Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly |OT| It's The American Dream

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Nothing is perfect, I just can't listen to MMLP and SSLP back to back like the other ones discussed here.
Fuck you talkin bout MMLP and SSLP both classics. all classics songs on there and can listen front to back. ONLY problem with SSLP is it had too many unnecessary skits but other than that all good songs.
 
holy shit.... I think I understand These Walls now.

At first I was wondering why did he juxtaposition a woman's vagina (1st verse) and prison cell's (3rd Verse) I think he exacted revenge
on the guy who killed his friend by sleeping with the killers baby mamma. Because part of the poem that he reads "I remember you was conflicted,
misusing your influence/Sometimes, I did the same". So maybe his fame allowed him to do this, "abusing" it? Idk... what do you think?
 
Bruh being addicted to sex or tapped in an excessive lecherous lifestyle is just as much as a prison mentally as a cell is a physical prison
 
How Much A Dollar Cost
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Any news on the CDs performance or first week numbers?
 
holy shit.... I think I understand These Walls now.

At first I was wondering why did he juxtaposition a woman's vagina (1st verse) and prison cell's (3rd Verse) I think he exacted revenge
on the guy who killed his friend by sleeping with the killers baby mamma. Because part of the poem that he reads "I remember you was conflicted,
misusing your influence Sometimes, I did the same". So maybe his fame allowed him to do this, "abusing" it? Idk... what do you think?

You got it
 
We're just not gonna say Nas with Illmatic/It Was Written?

I'm not the biggest Nas stan, but those two albums are fucking fantastic.
 
Rumors are 350k prolly more. Most of its listens were breaking records on spotify though.
Criminal... The album deserves more hope it will end up at least achieving GKMC numbers when it's all said and done.
 
Section 80 an album bro, released for money through Top Dawg store, and iTunes.

Even had a vinyl pressing.

I was semi-joking.

Rumors are 350k prolly more. Most of its listens were breaking records on spotify though.

~350K is obviously a respectable number these days but I was still expecting more. Though it seems last year was the first time streaming pulled in more revenue than CD sales so that may have something to do with it. That's how I consume most of my music. Sad that artists apparently make peanuts from it.

According to a report by the RIAA, streaming music online made more money than purchasing physical CDs in 2014. Streaming music pulled in over $1.87 billion, just slightly higher than CD sales of roughly $1.85 billion. Paid subscriptions in the United States have more than tripled since 2011, while CD sales have minimally decreased. For the first time in sales history, streaming has surpassed CD purchasing which shows a growing trend in where and how people are choosing to consume music. Which could explain how Kendrick Lamar's New Album, To Pimp A Butterfly, broke records with 9.6 million streams on the 1st day of its release. And why Jay Z's purchase of Aspiro is an investment in the future how we receive music.

http://www.thefader.com/2015/03/20/streaming-made-more-money-than-cds-in-2014
 
For good reason, yes.

I dont understand the disdain. He says himself its his best album and it has the sharpest songs he's ever written. I barely listen to anything from the SSLP or MMLP anymore (besides The Way I Am, Marshall Mathers, Still Dont Give a Fuck..) but I still return to songs from The Eminem Show, since it has arguably the best Em songs ever: White America, Soldier, Sing for the Moment, Till I Collapse, Square Dance, Cleanin Out My Closet...those songs have aged like fine wine. I dont fuck with his cornier shit (which is in overdrive on the SSLP) or his psycho shit (all over MMLP) so TES is the album with the most songs I gravitate towards. I think it and 8 Mile are his two best albums, by a long shot.
 
We're just not gonna say Nas with Illmatic/It Was Written?

I'm not the biggest Nas stan, but those two albums are fucking fantastic.

IWW is a classic album. Nas compromised his vision putting that out because Ready to Die's reception buried Illmatic, but the commercial Trackmasters beats he used in 96 sound hard as fuck by the standards of today. "If I Ruled the World, The Message, Street Dreams, Affirmative Action, those joints knock.
 
Ready to Die/Life After Death
College Dropout/Late Registration
Food and Liquor/The Cool

ew

i got you dont worry

Aceyalone - All Balls Don't Bounce, A Book Of Human Language
Del - I Wish My Brother George Was Here, No Need For Alarm
Big Daddy Kane - Long Live The Kane, It's a Big Daddy Thing
Madlib, Both Quasimotos
Jeru - Sun RIses in the East, Wrath of the Math
Ghostface - Iron Man, Supreme Clientele
Blackalicious - Nia, Blazing Arrow
Erik B and Rakim - Paid in Full, Follow the Leader
Kool G Rap - all his shit

etc etc
 
so that accapella at the end of i. is he agreeing with oprah on a moratorium on "nigga" or is he opposing it? man I don't even like this album that much but I like how there's so much interpretation to be had from it lyrically. plus I can admit mortal man and how much a dollar cost are easy contenders for best kendrick song.
 
holy shit.... I think I understand These Walls now.

