To Pimp a Butterfly

Not really my thing, but I can see why it is highly rated.

Kendrick sure had a star turn (Superbowl 2025) since our last album from him. As before, I really like these songs, with one major caveat (=good tracks, S.L.U.r city). I don't have enough mental wherewithal to separate the message & musicality from my instinctive "augh" reaction every few seconds, so, this one gets a 3. Maybe in the future it'd be a higher score. I do appreciate how naturally each song flows into the next one - you don't get that too much with albums anymore.

Kendrick is one of my favorite all time rappers. This album is a bit of an enigma for me though...I enjoy many parts of it, but overall I can't put it on the pantheon of other greats. 4.5/5

Wow! This blew me away. Really impressive on multiple fronts from the flow to the inventiveness, and the funk/jazzy feel of many of the tracks. Really strong stuff.

So textured and fascinating, there's something a bit Radiohead/OneOhTrixPointNever going on here, but with a totally unique hip-hop take that's political and fun. I favourited "How Much a Dollar Cost" because it's the shit.

Listened before, knew beforehand would be a 5/5, but good excuse to relisten. Don't think it's perfect, not a fan of "For Free? (Interlude)" and the album version of "i" is not as good as the pre-release demo version IMO, but this is a modern classic. Can't get anymore 5/5 than this. Absolute masterpiece.

Another hip hop album. As so often, I gave it a quick listen. Nothing that interested me. And so I finished it quickly. 1/5

There's a lot of different styles on the album and a great vibe.. There's a LOT of words.. I think there's a few good songs, but there's also a lot of "noise" that doesn't really catch my attention.
This album is soooo long...

I have a ceiling for hip-hop; it is very much a “songs” genre for me, rather than an album genre. I find that full albums by the same artist tend to wear on me at a certain point, even the absolute best ones. Although this one is no exception, I don’t think there’s a hip-hop album I respect more than this one. Kendrick is the absolute fucking best; no one writes or performs like this guy. Absolutely no one is on his level, present day at least. A 4-star album on my enjoyment scale, but a 5-star piece of art.

4/5

Got some important topics in here. But overall it’s just not grabbing me like I want it to. Probably partly because I’m not a jazz fan. Not an album that I instantly want to listen to again.

For rap, this wasn't the worst I've heard. Not at all my thing, but I made it through. 2/5

Ugh what's worse than stereotypical, misogynistic, repetitive hip hop? Stereotypical, misogynistic, repetitive hip hop that's absolutely laden with Auto-Tune. And poorly done Auto-Tune at that. I honestly don't get the appeal of this at all. Call it genius all you want, I politely disagree. This is bad music. 1/5

For those leaving 1-2 star reviews, I may not be able to help you but I might know someone who can. Let me introduce you to Cole Cuchna the host of Dissect. Dissect is a podcast where each season does an in depth, song by song break down of an album. Season one tackles To Pimp a Butterfly. I’ve been a fan of Kendrick Lamar for a long time but had no idea how much of a genius he was until listening to this podcast. And I don’t use the term genius lightly. This album is an incredible work of art. Musically, I’m still preferential to good kid maad city, but tpab is a masterpiece. So even if you love this album, and especially if you don’t, I encourage everyone with an interest in music to check out Dissect. It’s not only given me new insights into this album and others. It’s altered the way I listen to music in a good way. I still enjoy music for what it is, just like surface level enjoyment. But I find myself noticing more when I actively listen than I did in the past.

I only knew a few Kendrick songs before listening to this album - and I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this!

I recognised "i" straight away, didn't realise it was his song!

Sadly it was just a bit too long for my liking, and I'm not a huge fan of the talking tracks/interludes

A very high 4 ⭐️

The Good: There were actually several songs where I thoroughly enjoyed the beat.
The Bad: Please tell me all about social (in)justice.
The Ugly: Forced.

I don't have any issues with people wanting to express their viewpoints on this that and the other thing... but I am sick and tired of having to listen to the same (c)rap since the '80s pointing fingers to all but the own damn community--sorry, this is supposed to be about music, not about politics, but this, for me, is a political album and I am tired of politics.

Would have been 3*

So this is the best album of all time according to the users of rateyourmusic.com and albumoftheyear.com (2 popular music rating sites). As you can imagine this album would have to be very very very good for me to not think it’s overrated. After this single listen, I am not convinced, but it definitely seems like an album worthy of multiple focused listens. I found quite a few songs didn’t really stand out but the others were really cool. The jazz influenced instrumentation is very nice and some of the bass playing is ridiculously good. I found his vocals a little bit annoying sometimes. Overall, although I’m not that into hip hop or rap, I can completely understand the hype this album gets and I definitely want to get into it more through repeated listens.

I think I might be too white to get it

Slow start, but finishes strong 3.75

Die Musik und die Stimme des Künstlers sprechen mich weder in Person oder Stil an. Zudem finde ich die häufige Verwendung von F- und N-Worten störend und unsinnig. Auch die Ausführungen über Söhne, die ihre Mutter lieben, empfinde ich nicht als ätzend wen will er beleidigen?

I could do without all the skits, but overall a great album.