To Pimp A Butterfly

A jazzy, soulful hiphop record, which is considered one of the best hip-hop records of 2015, arguably the 2010s. The fast paced Wesley's Theory to the chilled out yet meaningful 'Institutionalized', to the chaotic 'u' to the track more reminiscent of its gangsta rap roots 'Alright', to the darker sounding 'The Blacker The Berry', to the happy, motivational live song 'i' that slowly decends into a riot in the audience, ending with an inspirational speech by Lamar, to the 12 minute finalising 'Mortal Man' which also completes the poem said throughout the album. A solid listen at its finest. Even if you're not a fan of rap, anyone can at least have something to appreciate about this record, whether it be the detailed, complex production, the jazzy, acoustic instrumentals or simply some chilled beats to kick back to. A lot of Kendrick's lyrics throughout the album really make you sit there and think 'wow. he just said that?' and even if you didn't grow up in Section 8 housing in Compton, anyone, privileged or not, can relate to this album. Overall, it doesn't sound like much at first listen, but once you let it grow on you, it really sticks in your mind, at least for a while.

When you open an album with a song like Wesley's Theory, then it's bound to be a masterpiece.

A sonic and lyrical challenge. One of my favorite albums. A gold standard of what makes the last decade in music so special.

This is one of the best albums ever!!!

5+

Generational quality

very good songs

Sensacional, maravilhoso!!

Don't really need to explain why this is 5 stars

This album was my introduction to Kendrick back in 2015 which was a memorable year as I became a father for the first time. Listening back has given me flashbacks to memories I had forgotten. The power of music. Great album, even without the reveries.

A third listen for me and I still know I'm missing things. A true masterpiece full of layers. Wesley's Theory - 4.9/5 For Free? (Interlude) - 4.7/5 King Kunta - 5/5 Institutionalized - 5/5 These Walls - 4.9/5 u - 5/5 Alright - 5/5 For Sake? (Interlude) - 5/5 Momma - 4.9/5 Hood Politics - 4.7/5 How Much A Dollar Cost - 5/5 Complexion (A Zulu Love) - 5/5 The Blacker The Berry - 5/5 You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) - 4.6/5 I - 5/5 Mortal Man - 5/5 Total - 4.9/5

A modern masterpiece and a perfect album.

When To Pimp a Butterfly first came out, I was firmly in the camp of “It is technically flawless, but it has very little replay value because there’s no song on here that I would play outside the context of the album.” I liked it, but I revisited GKMC way more. Time has proven that critique wrong. If GKMC was a standout designer perfume like YSL Libre that could be enjoyed by anyone regardless if they’ve developed a nose not, TPAB is a popular niche house that pulls from different influences and incorporates it into something unique, like D.S. & Durga’s Debaser. You can still appreciate TPAB without a nose, and walk in blind, but a developed nose will get more out of it, and the longer you let it macerate, the better it smells. I think songs like “King Kunta” and “Alright” have transcended culture, and their impact has made them more timeless than they felt upon release. Meanwhile, songs that were initially panned by fans like “i” or “u” or “These Walls” for being a bit stranger make a lot more sense in retrospect when reflecting on Kendrick’s career and hip-hop’s aesthetics today. Some of the deeper cuts that used contemporary synths that I thought would age poorly (“Mortal Man,” “Hood Politics,” “Institutionalized,” “How Much a Dollar Cost”) all won me over this time because of their strong songwriting. And then there’s still bangers throughout, like “Wesley’s Theory” and “You Ain’t Gotta Lie,” and most obviously “The Blacker the Berry.” TPAB has also benefited from its own creative incubation. As people like Kamasi Washington, James Fauntleroy, and Thundercat have grown in popularity, the sounds being explored on TPAB are a lot more digestible than I thought they were initially. And I would say the same for a lot of the more overt lyrical topics, especially on “How Much a Dollar Cost” and “Complexion,” where that blunt writing style is a bit less jarring today. If you asked, I would still say I prefer GKMC over TPAB. But I think it’s just a taste thing, and GKMC fits more neatly into what I traditionally listen to in my day to day life. That said, TPAB has a lot of replayability, and is arguably the more masterfully crafted record. To say it’s not a classic would be an insane statement, and it is neck-and-neck with GKMC. Both records are incredible, and easily some of the greatest offerings in hip-hop history, and even in music history in general.

Great album. Well known for me. A lot of great beats. One of the best HH albums of all time.

Modern fucking masterpiece. Got me back into rap when it was first released, such a genius move to incorporate jazz. Socially conscious and forever relevant.

One of THE best albums of all time

Wowza! No matter how many times I listen to this landmark release in West Coast hip-hop, I always feel like I'm just a step away from fully grasping what it's really trying to say. I mean on the surface level, it seems to be an album about Kendrick's struggle with fame and self in a society that thrives on dwindling African-American achievement, growth, and agency - but its nuances run deeper than that and each track offers some variant spin on that overarching theme. Grapples with self-love and hate, sexuality, consumerism, and institutionalism are all key topics discussed in the various songs here. I can't lie, this is a dense album, and I can see why some may prefer the predecessor to this one 'GKMC' for that exact reason. In that album, the story is linear, while here, it's divided into little chunks, and there is no plot, just an overarching concept. I prefer GKMC, but more so for nostalgic reasons (and I just enjoy the songs there more). Conceptually though, this album always won for me. Each song is like an insightful deep dive into a section of Kendrick's psyche relating to his status at the time. Sonically, it feels like all of Hip-Hop's ideas in the past 25 years (at the time of its release) coming to a head in one of the most immaculately intricate productions in the genre. Jazz, rock, funk, and soul fuse seamlessly on many of these instrumentals. The opener 'Wesley's Theory', for example, has so many layers of synth, vocals, and brass constantly panning in and out that it's almost overwhelming upon first listen. 'King Kunta' is an absolute bop with one of my favorite outros and 'The Blacker the Berry' has the most ferocious boom-bap beat here. The imbalanced panning during the 'u' transition and the bass on 'Mortal Man' or two other highlights here. This album is ginormous, and Kendrick and his production crew pull out all the stops to make sure each sound and detail here is as fleshed out as can be. Lyrically and flow-wise, it'd be redundant to call Kendrick Lamar an all-timer. His overt "gimmickiness" on many of these songs where a single rhythmic motif is established over a unique cadence can turn some people off - it works wonders for me though. My favorite has to be 'u' which is a song that until this day, blows me away with just how emotive Kendrick is with describing his feelings of self-loathing and guilt. I really didn't need to write all that much for this album, it speaks for itself. 'To Pimp A Butterfly' defies all of what mainstream hip-hop was pushing around 2015 (a trend that I particularly like still), while still managing to do numbers on the chart with songs like 'i', 'King Kunta', and 'Alright'. It's a one-of-a-kind release in a decade and deserves all the praise it got - and continues to get.

Nothing much to say about this beside…

Just so good.

