To Pimp a Butterfly, released by Kendrick Lamar on March 15, 2015, is one of the most awarded album of the 20th century. Lamar’s masterpiece has won him an abundance of awards, including being archived in the Harvard Library. That award is so high because three other albums have ever been archived in the history of music. TPAB is a deep and layered musical conversation, in such where Kendrick tries to come to terms with his celebrity but also is able to have a sense of awareness on what is going on in society.
The title has such meaning because Lamar’s original idea is naming the album “Tu Pimp A Caterpillar”. The acronym of the album would have been TuPAC, giving recognition to arguably one of the most influential artists of all time, Tupac …show more content…
Lamar’s grammy winning song “Alright” was a battle cry for protesters to the police shootings of young, unarmed black men. But the influence of Lamar’s music goes past that. The album is a wake up call for african americans that the system has failed us. The corrupt system that has resulted in limited to no justice for the community and families of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Sean Bell and Michael Brown, to name a few slain black Americans by white police. Society, as Lamar explains, does not cater to the black man. But for us to truly fight the oppression that is handed to us, we must look inward to fix and love ourselves before we may demand change from the rest of …show more content…
Most notably, “I” depicts the true meaning of self love. Lamar explains “Well, this is my explanation straight from Ethiopia N-E-G-U-S definition: royalty; King royalty - wait listen
N-E-G-U-S description: Black emperor, King, ruler, now let me finish…”(I). He profoundly explains that the black community have been using the word wrong throughout all these generations and one must say “negus” “Or say no more” (I). Lamar will no longer tolerate the degrading of brothers and sisters within the community and wants us to stand as one and fight the corrupt system as one. As an album as a whole, Lamar’s broad musical choice is such pays homage to jazz, spoken word, rock, 90s west coast and east coast hip hop; all of which have deep black roots.
Kendrick Lamar’s exquisite usage of allusions continues to paint a picture of words. He uses his intellect and complex lyricism to explain that we are all caterpillars in society. One needs to remain in their cocoon alone to develop and work on oneself to fix problems that every human has. Then once that phase of evolution is complete, we may blossom into an elegant butterfly. Even when the “evils of lucy” surround us butterflies, all of society may remain strong and vigilant in the face of evil (Mortal Man).
The title has such meaning because Lamar’s original idea is naming the album “Tu Pimp A Caterpillar”. The acronym of the album would have been TuPAC, giving recognition to arguably one of the most influential artists of all time, Tupac …show more content…
Lamar’s grammy winning song “Alright” was a battle cry for protesters to the police shootings of young, unarmed black men. But the influence of Lamar’s music goes past that. The album is a wake up call for african americans that the system has failed us. The corrupt system that has resulted in limited to no justice for the community and families of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Sean Bell and Michael Brown, to name a few slain black Americans by white police. Society, as Lamar explains, does not cater to the black man. But for us to truly fight the oppression that is handed to us, we must look inward to fix and love ourselves before we may demand change from the rest of …show more content…
Most notably, “I” depicts the true meaning of self love. Lamar explains “Well, this is my explanation straight from Ethiopia N-E-G-U-S definition: royalty; King royalty - wait listen
N-E-G-U-S description: Black emperor, King, ruler, now let me finish…”(I). He profoundly explains that the black community have been using the word wrong throughout all these generations and one must say “negus” “Or say no more” (I). Lamar will no longer tolerate the degrading of brothers and sisters within the community and wants us to stand as one and fight the corrupt system as one. As an album as a whole, Lamar’s broad musical choice is such pays homage to jazz, spoken word, rock, 90s west coast and east coast hip hop; all of which have deep black roots.
Kendrick Lamar’s exquisite usage of allusions continues to paint a picture of words. He uses his intellect and complex lyricism to explain that we are all caterpillars in society. One needs to remain in their cocoon alone to develop and work on oneself to fix problems that every human has. Then once that phase of evolution is complete, we may blossom into an elegant butterfly. Even when the “evils of lucy” surround us butterflies, all of society may remain strong and vigilant in the face of evil (Mortal Man).