (again) during the Super Bowl halftime show, all while producing a highly choreographed message in a live setting (as he is wont to do.)
Kendrick understands the responsibility he’s taken on as one of the most prominent AND conscious figureheads in rap. He may not release a project every year, but he stays ready and shows no signs of slowing down. But all this has been true, ever since Kendrick dropped To Pimp A Butterfly—A GOAT album—10 years ago.