At first I was wondering why did he juxtaposition a woman's vagina (1st verse) and prison cell's (3rd Verse) I think he exacted revenge
on the guy who killed his friend by sleeping with the killers baby mamma. Because part of the poem that he reads "I remember you was conflicted,
misusing your influence/Sometimes, I did the same". So maybe his fame allowed him to do this, "abusing" it? Idk... what do you think?

Man.. when I really took that shit in..

it gets deep nigga
 
Wasn't expecting such a "neo soul" vibe to this album given how GKMC was. It makes total sense.

Section.80 wasn't exactly full of "bangers", but GKMC did cater to what most Hip Hop/Rap fans wanted. He used GKMC to get fans, and then dropped this bomb now that he had an established fan base.

I really dig it. I normally don't overrate albums, but I feel like TPAB will go down as a classic that will be "studied" for a long time.
 
ew

i got you dont worry

Aceyalone - All Balls Don't Bounce, A Book Of Human Language
Del - I Wish My Brother George Was Here, No Need For Alarm
Big Daddy Kane - Long Live The Kane, It's a Big Daddy Thing
Madlib, Both Quasimotos
Jeru - Sun RIses in the East, Wrath of the Math
Ghostface - Iron Man, Supreme Clientele
Blackalicious - Nia, Blazing Arrow
Erik B and Rakim - Paid in Full, Follow the Leader
Kool G Rap - all his shit

etc etc
xM7evn2.png
 
I still can't get into the album. It just feels like a tedious listen and a record that's only half way decent when you listen to it from beginning to end, but even I feel like I'm listening to 50% interludes and skits.

Basically feels like an art-house film to me that every just likes to say that they're in love with. Yeah, I get it is telling a story and has a message, but it's just completely boring.
 
Finally got this on CD from HMV for $10 (thanks Canada!) and now listening to it on repeat several times.

I'm glad that this will be one of those albums people will still talk about 50 years from now, so many things going on it's chaotic and yet Kendrick keeps it grounded and tight somehow. It is insane.

I hope we can experience another album like this in the near future.

I also feel bad for Kendrick cause he'll have a hard time topping this one.

It's funny because people said the same thing about gkmc.

The guy can be trusted, relax (:
 
holy shit.... I think I understand These Walls now.

At first I was wondering why did he juxtaposition a woman's vagina (1st verse) and prison cell's (3rd Verse) I think he exacted revenge
on the guy who killed his friend by sleeping with the killers baby mamma. Because part of the poem that he reads "I remember you was conflicted,
misusing your influence/Sometimes, I did the same". So maybe his fame allowed him to do this, "abusing" it? Idk... what do you think?

He pretty much spells this out in the last part of the song when he's speaking and tells you to listen to the first verse.
 
I wash my hands, I said my grace
What more do you want from me?
Tears of a clown, guess I'm not all what is meant to be
Shades of grey will never change if I condone
Turn this page, help me change, so right my wrongs




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Been letting this one sit with me for a bit and it continues to sink its teeth in. It's a dense and sprawling work lyrically, more in line with that of a playwright or novelist than a Hip Hop artist. From the broken poem that serves as the album's backbone to the shifting moods, scenes and characters that weave in and out even mid-song, it's a jarringly literary experience that few attempt to convey regardless of genre. Personal ruminations on black excellence, life in America, racial tension, self worth and love, God and the Devil and the perils of success - OT tag aside, Kendrick is on some great American novel shit with TPAB. His immense talent on the mic ties all the themes and ideas together; a master class of technical excellence, colorful presentation and depth of content and wordplay.

Musically it's an intoxicating soup of late 60's era Jazz, Parliament and Gil Scott Heron, G-Funk and early 90's Hip Hop, Outkast, the Soulquarians collective and modern production techniques. Not quite as audacious as the lyrical assault but still cohesive, musical and nuanced - a throwback sound that covers so much ground it starts to feel like a rumination on the history of black music, much like D'Angelo's Black Messiah a few months ago. While not as successful as that record was on that particular front it's an enjoyable listen front to back and a fitting compliment to Kendrick's mindset on display throughout.

There's some different stuff on here no doubt - some of it worked on first listen for me, some I had to warm up to, but it's still an instant classic from arguably the best doing it today, something to push the genre and music forward. As nice as GKMC was it almost feels like a trap to build a mainstream audience and blindside them with something even more profound in retrospect. Who else in the industry has the balls to not only rerecord a "live" version of their catchy award winning lead single for the album, but then present it in the context of a crowd that isn't paying attention to the words behind the good time groove, and are even more unattentive as Kendrick devolves into a pained sermon on the etymology of the word Negus? Fuck leader of the new school, this guy is putting out shit to be dissected and picked apart in actual academic environments. Album is fire, creative and vital fire.
 
holy shit.... I think I understand These Walls now.

