To Pimp a Butterfly: Setting the Standard for the Contemporary Rap Album On March 16, 2015, Kendrick Lamar released one of the most critically-acclaimed rap albums of all time. To Pimp a Butterfly sold 324,000 copies its first week, giving Lamar his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and receiving platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (Lynch 2015). To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar’s second studio album, uses components of funk, soul, and jazz to reflect on his trials and tribulations as an imperfect man. Kendrick’s second studio album, as intricate as it is dense, raised the bar for what qualifies as an album that can withstand the tests of time in this age of information overload. In a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?”
…show more content…
It is nearly impossible to talk about race in the United States without the conversation being perceived as controversial. TPAB is multifaceted, tackling both Kendrick’s personal issues and problems within the African-American community such as police brutality and gang violence. In his song “The Blacker the Berry” he raps, “I'm African-American; I'm African; I'm black as the heart of a f****** Aryan!” On “Alright” he raps, “We hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street fo’ sho’.” Lines like these prompted Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera to make the foolish claim that “hip-hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years.” Even the album cover, featuring Kendrick and other shirtless black males posing in front of the White House while a white male holding a gavel is laying down with his eyes crossed out, raises an eyebrow or two. Kendrick employs TPAB to publicize institutional racism and inequality while pondering his role in perpetuating the negative stereotypes that are so common in hip-hop music. The debate of culture versus institution as the leading cause of racism against blacks in the United States tends to have no middle ground. Kendrick, however, rejects the idea that it is one or the other and instead accepts the hand each plays in black
It is nearly impossible to talk about race in the United States without the conversation being perceived as controversial. TPAB is multifaceted, tackling both Kendrick’s personal issues and problems within the African-American community such as police brutality and gang violence. In his song “The Blacker the Berry” he raps, “I'm African-American; I'm African; I'm black as the heart of a f****** Aryan!” On “Alright” he raps, “We hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street fo’ sho’.” Lines like these prompted Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera to make the foolish claim that “hip-hop has done more damage to young African-Americans than racism in recent years.” Even the album cover, featuring Kendrick and other shirtless black males posing in front of the White House while a white male holding a gavel is laying down with his eyes crossed out, raises an eyebrow or two. Kendrick employs TPAB to publicize institutional racism and inequality while pondering his role in perpetuating the negative stereotypes that are so common in hip-hop music. The debate of culture versus institution as the leading cause of racism against blacks in the United States tends to have no middle ground. Kendrick, however, rejects the idea that it is one or the other and instead accepts the hand each plays in black