K. Dot is back! The new album “To Pimp A Butterfly” was released a few days ago and if you’re from LA, it’s been the soundtrack in everyone’s car pretty much this whole week. The clean version of the album was prematurely released by mistake on iTunes and shortly after the full explicit version was made available. Kendrick Lamar came out the gate breaking records with his new album. He made Spotify history and had 9.6 million streams on the first day!
It’s been almost 3 years since we had some new Kendrick music so we weren’t too sure on what we would get from him. The new album isn’t as aggressive production wise as “good kid, m.A.A.d city,” but Kendrick makes up for the that lyrically.
Aside from Kendrick’s crazy bars, the production on it is just as incredible. The presence of pianist Robert Glasper, producer/sax player Terrace Martin and bass player Thundercat can be felt throughout the whole album. Basically Jazz compositions with Hip-Hop beats/raps over it and even some spoken word at one point on the “For Free? (Interlude)”.
Yo! The album has so many great songs that it’s hard to choose a favorite, but some songs off the album that we gravitated to are “King Kunta,” where Dot transforms into a 2015 Compton bred James Brown. One of the more gritty beats on the album, Dot let’s everyone know that he’s here and the thrown is HIS. Other stand out tracks include “Institutionalized” featuring Snoop, Bilal & Anna Wise, “These Walls,” “Alright,” “How Much A Dollar Cost,” and of course, “Mortal Man”. On the song “Mortal Man,” he puts together a back and forth conversation between him and the late Tupac using old sound bites from Tupac’s past interviews. Another song that really stood out is “Hood Politics”. Dot plays Obama with an attitude, and touches on some of the obstacles he’s had to deal with on his way to that podium. This is definitely an album you have to listen to if you appreciate great Hip-Hop!
Go support great music and grab “To Pimp A Butterfly” album on iTunes NOW. Shouts to our TDE family and special thanks to Kendrick Lamar for another incredible body of work.
We wanna know your thoughts on the album as well. Have you heard the album? If so, what’s your favorite song? Drop a comment below and let us know what you think of the album so far. Be sure to check out more from us on power106.com & laleakers.com as well!