I had kinda given up on modern rap music until this came along. I was enticed into listening to it after seeing the production credits and features - Flying Lotus, Thurdercat, Kamasi Washington, some of the best from the LA best scene - not to mention George Clinton. The blend of Jazz, P-funk and the overall concept of the album was so refreshing, even if it didn’t tick the boxes for fans of rhyming triplets over 808s and trap hi-hats. I haven’t heard anything like it since, solidifying this as a stand out classic.

a personal favorite

Ovo će bit predvidljivi pet dva rating gog krlo

Fantastic

Best hip hop album of the decade

an immaculate album that i had played to the point that i couldn’t hear it anymore.. twas nice to listen to the whole thing.. man, king kunta still slaps

6/5

A modern classic

THIS IS A WORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRLD PREMIERE

It's currently May 5th, 2024 when I write this and I feel like this generator just gives out albums at the most perfect time. For future reference there is an ongoing beef with Kendrick and Drake and Kendrick is just killing him with the hardest diss songs. So for that to happening while it generated this is truly funny. Another great coincidence what literally the day the Queen of England died, this site recommended The Queen is Dead by The Smiths. To move on to the actual album itself, I mean, how can I sum up a perfect album like this. It's been in my rotation since I first heard back in 2017. The mix of jazz and the hardesr drum beats (especially on The Blacker The Berry). The messages each song are still as relevant and more hard hitting nearly 10 years later. From police brutality on Alright, to the topic of survivors guilt and un-dealt trauma from the past and how no matter how successful Kendrick might be, he still feels like he is a hypocrite for being to busy to help his friends and family who still live in Compton. Or how his success might be making lose his sense and connection to his culture with what fame has brought and that leads to the song How Much A Dollar Cost where because Kendrick has achieved such wealth and success after going to through a rough childhood as detailed in Good Kid mAAd City, he became more selfish and wouldn't give a homeless man a dollar and it metaphorically and litteraly lost him a spot in heaven because he ignored a message that even his mom told near the end of the last album "When you do make it, give back with your words of encouragement and that's the best way to give back to your city" and just how he chose to value his material belongings and couldn't give back to held a person in need just one dollar. Going back to him being a hypocrite, even he knows that he can be in the wrong and might care because the song These Walls, despite being one of the best sounding songs on the album. It's about him getting the most petty revenge by having sex with a girl who's boyfriend shot Kendrick's friend in Sing About Me on GKMC, and is now in prison, basically humiliating this guy to the world that his girl in unfaithful and sleeping with his opps. I think one of the top 3 songs though has to be The Blacker The Berry. Kendrick is pissed in this song and you can hear the hatred and anger in his voice, not only towards racist white people, but near the end when he explains that he can reclaim stereotypes of black people, and he can twist any insult towards him or his people, but he still feels like a hypocrite when he showed remose for the murder of Trayvon Martin, but still lead a life where before he would gun down black people as well showing how he want's the unnecessary and cruel violence towards black people to stop but knows he was in a similar situation himself and continued that cycle of violence. I could go on and on about each track but I'll just say, this is a required listening experience. From the obvious poem that Kendrick reveals more and more at the end of songs and you only hear the full poem and understand it's meaning from where it stops to what song comes immediately afterwards. The lushish jazz influenced beats, the songs U and I, and the last song Mortal Man with that last part of the song, if you know you know because I don't want to spoil it for someone who hasn't listened before and doesn't know what to entail because there's still a bunch a stuff I haven't yet talked about. Just give this a listen it. It's truly one of the best albums in the last 10 years and maybe ever.

instant 5/5, replay value is immense

Oh yes, hell yes. I've listened to this dozens of times. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest albums of all time. The best conscious hip-hop you can find. "Mortal Man" gives me ASMR every time I listen to this album. Kendrick conveys emotion so easily. His delivery leaves nothing to be desired, The production is scary good. Just amazing.

Better than J Cole. Better than Drake. Better than your favorite rapper. Singer songwriter. Better than pancakes on a Sunday. Wish more artists took the time to be this thorough and specific. Anyways, I thought you was conflicted.

And here's Kendrick *second* masterpiece in a row, right after official debut album *good kid, m.A.A.d city*. Just like the artwork on its cover, it's unruly, wild, provocative, filled to the brim with brilliant ideas and nice touches--its questioning of the American dream as African Americans can perceive it, its autobiographical musings, its different "characterizations", the wide variety of different rap flows and intents performed according to the "character" (or side of Kendrick's persona) this genius rapper puts under the spotlight, plus music styles so varied--drawing from P funk, hard funk, jazz, r'n'b, and of course hip hop--that the whole shebang is bound to make your head spin when you reach the end of this record. The last five minutes where, through an editing trick, K-Dot interviews the idol of his youth 2Pac and then leaves his final "thoughts" to him (and to the listener), is a moment that can easily make you shiver--even if, like me, you're not really a fan of Tupac Shakur's work. Evidence enough that Kendrick Lamar is a genius songwriter and storyteller. Of course, many other stellar moments abound in this essential LP. First you've got the highlights, which are too numerous to be all mentioned here, from "King Kunta to BLM's unofficial anthem "Alright", from enticing "These Walls" to the draker "How Much A Dollar Cost", and from the tense and intense "The Blacker The Berry" to the moving closer "Mortal Man". And then you have all the secondary tracks and 'interludes", which never distract from the whole but actually strengthen it--adding layers upon layers on the "fabric" unspooled here. A rare occurence for a hip hop LP, often pestered with too many unnecessary "skits". Versatile, multi-facetd, infectious, conceptually ambitious... One of the best rap albums of all time, which left us so many details to discover (again), and whose "rough" and raw power of attraction is potentially inexhaustible. Number of albums left to review: 215 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 344 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 199 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 251

