MUSIC V MUSIC: KENDRICK LAMAR - TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY
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| ©℗2015 Aftermath / Interscope (Top Dawg Entertainment) |
Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp A Butterfly
Music v Music
Ft. Max Golledge
22/01/20
To Pimp A Butterfly
Music v Music
Ft. Max Golledge
22/01/20
A soon-to-be recurring segment on this blog and the origin of the title name itself; Music v Music takes a fan-favourite album and breaks it down, with the intention of finding the best track on the record.
In 2015, Kendrick Lamar released an album widely considered to be the best hip-hop project of this generation. In 16 tracks, the Compton rapper focuses on themes of race, identity and the music industry, backed by groundbreaking production from figures such as Thundercat, Flying Lotus and Pharrell Williams. To Pimp a Butterfly excitingly explores the many strengths of Kendrick's lyrical and vocal capabilities; the devastating 'u', impressive 'For Free? - Interlude' and angrier 'The Blacker the Berry' all feature on very different ends of his spectrum, yet, together, accumulate to form one of the most cohesive albums of the Decade.
Each time, I'll be joined by a friend who loves the album enough to discuss it for this segment instead of listening to it; for TPAB, I'd asked Max Golledge for his two-pennies worth (instead of just being given it).
I FaceTime Max and he answers, halfway into a nap, but with a surprising passion for talking about this album. He's telling me how well he knows it. 'I must have listened to this like 10, 11 times' - is that a lot? I'm assuming he's severely underestimating himself here. After a few scribbles, ticks and crosses, we (two white, not-American boys) prepare to compare our choices for TPAB's, best song. . .
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📷Camera Press/Redux |
MG: Well, I've taken six of my favourite songs and written them down, to make things a bit easier.
JR: Yeah, I've got four. I can't get a fifth because they're all so sick. I genuinely can't decide on the best out of what I haven't already got.
MG: We've gotta start with Wesley's Theory.
JR: It's definitely one of the strongest opening tracks I've heard on a hip-hop album. That, and DNA from DAMN. are the two that spring to mind as ridiculously good openers. . . but then again DNA isn't technically track 1 on that album.
MG: Yeah, its such an all round amazing song. I think the sample at the start of the song introduces one of the key themes into the album really well.
JR: Yeah, the whole thing of using the girlfriend as a metaphor for the music industry at the time is so clever as well; 'At first I did love you'. And I think the fact that it's produced by Thundercat is a really good example of what the whole album has to offer.
MG: Cool, so we both have track 1 down. I've got These Walls on my list. . ?
JR: I also have that down. It's such a sick song, but you just can't listen to it around your parents mate. The first twenty seconds is lethal.
MG: Nah! I play it in the car with my mum.
JR: Yeah, after skipping to 00:36 (laughs). As incredible as it is, and as how lyrically liberating and groovy it is, as a functional song that you can put on a playlist for a party or something, that intro just fucks it.
MG: It's still a quality song from the album and really stands out to me. So, we both have that too. I've got Institutionalized?
JR: I do. . . not. But fight your case bro.
MG: I think the lyrics, and Kendrick Lamar's flow on this are quite interesting. Especially the part where it builds up to the final chorus; sonically, his flow matched with the beat changing is one of the best moments on the album.
JR: Yeah, the beat feels like it's slowly returning to its roots of West-coast, Compton hip-hop, and then it does just that in the chorus. Sick.
MG: It's quite sinister, quite brutally honest. I feel like he's saying to his guys back home that nothing's gonna change unless you try to make things better for yourself.
JR: Definitely. OK, I've got u down.
MG: Yeah, OK. Right. I've got that down too, 'cause I know its a really good song, but I just don't particularly like it that much.
JR: Riiight, so it's not a favourite but you respect it as a really good song?
MG: Yeah.
JR: There's this tweet from Nathan Zed, which I always think about when I listen to the album. It basically says that if TPAB was an album, u would be the oscar-winning scene.
MG: Yeah I get you, its the part of the album that makes you go 'ah, OK'. It really shows the quality of Kendrick Lamar.
JR: It's so emotional and brutal. The things he does to his voice in that song are insane, he pretty much starts crying halfway through. Its a real performance that comes straight from his heart. I think as a rapper, as Kendrick Lamar, it might be his best song; but for TPAB it may not stand out as much as some of the other songs. You get me?
MG: Yeah. I feel like you can take what you want from the album. On my first album, I really just fucked with the groove of it, and u doesn't really fit that? I've listened to this album maybe ten or eleven times, and I think the more you listen the more you understand the themes of it. On your later listens, you might appreciate tracks like this one a bit more, because it doesn't sonically fit in with what initially draws you to the album.
MG: Yeah, OK. Right. I've got that down too, 'cause I know its a really good song, but I just don't particularly like it that much.
JR: Riiight, so it's not a favourite but you respect it as a really good song?
MG: Yeah.
JR: There's this tweet from Nathan Zed, which I always think about when I listen to the album. It basically says that if TPAB was an album, u would be the oscar-winning scene.
