To Pimp a Butterfly

To Pimp a Butterfly
Studio album by
Kendrick Lamar
ReleasedMarch 15, 2015 (2015-03-15)
Recorded2013-15
Genre
Length78:51
Label
  • Top Dawg Entertainment
  • Aftermath Entertainment
  • Interscope
Producer
Kendrick Lamar chronology
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
(2012) 		To Pimp a Butterfly
(2015) 		Untitled Unmastered
(2016)
Singles from To Pimp a Butterfly
  1. "I"
    Released: September 16, 2014
  2. "The Blacker the Berry"
    Released: February 9, 2015
  3. "King Kunta"
    Released: March 24, 2015
  4. "Alright"
    Released: June 30, 2015
  5. "These Walls"
    Released: October 13, 2015

To Pimp a Butterfly is the third studio album by Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015. It was released by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album had many different producers and musicians that helped make it. Some producers were Dr. Dre, Thundercat, Pharrell Williams, Sounwave, Terrace Martin, and Rahki. Some musicians that helped make the album were Thundercat, George Clinton, Bilal, Snoop Dogg, Ronald Isley, and Rapsody.

The album combines many different types of music. It is mainly hip hop music. However, it also has other types of music important to African-American history, such as jazz, soul and funk.[2][3][4] It has lyrics that talk about political problems (such as not treating people fairly) and African-American culture.[5][6]

Over one million copies of the album have been sold. When it was released, it was number one on the Billboard 200. This is an American music chart. It was Lamar's first number one album on the UK Albums Chart. It was also certified platinum by the RIAA. The album had five singles.[7] The most popular song from the album is "I". It went into the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.[8] Many critics liked the album. It was nominated for seven Grammy Awards.[9] One of these was for Album of the Year. To Pimp a Butterfly is one of the best rated albums of 2015, as well as the 2010s.[10][11][12] Many critics have said it is one of the best albums ever made.[13][14][10]

Track listing

To Pimp a Butterfly track listing
No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "Wesley's Theory" (featuring George Clinton and Thundercat)
 4:47
2. "For Free? (Interlude)"  Martin 2:10
3. "King Kunta"  
  • Sounwave
  • Martin[a]
 3:54
4. "Institutionalized" (featuring Bilal, Anna Wise and Snoop Dogg)
 4:31
5. "These Walls" (featuring Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat)
  • Martin
  • Dopson
  • Sounwave[a]
 5:00
6. "U"  
  • Arnold
  • Whoarei
  • Sounwave[a]
 4:28
7. "Alright"  
  • Williams
  • Sounwave
 3:39
8. "For Sale? (Interlude)"  
  • Arnold
  • Sounwave[a]
  • Martin[a]
 4:51
9. "Momma"  
 4:43
10. "Hood Politics"  
 4:52
11. "How Much a Dollar Cost" (featuring James Fauntleroy and Ronald Isley)LoveDragon 4:21
12. "Complexion (A Zulu Love)" (featuring Rapsody)
  • Thundercat
  • Sounwave
  • Martin[a]
  • The Antydote[a]
 4:23
13. "The Blacker the Berry"  
 5:28
14. "You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)"  LoveDragon 4:01
15. "I"  Rahki 5:36
16. "Mortal Man"  Sounwave 12:07
Total length:
 78:51
  • ^[a] is for an extra producer
  • "U" and "I" are written in lowercase letters

References

  1. ↑ Charity, Justin (March 20, 2015). "Interview: Bilal Rejects 'Neo-Soul,' Says Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Is Jazz". Complex. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  2. ↑ Anderson, Kyle (March 26, 2015). "'To Pimp a Butterfly' by Kendrick Lamar: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. New York. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  3. ↑ "'To Pimp a Butterfly:' How Kendrick's Masterpiece Changed Culture". Highsnobiety. March 24, 2020. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  4. ↑ Andres Hale (February 9, 2016). "The Oral History Of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on February 11, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Billboard.com's 25 Best Albums of 2015: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 15, 2015. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ Graham, Natalie (2017). "What Slaves We Are: Narrative, Trauma, and Power in Kendrick Lamar's Roots". Transition (122): 123–132. doi:10.2979/transition.122.1.18. JSTOR 10.2979/transition.122.1.18.
  7. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Picks Fifth Single from 'To Pimp A Butterfly'". 24Urban. September 24, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Zach Frydenlund (September 23, 2014). "Listen to Kendrick Lamar's "I"". Complex. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Grammys 2016: The Complete Winners List". Rolling Stone. February 16, 2016. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Top 10 Best Albums". Time. December 1, 2015. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  11. ↑ "The 50 best albums of the decade, from Frank Ocean's 'Blond' to Adele's '21'". The Independent. November 18, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  12. ↑ Singleton, Micah (March 19, 2015). "To Pimp a Butterfly: Kendrick Lamar's new album is perfect". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  13. ↑ Butler, Will (September 15, 2015). "Six months of Kendrick Lamar's masterpiece, To Pimp A Butterfly". Gigwise. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Music Critic Top 10 Lists—Best Albums of 2015". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016.