Forms of media often have critical consensus albums that are used as the benchmark for the top of the top. It’s become the tired cliché for writers to lazily dub their top pick as the “Citizen Kane” of its format. If I were to do the same with an album as the example. To Pimp A Butterfly would be the project of my choice. This album is the greatest album of all time according to users on RYM, AOTY, and many other sources. I’m coming out to the gate with no shame in saying that I strongly agree. To Pimp a Butterfly is the greatest album of all time, not by a complete longshot but if any album surplants its placement, it’s going to need to beat the sheer scale, influence, audience consensus, personal impact, and plethora of other factors that influence my placement. First off, this album was the album that got me into taking Hip-Hop and rap as an art form as well as listening to albums seriously. I was young at the time I first heard TPAB. When I first heard the impressive flows, creative lyricism, powerful performances, and unique jazz production, I was hooked. It showed me that Hip-Hop could be both mind-blowingly cool, intelligent, and mainstream. It showed me how music could sequence well to tell impressive expansive stories and give wonderful extended experiences. I fell in love with just playing tracks off of it, but I slowly fell more into listening to albums, I saw how well it was acclaimed, I started searching for more rap, more music that people rated highly collectively. By 2020, I was writing short reviews on as many albums as I possibly could during covid as my main hobby that brought comfort and peace during Quarantine. I wouldn’t be doing this right now without Kendrick Lamar and To Pimp a Butterfly As for the project itself, Kendrick Lamar took his colorful personal storytelling and internal introspection on good kid, m.A.A.d city and elevated it to a different intersectional level on To Pimp A Butterfly. The wonderful narrative device of a powerful yet memetic poem reveals itself track by track. The way it shows hardships and personal struggle caused by what should be a triumphant return to home as a hero who can do something about it only to find out he can’t. The wonderful things Kendrick Learns from it are taught through a multitude of excellently detailed musical elements. The intense Jazz heavy boom-bap production is something that is so unique and astounding that no one even dared to attempt anything similar in the rap world or revisit it due to how extremely well the talented cast of guest musicians and featured producers crafted it. It’s a musical style that will stand out well beyond time. Kendricks flows showcase his musical excellence through tight unwavering control and dynamic showcase. Even his singing is produced well enough to be pleasing. His lyricism is beyond another level, weaving tight layered references into mind blowing rhymes while constructing these impressive layered stories. There is an immense amount of depth to be uncovered from this project and it still keeps TPAB fresh every time I return to it. Tracklist and sequencing is extremely well done but it’s impossible to mess up when every song on this album is an arguable top five, maybe even best in his discography. It's easier for most people to pick a song they dislike from this project and say everything else is the best. Even decisions like throwing in a Live version of I and having the length of the project be decently overwhelming work well in its favor due to the quality of everything around it. As much as it could be a part of me not wanting to let something personal go, every time I’ve had an album challenge TPAB for the top spot, I go back and I listen to it and it wins. I’m open to the idea that there may be an album or two I come across during this project that may have the chance and I’ll know if it wins but this project is undefeated vs what has to be over 3,000 others I’ve put a rating and ranking on and many more that I haven’t. TPAB is the ultimate expression of love for everything that made Kendrick into the person he is despite everything in the world against him and especially the people around him who aren’t there, whether they are with him or not. It moves and motivates you through every challenge, difficulty, and challenge that seems to present itself through the artistic way Kendrick literally battles his demons. Not only did I get TPAB at the perfect time for myself but the world did for itself too. Kendick Lamar is the G.O.A.T. With the greatest album of all time A.K.A. To Pimp A Butterfly.

one of the greatest

Finally some rap. Complex album. I don't know if it's my favourite from Kendrick but still fantastic. Love 'Alright' and 'How Much a Dollar Cost.' King Kunta of course.

This is easily the best hip hop album of all time.

This is a movie, with a story and a point of view.

Wow. Put this on to make some crafts on a Saturday night but by the end I was only staring at the lyrics and couldn't look away.

Awesome. Original. Eye opening.

not even ten years old, and it’s already a classic.

El mejor disco de la década de los 2010. En una mezcla perfecta de talento musical por parte de los productores del LP, las letras de Kendrick y de sus colaboradores, las cuales se centran en la realidad afroamericana, sus luchas y sus creencias políticas, Lamar nos entrega una obra maestra que será para siempre recordada en los panteones más altos del Hip-Hop norteamericano.

This was a WHOLE movie, I've never heard anything like it. I'll need to go back and listen to it a few more times because I'm absolutely certain I missed some things. Even if I'm not the biggest rap fan, I really like Kendrick's style of rap, especially with the jazz and funk influences. Favorite song: For Free? (Interlude) Least favorite song: Hood Politics

This is a stunning work of experimental and conscious hip hop. So many eclectic touches. Just a brilliant record.

The best rap album of all time. If you think this album is just about money and girls and usual rap stuff, you completely misunderstood both the lyrics and the background knowledge needed for it. Please do yourself a favour and listen to this album with genius lyrics so people with actual brain cells can help you understand what he is saying

Doesn't have the carefree summer- time vibe of Good Kid, Maad City, but the more introspective turn doesn't disappoint. This album takes the listener on a rollercoaster through temptation and addiction with the light of salvation at the end. Still upset this album lost Album of the Year to Taylor Swift's '1989'

CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC Ik vind zelf stiekem Good Kid, Maad City beter, maar dit is echt nog altijd top 5 albums van 2010s voor mij. Als je dit nog nooit hebt gehoord moet je dit gewoon aanzetten, er zijn weinig albums die zo impactvol zijn qua muziek, qua tekst, qua tijdsgeest. Kendrick Lamar is voor mij sowieso de allerbeste rapper op dit moment. Dat was hij na TPAB, dat was hij nog meer naar DAMN. en hij heeft zn positie verstevigd met Mr Morale & the big steppers. Er zijn hele essays geschreven over de teksten op dit album over alle dubbele en triple entendres. Maar zelfs als je dat buiten beschouwing laat is het ook gewoon nog een goed album om te luisteren. Echt insane als je het mij vraagt. Fuck it, ik wilde het eerst 4 sterren geven, maar eigenlijk kan ik geen matig nummer noemen op dit album, het heeft geen skips voor mij, dus dit moet gewoon 5 sterren zijn. Dan is GKMC wel 6 ofzo tegen dit tijd. FAVO: Alles. Misschien het minste zijn For Free? en For Sale? en dat zijn fucking interludes.

I didn't even have to re-listen to this album to know that I was going to score it 5 stars. It initially took me a while to get into when I first heard it a few years back, but when it hit, it hit HARD. I'd now put this album in my top 10 of all time; it's just that good. It's lyrically thought provoking, musically diverse, extremely emotional in places; just everything I want out of a record. The production is so layered and complex, I literally hear new things every time I listen to it. If I HAD to say something negative, it would b...nah, only kidding. Favourite songs: yes.

cant stay focused. i feel like im going insane.

Jazzy conscious west coast hip hop. I mean there's a reason RYM has this rated as the best album of all time. I don't necessarily agree with it but there's definitely a reason. A beautifully introspective political concept album, TPAB is so dense that even though I have heard it many times before, I am still noticing new things I never heard before. Kendrick's flow and lyricism is nearly unmatched in all of the hip hop or rap I have ever heard. I love the poem that serves as a through-line for the whole album, popping up and adding more each time. With over an hour run time, it's amazing that it remained so consistently entertaining. I can't praise this album nearly enough, and others have already done so in ways I could never. This is an all time classic, people already look back on it as a decade defining release. A rewarding listen both for the brain and the heart. I will no doubt continue to revisit this album. Perfect album. 5/5

G.O.A.T K-dot album.