At first I was wondering why did he juxtaposition a woman's vagina (1st verse) and prison cell's (3rd Verse) I think he exacted revenge
on the guy who killed his friend by sleeping with the killers baby mamma. Because part of the poem that he reads "I remember you was conflicted,
misusing your influence/Sometimes, I did the same". So maybe his fame allowed him to do this, "abusing" it? Idk... what do you think?

Yup it's about the guy who killed his homie, referenced in Sing About Me from GKMC.

Walls telling you to listen to "Sing About Me"

Retaliation is strong you even dream about me
Killed my homeboy and God spared your life
Dumb criminal got indicted same night
So when you play this song rewind the first verse
About me abusing my power so you can hurt
About me and her in the shower whenever she horny
About me and her in the after hours of the morning
About her baby daddy currently serving life
And how she think about you until we meet up at night
About the only girl that cared about you when you asked her
And how she fucking on a famous rapper
Walls could talk

kvJjtxj.gif
 
so that accapella at the end of i. is he agreeing with oprah on a moratorium on "nigga" or is he opposing it? man I don't even like this album that much but I like how there's so much interpretation to be had from it lyrically. plus I can admit mortal man and how much a dollar cost are easy contenders for best kendrick song.

It feels like Kendrick is using the term nigga as a subject to project a variety of perspectives. The album starts with the statement "every nigga is a star," the term is stressfully enunciated on Alright as if to specify that niggas in particular will be all right, and then he attacks the contemporary use of the word, replacing it with negus, making it to mean royalty.
 
Yup it's about the guy who killed his homie, referenced in Sing About Me from GKMC.

Walls telling you to listen to "Sing About Me"

Retaliation is strong you even dream about me
Killed my homeboy and God spared your life
Dumb criminal got indicted same night
So when you play this song rewind the first verse
About me abusing my power so you can hurt
About me and her in the shower whenever she horny
About me and her in the after hours of the morning
About her baby daddy currently serving life
And how she think about you until we meet up at night
About the only girl that cared about you when you asked her
And how she fucking on a famous rapper
Walls could talk


Yea, and then immediately after it goes into u, where he resents his own revenge and power, and drinks himself into a stupor inside the hotel room. Album is constructed so well.
 
I still can't get into the album. It just feels like a tedious listen and a record that's only half way decent when you listen to it from beginning to end, but even I feel like I'm listening to 50% interludes and skits.

Basically feels like an art-house film to me that every just likes to say that they're in love with. Yeah, I get it is telling a story and has a message, but it's just completely boring.

Yeah bruh you caught us. Everyone is just pretending to like it like the sheeple we are.
 
I still can't get into the album. It just feels like a tedious listen and a record that's only half way decent when you listen to it from beginning to end, but even I feel like I'm listening to 50% interludes and skits.

Basically feels like an art-house film to me that every just likes to say that they're in love with. Yeah, I get it is telling a story and has a message, but it's just completely boring.

Maybe this album isn't for you then.
 
Finished about 4 playthroughs accompanied by Rap Genius so I got a good idea of the structure/narrative/subject of the songs and album now, I've just enjoyed it more and more on each play.

At the stage now of just picking out songs and listening, you know it's a great album when different songs become your favourites for different reasons and songs you didn't get at first slowly become great.

"You ain't gotta lie to kick it, ma nigga" is such a dope hook.
 
I still can't get into the album. It just feels like a tedious listen and a record that's only half way decent when you listen to it from beginning to end, but even I feel like I'm listening to 50% interludes and skits.

Basically feels like an art-house film to me that every just likes to say that they're in love with. Yeah, I get it is telling a story and has a message, but it's just completely boring.

Holy shit haha I wonder what kind of ego it takes to think that if I didn't like something and it looked like other people did then they must just be pretending because my taste is impeccable.

Finished about 4 playthroughs accompanied by Rap Genius so I got a good idea of the structure/narrative/subject of the songs and album now, I've just enjoyed it more and more on each play.

At the stage now of just picking out songs and listening, you know it's a great album when different songs become your favourites for different reasons and songs you didn't get at first slowly become great.

"You ain't gotta lie to kick it, ma nigga" is such a dope hook.

This. I've had a new favorite song each playthrough. I really can't listen to anything else right now its just been TPAB the past few days straight.
 
I seriously treat this ALBUM like I would a song I really like. I've had close to 20 playthroughs the past couple days. I can't think of another hip-hop album that trapped me quite like TPAB has. It's ALL I've been listening to. The closest thing I can think of is Illmatic.
 
I have a new favorite song everytime I listen to it, except, u and alright. Those are alright.

These Walls I hard to blast tho. Goddamn conservatives
 
Just finished listening to my first play through of the album, and while at the moment, I only like three songs at the moment(i, King Kunta, The Blacker the Berry). The album is just so intense, and I need time to listen to it more. That last track is just crazy.
 
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