To Pip A Butterfly: Song Analysis

Identity is one of the most important concepts that humans have; it allows us to understand who we are, who we have been and who we will be. An individual’s sense of identity is based on their cultural identity as it links a person to their heritage which helps them identify with others who share the same traditions, practices and beliefs that they do. Once a person is robbed of their traditional beliefs, heritage and other aspects of their native culture- they begin to lose a sense of self and ultimately their personal and cultural identity will start to fade as there is no connection to what was once important in their lives. This situation is in fact true for African-Americans, as in the past, majority of their ancestors were forced from …show more content…
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, most famously known as Kendrick Lamar, is an award-winning and highly proclaimed rapper and songwriter best know for his introspective lyrics and catchy hip-hop sounds. Kendrick has a total of three studio albums, and although all are widely acclaimed, the one that is going to be focused on in this essay is his third album titled, To Pimp a Butterfly. There are a total of sixteen songs on the album, however I will only be concentrating on three songs: “King Kunta”, “The Blacker the Berry” and “Complexion (A Zulu Love).” Kendrick Lamar’s album, To Pimp a Butterfly” is more than just a generic album for listening pleasure, but a symbol of black resistance and protest that addresses the negative impact of racist and oppressive institutions on black identity in the 21st …show more content…
The main character, Kunta Kinte is a fictional 18th century slave who had his foot cut off by his master as punishment for trying to escape the plantation. The scene that is most famous from Roots is when Kunta Kinte is being whipped and tortured by his master because he will not accept his new name, Toby. The fact that Kendrick adds the royal title of “King” to the African name, Kunta, instead of the name that he was given by his master: Toby, presents quite a juxtaposition. As a result of European domination, conversion and slavery, slave masters gave “their” slaves Christian or “white” names so that African slaves “…were largely debarred from their inalienable rights to their ethnic and ancestral African identity…” (Fitzpatrick 2012). This process was a way to degrade and deny African slaves of their right and honor in retaining their given birth name in order to destroy the meaning and relevance of their African culture. In the song, Kendrick compares himself to Kunta Kinte because just as Kunta did, Kendrick refuses to hide his blackness in anyway, becoming a rebellious slave himself. He also highlights the contrast between the lowest and highest levels of society relating to the title “King Kunta” because personally, Lamar feels that he is famous and powerful like a “King” but also oppressed like a slave by society just like