I think everyone knew when this came out that it was something special, something that would become an instant classic and have immense staying power, changing the shape of modern music. It’s the 5th highest-ranked album of all time on Metacritic, and it’s quickly risen to #17 on Acclaimed Music, #19 on Best Ever Albums, #19 by Rolling Stone, #7 by Consequence of Sound, and #1 on Rate Your Music. With the possible exception of Rolling Stone, it’s the best rap album ever in all of these lists. Nearly 10 years after release, I’d say it for sure holds up. It’s an absolute masterpiece. Sometimes when you gather so much great talent together on one album, it doesn’t equal the sum of its parts. That’s not the case here. There’s a variety of producers including Thundercat and Flying Lotus. There’s a variety of guest musicians like Snoop Dogg, SZA, and Robert Isley. But it’s really Kamasi Washington who shines above all else (other than Kendrick Lamar himself of course): while he only plays sax on “U”, he arranged strings and instrumentals for most of the album, and in my opinion that’s what really skyrockets this album to the heights it achieved. Regardless of how good the lyrics are (and Kendrick’s are bar none), you need great backing music to get the songs to stick in your mind.

Want to give six stars and I’m not even a hip hop fan

Really interesting album. The production is amazing and I enjoyed the mixed of styles. You can hear Thundercat and flying lotus’s influence. It reminded me of the weirdness of Outkast. The album is too long though(this is always a pitfall of hip hop albums). Also It’s pretty funny that even in alternative hip hop there is still a requirement to rap about having sex and being rich. It’s a good album though and it’s nice to hear something groundbreaking and different.

4,6

Immaculate

An all-timer. Never listened to it back to front and I’m glad I did. It tells a story that I would never be able to experience. You can feel the weight of Kendrick’s words in places. In others, I’d say it’s more lighthearted. That or he’s just that passionate about the size of his dong. Either way 5/5.

Masterpiece

Incredible of course

yes

I think Kendrick is super talented. 5/5

I’ve never listened to more than one Kendrick song at a time. I now understand the hype. This would be best listened to on vinyl as you get to experience the seamlessness of one track into the next. Truely moving.

We all knew this was a 5 outta 5. There’s so much that’s been said on so many levels about this album, so I’d just like to say that what I appreciate most about Kendrick, on this album and in general, is that he gives his ALL in these performances. No one can ever question Kendrick’s dedication to his craft, his consideration in his lyricism, or his effort in his performances. I’m glad I’m around at the same time Kendrick is around, I’m glad he makes it cool to push oneself in dedication to one’s craft. This album is a crowning achievement and a brilliant ode to specifically the black experience and the human experience in general.

An incredible album. TPAB is so densely packed with ideas and themes that I think to properly appreciate it, you'd have to go through every track with Genius open (which I have done for a few of them). I'm always conscious of missing some of his metaphors! His lyrics are really incredible, it's the magnum opus of one of the greatest rappers ever. Kendrick pulls absolutely no punches in his commentary of racial tension in America, while also being incredibly personal at times too. The musical styles and collaborations across this record also show what a great songwriter he is, as well as lyricist.

My favorite Kendrick album. Songs like King Kunta, Alright, and How Much a Dollar Cost are masterful, funky, and soulful, but, it is difficult to get past the misogyny laced throughout and some of the interludes just didn't do it for me.

Masterpiece

One of the best rap albums of the 2010’s. I think good kid maad city is the best of his and one of the best of all time. Ez one of the goats.

One of the most moving rap albums of all time for me. I do personally prefer GKMC but this is his magnum opus.

There is a reason this album surpassed OK COMPUTER on rateyourmusic. Album is perfect, has the best lyricism of the past decade, and incredible production. This is a must listen for everyone. Highlights: all, but favorites are 1, 2, 3, 11, and 16.

One of the best hip hop albums of the decade. Nuff said, this was impressive and excellent.

This is a great example of the constant evolution of rap. Where other genres stall, rap continues to prove how things don’t need to, nor should they stay the same.

I listened to this many times before

Heard it! Classic

I don't even like rap. Album Score: 10/10 Best Song: i Worst Song: You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)

10/10

More of the last album, but with this super unique Neo-Neo Soul funk jazz production. Obviously incredible. A+

One of the best hip-hop albums ever created.

I remember you was conflicted

The best rap album of all time

Kendrick is the man. No notes.

it blew my mind the first time i heard it and continues to blow my mind every time. maybe a perfect album.

I've been waiting for Kendrick. I'm hopeful for little enough misogyny to accept him as the greatest of all time. ...Wow. Such power. Incredible. Absolutely deserves the title. That Tupac interview at the end? So good. Loved the Thundercat features, what a great ride.

Creative and well executed, less catchy than good kid maad city. Better than most if not all rap out there so gets the 5

"Sky could fall down wind could cry now look at me motherfu** I smile, I love myself".

great beautiful and stunning twists and turns.

I’m very familiar with this album. Going into it, the only question was whether I’d rate it 4 or 5 stars. I think this gets better every time I listen. Knowing that the poem is going to culminate in a conversation with Tupac helps. Going to rate it five stars. It’s so inventive and layered. It would be easier to list the songs I don’t love.

Speaks for itself

I mean how good is Wesley s theory though. That song is so layered and funky. The only song that hasn't held up as well over the years is king kunta, but it's still a fun bop. Probably in my top 3 albums

Two Kendrick albums in one week! And they’re both masterpieces! This is so fucking good. Every song while it’s playing, I’m thinking “this is my fave,” and then the next one comes on. Incredible!

Bringing funk into a new millennium, Kendrick created a classic.

Top ten all time album

Wow. 5

Just totally ahead of what was coming out in 2015. Kendrick going from Good Kid MAAD City to this is fucking crazy. 5/5

banging

Incredibly hard-hitting, powerful and thought provoking poetry set to some great beats. Good stuff. I was amazed!

4.5/5

Absolutely incredible

One of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever made, and arguably one of the best albums, period. Conceptually brilliant from start to finish, immaculate production throughout with many different influences and styles studied and blended together seamlessly, and lyrics that are creative, intricately crafted, and captivating from one of the best to ever do it. This album is the perfect, Grade-A example of an artist's magnum opus

A damn good hip hop album. Lots of experimental tracks pulling influences from literally everywhere. I've never heard anything like this before and I'm sad it took this long to hear it. Standout tracks: King Kunta, These Walls, Momma, The Blacker the Berry

Wow

A masterpiece

This doesn't sound like anything I've heard before!

This is awesome.

Hip hop is by far my worst genre on here, but holy mother of something this album is absolutely insane! I've listened to it casually here and there before, but giving it a bit more attention opens up a whole new dimension. The lyrics are funny here and devastating here. The instrumentals and samples are both amazingly utilized, and the inclusion of the interview at the end is surprisingly beautiful.

I remember you was conflicted. Kendrick Lamar is the best rapper of all time and this is the best rap album of all time. This album had a huge effect on me. As someone who was always a casual rap fan, the release of this album made me dive deeper into rap. Years later, I still love all the songs. It’s hard to pick a favorite.

I like “King Kunta” and “How Much A Dollar Cost.” Like the jazzy elements. “The Blacker the Berry” DAMN.

