American hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar's latest music album To Pimp A Butterfly was released a week earlier than expected and surprised many fans. The album has already taken the Internet by storm and has been streamed over 9.6 million times by Spotify users just a day after it was released.
To Pimp A Butterfly addresses a number of concerns such as race, desire, madness and power.
"He kicks off the long album with songs such as 'For Free' and 'King Kunta' that reference slavery. But he hasn't turned into a lecturer or a scold. In tracks like 'U,' Lamar expresses his personal fears in a rush of rhymes so anxious, it sounds like he's about to have a mental breakdown," said Jim Farber of New York Daily News.
The album is also being compared with Lamar's previous album good kid, m.A.A.d city, which was quite popular in the hip hop community.
"While the album's extreme density warrants plenty of digestion time, it's apparent from the first few listens that it's worthy of the same sort of praise won by its predecessor, 2012's 'good kid, m.A.A.d city,'" said TIME's Jamieson Cox.
Some listeners think that Lamar has been very honest in the latest album and the language of the lyrics has been very skillfully phrased.
"From the start, his ambition has been astounding. This record is so expansive that it's tough to wrestle into shape, even as it overflows with wit, smarts and a masterful skill of the language and phrasing," said Randall Roberts of the LA Times.
Some fans of Lamar believe that To Pimp A Butterfly is not something to be played at clubs, but the album is a poetic concept, which talks about various problems in society.
"If you're interested in a poetic, cinematic concept album about race, good vs. evil, depression, rap culture, government, the double edged sword of fame, how to use your influence for good and other realizations, then you will leave 'To Pimp A Butterfly' satisfied," said Caitlin Carter of Music Times.
The album has more than 15 tracks but some listeners feel that listening to the entire album makes more sense rather than listening to just one track.
"This is an album in the old-fashioned sense - like his debut, it makes greater sense as whole, and requires full engagement all the way through," said Kris Ex on Billboard.com.
The first words listeners hear are "Every nig*** is a star." Lamar talks about the sensitive N-word and how it controls black people. He redefines the N-word as "negus," which is an old Amharic word that denotes royalty.
"Lamar is already a star, though, and throughout 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' the uplift of his people is intertwined with the personal guilt and self-loathing elicited by his own fame and platform," suggested Alex Macpherson of the Guardian.
It will cost $14.99 to download To Pimp A Butterfly from iTunes. Single tracks are also available at a cost of $1.29 each. The album is available in clean and also explicit versions. Users have the option to download the version of their choice.
The entire album is also available for streaming on Spotify.
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Photo: Jon Elbaz | Flickr