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| @NathanZed via Twitter |
MG: Yeah I get you, its the part of the album that makes you go 'ah, OK'. It really shows the quality of Kendrick Lamar.
JR: It's so emotional and brutal. The things he does to his voice in that song are insane, he pretty much starts crying halfway through. Its a real performance that comes straight from his heart. I think as a rapper, as Kendrick Lamar, it might be his best song; but for TPAB it may not stand out as much as some of the other songs. You get me?
MG: Yeah. I feel like you can take what you want from the album. On my first album, I really just fucked with the groove of it, and u doesn't really fit that? I've listened to this album maybe ten or eleven times, and I think the more you listen the more you understand the themes of it. On your later listens, you might appreciate tracks like this one a bit more, because it doesn't sonically fit in with what initially draws you to the album.
JR: (Very confused) Did you say ten or eleven times? . .
MG: Mate I've listened to this album so much.
JR: It might just be me but. . . ten or eleven is not that much? I'm well confused.
MG: (Laughs) Maybe I've underestimated that.
JR: I did have Alright, but I've taken that off now. Kendrick made quite a big video for it, which I guess is quite a good indicator of how he feels about the track
MG: Nah, I don't have that. It's definitely an accessible single but its not the best song on the album.
JR: Yeah, the video is also probably a sign that it's more of a single for the album. It's hard to ignore its cultural impact though, being adopted by #BlackLivesMatter protesters - singing 'We gon' be alright!" to unite themselves in their rebellion. And I love that it's produced by Pharrell; anyone that knows me knows that I'm a massive fanboy of his so there's that. But I do agree with you.
MG: Momma.
MG: Mate I've listened to this album so much.
JR: It might just be me but. . . ten or eleven is not that much? I'm well confused.
MG: (Laughs) Maybe I've underestimated that.
JR: I did have Alright, but I've taken that off now. Kendrick made quite a big video for it, which I guess is quite a good indicator of how he feels about the track
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| Kendrick Lamar via YouTube |
MG: Nah, I don't have that. It's definitely an accessible single but its not the best song on the album.
JR: Yeah, the video is also probably a sign that it's more of a single for the album. It's hard to ignore its cultural impact though, being adopted by #BlackLivesMatter protesters - singing 'We gon' be alright!" to unite themselves in their rebellion. And I love that it's produced by Pharrell; anyone that knows me knows that I'm a massive fanboy of his so there's that. But I do agree with you.
MG: Momma.
JR: That song is sick. I was so surprised when I found out it wasn't produced by Fly-Lo, but I know he had a role in the album so he must have had some sort of say, or influence on this track. Production-wise, I'd say it's the strongest one.
MG: Yeah, it also feels the saddest on the album.
JR: Saddest?
MG: Yeah, sad as in homesick. It's like a nostalgia trip. He's wishing he could go back to how things were, when they were simpler, and just to be with his mum, I guess.
JR: That's cool, I get that. We didn't both have it down though, so I think if we're going by that we shouldn't move forward with it. But I do understand your take on it.
MG: RIP.
JR: I had How Much A Dollar Cost. Did you?
MG: Nah I didn't, but god that's a good song.
MG: Yeah, it also feels the saddest on the album.
JR: Saddest?
MG: Yeah, sad as in homesick. It's like a nostalgia trip. He's wishing he could go back to how things were, when they were simpler, and just to be with his mum, I guess.
JR: That's cool, I get that. We didn't both have it down though, so I think if we're going by that we shouldn't move forward with it. But I do understand your take on it.
MG: RIP.
JR: I had How Much A Dollar Cost. Did you?
MG: Nah I didn't, but god that's a good song.
JR: Yeah, I have it down because I think, lyrically, it's his best song ever. Well, its up there with Sing About Me. I think its just so, so cool how he tells the story. How the homeless man reveals himself to be God, and the dollar Kendrick refused to give to him earlier ended up being the cost of his spot in Heaven. Unreal.
MG: The last one I had was Complexion (A Zulu Love).
JR: So that means you don't have The Blacker The Berry?!
MG: Nope.
JR: Damn, OK.
MG: Complexion is just such a bop. Sorry.
JR: I think that's where the difference between favourite and best comes into play.
MG: I just fuck with the message of that song as well. 'It all feels the same'.
MG: The last one I had was Complexion (A Zulu Love).
JR: So that means you don't have The Blacker The Berry?!
MG: Nope.
JR: Damn, OK.
MG: Complexion is just such a bop. Sorry.
JR: I think that's where the difference between favourite and best comes into play.
MG: I just fuck with the message of that song as well. 'It all feels the same'.
JR: It is very very good. I think Rapsody's verse on it is sick. Like you said, it's a bop, but I don't think its the best song on the album.
MG: Yeah I agree. I just wanted to give it a quick shout-out though.
JR: Yeah, shout-out Complexion!
MG: Shout out skin. All feels the same!