Coming in, TPAB was not the absolute top-tier listen that Good Kid, m.A.A.d City or DAMN. is, but still a really amazing rap album. Felt like it sat in that category of mid-2010s hip-hop album that is making strides in advanced in its scope and artistry, but somewhat at the cost of listenability and fun factor, similar to Frank Ocean's Blonde and Solange Knowles' A Seat At The Table. And listening now, I feel I was wrong. Incredible and newfound respect for it.

Beautiful album

fua hace mucho no escuchaba un disco q me guste tanto de 1

Modern classic, and potentially the greatest hip hop album ever.

Seminal hip hop album. Love the mix of jazz etc. Kendrick on top form.

Überraschend funky und abwechslungsreich

Another one I needed a physical copy of

Don't have anything anything to criticize about this albums really. It's simply extraordinary. From the genially written hitting poetic, but also raw, lyrics, the insane production giving it a really polished feel to the masterful, educated and tastful blend of music genres that takes inspiration from and honors a wide range of influential pieces of the history of music and many other aspects that make this a true piece of art. I also really like how the album works as a cohorent piece of music that works with the fact that it's supposed to be listened to as a one piece with really nice song transitions and interludes. It's truly a wonderful album that I will for sure be coming back to in the future. 9/10

This goes way too hard given I'm not exactly an avid hip hop listener. Love the different musical styles.

A hip hop masterpiece. Some of the songs are more like sketches, but the entirety feels complete. King Kunta is worthy of a 5 star rating by itself.

This is a big, dense album but the music always carries me through it. It's a mash-up of G-funk and sensual R&B with sudden bursts of free jazz. There's always some new detail to discover or a groove I forgot about. Some great bass lines throughout the album too. Kendrick Lamar is a rapper who has flows for days. He's restless on the mic, constantly changing up his style and rhythm. And he plays with his voice too. Most of the time he raps in that nasally tone but sometimes he growls, sometimes he sings, sometimes he's out of breath. On "U" he raps a verse while acting like he's drunk and crying. The lyrics are dense and it's hard to keep up with him because he moves through ideas so fast. You could probably spend a week in a college course pulling at the different threads of race, politics and sex. But I also like how a lot of the album is confessional. He's getting things off his chest, struggling with guilt and working through his personal anger. "King Kunta" is a such a killer, funky jam. And the jazzy "For Free?" is always fun (amazing music video too). The middle of the album has a lot of slower R&B-styled songs and the production on those tracks is great too.

I was reeeaaallly blown away by Kendrick Lamar the first time I gave him a good listen. I had heard some tracks from "good kid maad city" in passing but it wasn't until this album that I sat and give him a listen and man did it blow me away. I kind of felt like at the time for me personally there was a dearth of good rap for years, even though I know that wasn't the case. I was just behind on acts. I was late on Mac Miller and MF DOOM and Death Grips and RTJ. I liked Kanye and would listen but he was never my favorite. I loved J Dilla and Nujabes but they were different. The last time I was hard into a rapper was The Game, and "The Documentary" came out in 2005- ten years prior to "To Pimp A Butterfly". I had a ten year gap of minimal rap! Then this comes out and I can't get "King Kunta" or "Alright" out of my head. I'm driving to work and pumping myself up and singing "WE GON BE ALRIGHT". I'm walking around my apartment complex to get my mail and i'm singing "Now I run the game got the whole world talkin King Kunta" to a cadence that matches my footsteps. I am forever impressed by his rhythmic modulation and metric subdivisions. On "For Free?”, it’s highlighted so well (and smooth!) as the accents change when he gets to the lyrics: "Matter of fact, see our friendship based on business Pension, more pension, you're pinchin my percents It's been relentless, fuck forgiveness, fuck your feelings" "Fuck your sources, all distortion, if you fuck it's more abortion More divorce courts and portion" This free jazzy rhythmic improv style flow is so impressively fresh and new feeling. I mean it's an element of music that's been done before but here he is taking this concept and bringing it to a genre that seldom hears something like this. I love it! And it's definitely not easy to incorporate these sounds into a rap song and not sound "weird" or "off". That's something that I think must be incredibly difficult in rap- to explore ideas and push boundaries while not upsetting the conventions. There's just so much posturing and issues / importance centering around personal image in the rap game and once you get a negative label I’m sure it’s near impossible to shake off. You have to make the risk worth it. I can't believe that "For Free?" is #14 out of 16 in play counts on this record (as per Spotify). This is one of my favorite rap songs ever. Possibly a top 100 song of all time for me. His flow is just one of the important parts. His voice is cool. It's silky. It's smooth. It's scathing. In the middle of "Institutionalized" he sounds like Snoop Dogg (right before a Snoop feature on the same track lol). Then two songs later he is cry-singing on "u". His lyrics are the third part of the equation. They are a social commentary. They are personal. They are intimate. They are funny as hell! Outside of pulling from jazz, he also pulls from classical music. Somehow he uses motifs as well (and I suspect leitmotif, (of Richard Wagner fame) but I need to do a deeper look at the lyrics and people he is talking about to get a fuller understanding). An example of this is in Track 1, "Wesley's Theory", just prior to the gangsta rap west coast 90's high pitched synth callback: "What you want you? A house or a car? Forty acres and a mule, a piano, a guitar? Anythin', see, my name is Uncle Sam, I'm your dog Motherfucker, you can live at the mall" and then again on "Alright": "What you want you, a house? You, a car? Forty acres and a mule? A piano, a guitar? Anything, see my name is Lucy, I'm your dog Motherfucker, you can live at the mall" Also the big lyrical section that pervades throughout and evolves - the one that starts at the end of "King Kunta", "I remember you was conflicted Misusing your influence" and then the lyric further develops at the start of "These Walls" Sometimes I did the same" and then the lyric further develops at the end of "These Walls" "Abusing my power full of resentment Resentment that turned into a deep depression Finding myself screaming in a hotel room" and then further developed at the end of "Alright": "I didn't want to self-destruct The evils of Lucy was all around me So I went running for answers" and then further developed at the end of "For Sale?": "until I came home." and then on "Hood Politics": "but that didn't stop survivor's guilt going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes i earned or maybe how A1 my foundation was. But while my loved ones was fighting a continuous war back in the city I was entering in a new one." Then we get the final verses from the final track in the album "Mortal Man": "A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned The word was respect Just because you wore a different gang color than mine's Doesn't mean I can't respect you as a black man Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us But I don't know, I'm no mortal man, maybe I'm just another nigga" Interesting stuff right? It's obvious that it is a conversation that he wanted with Tupac with the spliced back and forth that they have at the end of the album. I assume he is a hero of Kendrick's, and someone who went through similar life circumstances, only to end up with the same potential problem- not maximizing what you are doing for the world with your fame. I see this final conversation as maybe a realization of a dream that Kendrick had, because obviously it couldn’t have actually happened, with Tupac dying when Kendrick was only 9. There’s something sad about how this whole album plays out with him writing this poem (even though he says “it ain’t really a poem”) and the conclusion of it maybe being some kind of final magical event that summons Tupac for him to have the conversation, but only for it to come and go and leave Kendrick with wanting to say more… or wanting more advice. "What's your perspective on that? Pac? Pac? Pac?!" Maybe it’s a passing of the torch, and Tupac has gifted everything that he can. I really love the idea of this album evolving and growing as the poem does, and having the poem repeated over and over again. What a gift to hear this on studio speakers too. I've been listening to this on bad bluetooth headphones, or through bad car speakers for years and this is my first time bumpin this in my studio. Hell yea. The mix is even better. The spread is sick, and his voice cuts right through the center. The more I've dived into this album the more I've enjoyed it. It's not my favorite album of all time (despite my lengthy review here), but it's certainly an incredible one and potentially my favorite rap album of all time. I don't think I will ever get sick of listening to it, and I will never exhaust the seemingly endless amounts of quality moments in the record. Solid 5/5. Please rap game, make more albums like this.

love this album - I didn't enjoy it hugely when I was younger but now I appreciate it massively.

A great album.

Its such a great album and if these walls could talk, they would agree. The Jazz Funk Inluences are Crazy and brings so much to the Genre of Rap. Such a Genius move letting Thundercat be a big part of this Masterpiece. SHIT DONT CHANGE UNTIL YOU STAND UP AND WASH YOUR ASS NIG*A! Its so energetic and the Message is clear. Gotta give it 5 Stars. Its not like a Go-To Album from k-dot usual for me, but when I listen to it, I LISTEN TO IT. "i" is such ah groovy masterpiece and covers so much love and energy.

Struggled whether to rate this 4 or 5.

game changer

Rolly gang rolly gang rolly gang

Masterpiece

Pretty damn good album. The instrumentals on the album are insanely good and the artist meshed the genres together so well. This album is an absolute masterpiece for someone who was never fully into hip-hop/rap.

Just simply brilliant - sprawling, inventive, lyrical, fierce, coherent and eclectic at the same time. A master class in delving into the multicultural zeitgeist of the day by enveloping it in the sound and feel of LA. Particularly Kendrick’s LA. Have on vinyl and listen constantly. Great lyrics and tunes - just sublime.

Had listened to before but Momma and Hood Politics and How Much A Dollar Costs hit different this time

Masterpiece

A certified classic. If you haven't already I highly recommend listening to the Dissect podcasts series on this album as they do a great job explaining exactly why this album is a masterpiece. Anybody who is a fan of rap/hip-hop has this album in their top 10 and it's not hard to see why.

Been here before but it's nice to see you again. :) This album never gets old. Kendrick is my favourite rapper for a reason.

Literary and penetrating Like listening to an anxiety attack But probably not a lot different from living in America as a Black man.

fantastic

I mean cmon....

Top quality rap album that I don't get back to enough.

Dense. He’s awesome. Long album, over 70 minutes. The blacker the berry got my attention. Need to hear more of his stuff.

This was my favourite album of 2015 and it's no less potent, vitriolic, and on point almost 9 fuckin' years later. A roaring treatise on our fucked up society that really goes to show that ain't nothing changes but the date. "King Kunta" and "I" still bang harder than they had any right to.

Consistent

Can he do no wrong? KL4L

This was an easy 5/5, one of the greatest hip-hop records of all time

Joat 🐐

Some say it's overrated, but I genuinely think it's a classic already. Every track is fantastic, the production is stellar, and I can listen to it front to back every time -- I don't care that it's an hour and twenty minutes. Fav Tracks: ALL, Momma (Underated)

I've had a greater appreciation for this album ever since I took a class in college called The Great American Novel and we talked about this album as a non-literary example of the Great American Novel. Liked it before, have loved it since.

This album actually leaked early a couple of days before the release date, I stayed home from school to listen to it. I can still remember laying on my bed in the dark, staring at the ceiling and hearing the first song on this album fade in and feeling like I was listening to something meaningful. This album taught me more about life then any class could on that Friday Best song: all of them Worst song: none of them PS: this is the greatest album I’ve ever heard

This album is a literary masterpiece. I adore the poet in Duckworth. It narrates the intricate journey to self-love through the life cycle of the caterpillar, the cocoon, and the butterfly, capturing the complex dynamics between humans and their environments – a theme that is both cohesive and inspiring. “The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it In order to protect itself from this mad city While consuming its environment The caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him But praises the butterfly The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness And the beauty within the caterpillar But having a harsh outlook on life The caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak And figures out a way to pimp it to his own benefits Already surrounded by this mad city The caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon Which institutionalizes him He can no longer see past his own thoughts He's trapped When trapped inside these walls certain ideas take root, such as Going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city The result? Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations That the caterpillar never considered, ending the internal struggle Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different They are one and the same"

Important and genius.

One of the best rap albums ever. The production is so complex. The raps are impeccable. This is Kendrick at the top of his game in the midst of the best rap album trifecta of all time.

5 stars. No notes. In my opinion, this is not a hip-hop album. To Pimp a Butterfly is a jazz album.

One of the greatest albums ever made. Perfectly created.

GOAT

Some of the Christian undertones hit in a much weirder way than they used to here. I still think this album is, on the whole, absolutely brilliant.

Absolutely love this one

If you gave this 1 star because it's a rap album, I assume you are either a racist or a loser.

Easy

Don't even need to listen to this as it's one of my favorite records of all time. Curious to see if other Kendrick albums will show up on this list. 9/10

luv it. an album which is an experience vv cool

Album is heavy but v good

This is sick, loved the vibes, instrumentalism and lyrics. One to repeat often.

This is the No.1 album on RYM and I see why. This album got me into hip hop and without it and especially Mortal Man I wouldn't enjoy Hip Hop as much as I do. And yeah it is pretty much perfect. Not my favourite hip hop albums but it is top 5. favourites: Wesleys Theory, King Kunta, Alright, Institutionalized, The Blacker the Berry, Mortal Man least favs: For Sale?, You Ain't Gotta Lie Rating: light 10

5*

I'm finding this hard to review this album, this was my next album to listen to on my 1001 list, and I have listened to it a few times, but I'm not as versed in hip hop and I don't think I have anything intelligent to say about this album. But here I am trying...I love the music and I end up reading the lyrics and have found that Kendrick is so poetic and always has interesting flows. From that first song, I knew I had to check out some more Kendrick and also why haven't I listened to some Funkadelic. The more I listen to this album, the more I like it, I think this will have to be one of those albums I will be changing my rating on in the future. I find it hard to rate something like this because I think my opinion is always growing and changing. Standouts: Wesley's Theory, King Kunta, These Walls, Alright, Momma, How Much a Dollar Cost, The Blacker the Berry, i

The GOAT. Gleder meg til dagen det kommer et bedre album enn dette. Ikke bare er albumet fylt til randen av 10/10 sanger, men det har mange fler lag. Gjennom albumet utfolder det seg et dikt, som igjen reflekterer hele albumets spilleliste. Historien som blir fortalt, og hvordan alt ender med en diskusjon/interview med Mr. Shakur i enden av Mortal Man er fullstendig gåsehud. Krever kanskje å lytte et par ganger gjennom albumet for å forstå, men det er verdt det. Etter å ha hørt albumet et par hundre ganger fortsetter dette albumet å gi enda. Albumet inneholder komplekse rim, forskjellige kung fu flows med babystemmer og drita kenny, og vokalen er overall variert og ubestridt. Hovedsaklig er instrumentalene funk-inspirerte, med en tone som blir satt tidlig i Wesley's Theory. Det er fortsatt sanger som er så mye mer enn bare funk, med grusomt aggressive sanger som The blacker the berry. Hele albumet består av highlights, men hvis jeg skal velge noen personlige favoritter er det Wesley's Theory, For Free?, Institutionalized, u, Alright, Momma, The Blacker The Berry, Hood Politics, How Much A Dollar Cost og Mortal Man.