JR: Just quickly wanna fight my case for The Blacker The Berry, 'cause its just so fucking good. It's so angry, and I feel like there's a lot of rock influence in it. The way he puts himself down before going at the system, calling himself 'the biggest hypocrite of 2015' is just so clever. Its such a bold stance to take.
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| Kendrick Lamar via YouTube |
MG: We both like You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said). Not much to say about it though, really.
JR: Yeah, cool. Do you prefer the album or single version of i?
MG: I like the single version more. But I get why he did the live version for the album. The coolest idea of it is that he's literally performing to a crowd who aren't listening. Kendrick's trying to teach and empower them, but they're fighting amongst themselves. It's clever.
JR: "N-E-G-U-S! Definition: royalty! King royalty!" . . . you know my mate Harry said he prefers the album version. Pretty interesting take because the single functions as a more accessible song with more refined production. Cool though.
MG: I like the poem that runs through this album. If that was a song, by itself, that would be on my list.
JR: Hmm, yeah. I mean it is recited in Mortal Man, but I guess it's lost in a twelve minute track. While we're there, I think it's such a good song, lyrically, and there's an interview with TUPAC somehow, which is mad, but it's genuinely twelve minutes long, and its not all a song. Its like Note To Self on 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
MG: I wouldn't really call it a song. I'd say it's like a 'thematic conclusion'.
JR: Yeah, yeah, definitely. What about For Free? and For Sale?, the interludes?
MG: Oh yeah, they aren't the best songs. But For Free? is sick.
JR: Yeah. I've always thought of the first part of that track as the equivalent of a voicemail. You know how rappers put voicemails on their albums sometimes? I see this track as that voicemail moment. 'You ain't shit'.
MG: I could do that flow. I haven't sat down and tried to learn it yet but I could do it.
MG: I like the poem that runs through this album. If that was a song, by itself, that would be on my list.
JR: Hmm, yeah. I mean it is recited in Mortal Man, but I guess it's lost in a twelve minute track. While we're there, I think it's such a good song, lyrically, and there's an interview with TUPAC somehow, which is mad, but it's genuinely twelve minutes long, and its not all a song. Its like Note To Self on 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
MG: I wouldn't really call it a song. I'd say it's like a 'thematic conclusion'.
JR: Yeah, yeah, definitely. What about For Free? and For Sale?, the interludes?
MG: Oh yeah, they aren't the best songs. But For Free? is sick.
JR: Yeah. I've always thought of the first part of that track as the equivalent of a voicemail. You know how rappers put voicemails on their albums sometimes? I see this track as that voicemail moment. 'You ain't shit'.
MG: I could do that flow. I haven't sat down and tried to learn it yet but I could do it.
JR: I absolutely love the 'Lucy' flow on For Sale?. I'm pretty sure I used it in an essay last year too. (Laughs) That's when you know an album's good, when you're referencing the weaker tracks on an actual university essay.
King Kunta! What you saying?
MG: It's not the best song but its good.
JR: I remember when I first listened to it, it was through these awful iPad-mini speakers, so I couldn't actually hear the bass! Which is like, so prominent now. I remember really liking it without the bass, and then hearing it through headphones and being so confused. It sounded like a different song.
MG: That's the song that got me into Kendrick, into that album. So without that song, I would never have heard that album when I did. But, I wouldn't call it the best song. Its a gateway tune. Its very important.
JR: So, the ones we had in common were Wesley's Theory and These Walls, but are we agreeing that These Walls doesn't function as an overall song because of that intro?
MG: Yeah, I guess so.
JR: Actually! They both have slightly controversial introductions!
MG: Yeah but with Wesley's theory it's functional for the whole album. If you're uncomfortable with that intro, then the whole album's gonna make you feel uncomfortable.
King Kunta! What you saying?
MG: It's not the best song but its good.
JR: I remember when I first listened to it, it was through these awful iPad-mini speakers, so I couldn't actually hear the bass! Which is like, so prominent now. I remember really liking it without the bass, and then hearing it through headphones and being so confused. It sounded like a different song.
MG: That's the song that got me into Kendrick, into that album. So without that song, I would never have heard that album when I did. But, I wouldn't call it the best song. Its a gateway tune. Its very important.
JR: So, the ones we had in common were Wesley's Theory and These Walls, but are we agreeing that These Walls doesn't function as an overall song because of that intro?
MG: Yeah, I guess so.
JR: Actually! They both have slightly controversial introductions!
MG: Yeah but with Wesley's theory it's functional for the whole album. If you're uncomfortable with that intro, then the whole album's gonna make you feel uncomfortable.
JR: Very true. So what, we're saying Wesley's Theory takes the crown?
MG: (Clapping) Yeah, that's cool.
JR: Sweet. I think 'cause it encapsulates the album sonically, lyrically, thematically. Do you agree?
MG: Yeah. And its a fuckin' bop.
JR: Yeah mate.
MG: (Clapping) Yeah, that's cool.
JR: Sweet. I think 'cause it encapsulates the album sonically, lyrically, thematically. Do you agree?
MG: Yeah. And its a fuckin' bop.
JR: Yeah mate.
22/01/20
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