Echt een van mijn favoriete hip hop albums ooit gemaakt! Het moet wel een beetje je ding zijn, maar muzikaal, en qua tekst zo vernieuwend (zeker toen het uitkwam).

Great album, even better seeing it performed live!!!

I don't want to talk this album to death because there are been plenty of think pieces, dissections, and discussions around this album in its entirety. At this point whatever I say will basically sound like an echo chamber, BUT I do want to point out one thing about TPAB. This is a creation that is cemented as a necessary piece of art to be visited/frequented. This is the first album on this list that I've already had my previous experiences with (I've had so many amazing times with this album) and I can completely say objectively say that this is an almost perfect album. For hip hop. For music lovers. For the mainstrean consumption. And especially for the black community on a microcasm. If there's some chance that you are reading this and haven't had the opportunity to experience this album then I need you to trust me as a fellow fan of music... go do yourself a favor. Kendrick Lamar virtually put all of himself into into this body of work. There's a reason that this album is talked to death and will remain as one of the most talked about hip hop albums throughout history. 5 out of every single damn 5 stars.

Это что-то с чем-то, продюсерская работа и читка кендрика - это абсолютный оргазм для ушей

Listening start to finish, this album was really more interesting than I remembered. There is a lot of jazzy instrumentation throughout. The speed of the songs varies a lot. The way he raps varies a lot. It's not hard to listen to and it doesn't sound like too much of one thing or another - it really just keeps it interesting song to song which surprised me. I was thinking it may be a 4/5 but I'm just going to do the 5. It's good and Kendrick deserves praise

3.65 average ratings aint doing this album justice, I want the whole load

Good

CLASSIC

Kendrick did it again

Best ever

i mean come on, the production is insane, the jazz infused hip hop is beautiful especially on songs like these walls, wesleys theory, and the blacker the berry. the flow is great with a strong message. hard 5

Это один из любимых альбомов. Все, кто не ожидает ничего интересного от хип-хопа, послушайте. Этот альбом это лирическое и музыкальное осмысление опыта проживания жизни в теле афроамериканца. Наполненный той же лютью, что и Ву-Танг Клан, но более серьезный, взрослый, что-ли. Сильное влияние Flying Lotus и прочих, поэтому тут много джаза и очень интересный саунд в целом. Десять из десяти.

Good one

Best Song: The Blacker The Berry. I love Kendrick's eager, aggressive, forward-leaning flow on this one. Worst Song: Hood Politics. "Boo boo". Overall: Grandiose with a story to tell. This album feels huge, sprawling. Kendrick shows so many different aspects of his talent here, with a particular emphasis on his lyricism. On top of that, all the features are fantastic, Thundercat's influence can be felt throughout. It's not as immediately accessible as "good kid, m.A.A.d city", but once you get into it you see it's just as good.

Goated

Still a great old school style album. Great messages

This album is special, lyrically great but not incredible (a lot of just dissing other rappers) and musically amazing (also a bit weird, I'm not used to progressive music) but some of the songs were just overall incredible, I even cried to the song "u", would give it a 9/10 (because it lacks lyrically)

Not just Kendrick Lamar’s greatest album, not just the greatest hip hop album, but one of the greatest albums ever put out. TPAB is a masterful album that I could never get tired listening to. It has the masterful storytelling and lyricism that Kendrick is known for combined with jazz infused beats and it make for something wonderful. My personal favorite album of all time.

A-This is a good album. This IS a good album. This is a GOOD album. Dang, this is a good album. D- liked the cadance of the spoken word, at first it was very similar to he's newest album, which I didn't like too much, but after a few song it blew my socks off, man.

Listened Before? Yes Easy 5 / 5. I don't know that any album has ever commanded my undivided attention for longer than this one. I remember it dropped as I was finishing my first conference paper submission in grad school, and I had this on repeat for literally weeks. This is Kung-Fu Kenny's jazzy opus that solidified his status as a rap legend. The album uses a slowly building spoken word interlude that ultimately climaxes in the outro of Mortal Man with a posthumous interview with Tupac. Throughout the playtime the album touches on many different themes. Among them include a meta inspection of hip hop culture and its incentives (Wesley's Theory), black unity (i), selfishness and regret (How Much a Dollar Cost, u). Album opens on a tear with Wesley's Theory, featuring a blistering Thundercat bass instrumental with George Clinton on support; this song always does it for me. For Free? drops us into a short free-jazz interlude that is more beat poetry than song. King Kunta is the first radio hit to appear, and it is a jam. Confident, strutting beat touching on topics du jour (poking at Drake's ghostwriting) and asserting himself as the King. Institutionalized brings in a feature from West Coast staple, Uncle Snoop, in which he raps buttery smooth and with purpose. Just goes to show that an old dog can still pull out his old tricks. u is a particularly vulnerable song in which Kendrick affects a drunken caricature over a broken jazz beat to talk about how he regrets not being there for a friend who was shot and ultimately died. Alright is a bit of sequencing genius. Nuanced in its content, the song speaks to salvation and hope, but touches on police brutality and devilish impulses (Lucy) to wash away pain. Hood Politics is one of my favorite Kendrick songs of all time. Modernized G-Funk style beat with one of the catchier hooks on here, BOO BOO. But How Much A Dollar Cost has some of his best writing of all time. I remember the first time I heard "i" on the album I was confused, because the single was a clean studio rendering. I actually far prefer the affected "live" version on the album and how it seamlessly bleeds into the spoken word interlude with the crow as Kendrick breaks up a fight in the crowd and speaks to black unity. Album closes with Mortal Man, a contemplative song based around a wandering thundercat bassline + synth. This gives way to the completion of the built-up spoken word and a spooky Tupac interview posed as a conversation that in another context could be cheesy, but here feels like the album was built around the moment. Added to Library? Yes Songs Added To Playlists:

I remember I was in Tim's parents basement the first time I listened to this album with my headphones. The production is insane (as the case with most Kendrick) and the funkiness that Thundercat brought to it is unmatched. I remember playing Wesley's Theory for some friends after and they had never heard a rap song like this. Such a jam. Love Kendrick continues with his interludes with the first being a jazzy little bit. King Kunta is one you can bump in your car. Love it. We want the funk! Institutionalized is one of my favorites on this rekkid. Snoop actually fucking kills it which haven't been able to say for awhile. Really Love These Walls but it was always a struggle to play it loud because of the beginning. u is a crazy one and really shows struggles Kendrick is going through. Love the shift change halfway through. Alright is another one to bump. His flow on this is just insane to me. For Sale is great and crazy it's considered an interlude. Ends with what reminds me of something from Willy Wonka. How Much a Dollar Cost is beautiful. From beats to lyrics to flow. Just an incredible track. Blacker the Berry is so fuckin hype. Makes me want to riot. You Aint Gotta Lie tones it down a little bit. Then comes i to bring the heat again. Weird that he used a live(ish?) version of this song when there is definitely one that isn't. Interesting choice but tbh I think I like the studio one more. Mortal Man is beautiful and comes full circle with the album. Perfect top off to have Tupac close it out. Album was initially supposed to be called Tu Pimp A Caterpillar as an acronym to TUPAC. Overall I think this album is a masterpiece. Kendrick will forever be one of my favorite artists based on this album alone. Incorporating new sounds into some hip-hop and having some deeply exploratory themes makes me thing this one will stand the test of time. There is also a sister album "Untitled" that has the same production but you can tell are demos. Honestly some really great songs on there. Praise be

One of the Best albums of all time. I loved it when it dropped and it hasn't aged.

This dick ain't free!

One of the best hip-hop album ever. The music is certified gold and fresh. Also a huge fan of Kamasi Washington's feat on this.

This album is a masterpiece. It has elements of funk, rock, Broadway, spoken word poetry. The lyrics are powerful and meaningful. First track to last track...all bops

Amazing album.

Modern classic

One of the best rap albums of all time. Kendricks opus. I struggle to find anything wrong with it. Keeps getting better and better as the years go on. Every feature, every bar, all the production, every interlude etc. Not a second feels wasted in my opinion 10/10

One of the greatest of any genre. George Clinton and Snoop passing the torch to Kenny

Lol alright. One my personal faves already, recently listened to this and it's aged like fine wine. Happily listen to this bad boy

It’s rap, it’s funk, it’s soul, it’s varied and ambitious, and it all fucking works perfectly.

Awesome album!

This album got me into hiphop. It's filled with these dark, powerful and energetic songs. Inspired by so many good things from other genres. Probably in my top 5 albums of all time

Absolute landmark.

GOAT

To absolutely no one's surprise, this is FANTASTIC. A true work of art that will need a lot more dedicated listening time, it demands several listens at least to absorb everything. He's truly a next-level collaborator who has an incredible command over using small and thoughtful details to craft an incredibly rich and compelling overall narrative. I can't even think of this in terms of which tracks stood out to me because the story is a bit too cohesive for that (though I will say, u stopped me in my tracks). Kendrick Lamar is one of those artists who has and likely always will continue to inspire me to REALLY think about perspective and voice and how each can profoundly impact the same story. It's sometimes hard to face how raw and emotive he gets, like if he were here with me I'd struggle to make eye contact for slight fear of the intensity - but I'd do it anyway and the connection would be worth it. What an ARTIST. Truly a transcendent album.

I mean it's the GOAT. Nothing much else more to say. One of the few albums where it feels more like a complete work of art than just a collection of songs.

Gevarieerde hiphop van de bovenste plank. Steekt wat mij betreft met kop en schouders uit boven vrijwel alles wat er op hiphop gebied te vinden is. Alles is tot in de puntjes verzorgd en toch is het soms enorm ruw. Ik heb het al redelijk vaak geluisterd en ontdek nog steeds nieuwe dingen, zoals deze keer hoe mooi 'These Walls' eigenlijk is qua laagjes en instrumenten. Daarna heb je juist de wat lelijke track 'u', welke weer gevolgd wordt door mijn favoriete track 'Alright'. Hoe hij daar rappend drumfills aanvult of zelf voor zijn rekening neemt met behulp van woorden, klanken, dynamiek en accenten vind ik als ex-drummer en hiphop liefhebber een feestje. Zo is 1:46 tot 2:04 eigenlijk gewoon een vocale drumsolo die pas in de laatste maat wordt aangevuld door daadwerkelijke drums (of vooruit: de drumcomputer). En dan heb je mensen die het album hier een 1 geven omdat hiphop niet muzikaal zou kunnen zijn. Man, man, man. 5 sterren.

Wesley's Theory is forever goated For Free was so funny and vibrant For Sale was def one of the top 5 for me How Much A Dollar Cost is one of the best piece's of poetry from a rapper in a long time Everytime I relisten to it on car trips, it gets better

one of the best hip-hop/rap albums

Nie do sluchania w tle

Rating: 10/10

el verdadero ganador del pullitzer

perfect album

Just such a juggernaut of a hip hop album. Kendrick is so dynamic throughout switching through different rapping styles as if they’re characters and the lyrics to match are just incredible to read through. I’d say my favorite aspect is the instrumentals on here, which are pure jazzy deliciousness. On their own they could stand alone as an impressive jazz piece but together with Kendrick’s rapping and songwriting it’s everything you could want from any album. 9/10

Beautiful and mesmerizing storytelling. The use of jazz as a dream-like transitional tool was such a great touch.

5/5 from the period where i love kendrik

GREATEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME

hooooooooooly shit is this guy good or what Favorite Tracks: Wesley's Theory, Alright, King Kunta, The Blacker the Berry, Complexion, Hood Politics, i 5/5

One of the greatest rap albums of all time, what more even is there to say about this that hasn't already been said

an album ive listened to before, so many good songs. hard to pick standouts but im more of a fan of the songs that are songs and less talking/story talking for the purpose of the album. i have all songs but 8 and 9 downloaded

A true masterpiece through and through. One of the best albums of 2010's, one of the best rap albums, Kendrick's magnum opus. Everything here is amazing, the lyrics, the flows, the beats, it's all just great. What else is there to say about this album that's not been said before?

God damn I love this album

Masterpiece

We did it everyone, a rap album has received a five! It took over a year, but I kind of figured this would be the first, and I hadn't even heard it before. Kendrick Lamar has certainly become someone I highly respect since I got Good Kid a while ago, being such an excellent artist that I will happily praise in my free time, and this artist was my white whale that I was waiting for the right time to listen to, and after finally getting to, I understand all of the hype. Not only is the story and lyrical content interest enough that I'm invested throughout, something that a lot of hip-hop albums struggle to get me attached to, but the jazz influences throughout make the album something so wildly different from everything else in the genre that there is nothing to match it. Each song fits with the ones before and after it while still feeling wildly unique. Even the songs I would consider "lesser" on the album had me getting into them pretty closely, and despite the length of the album, I never once was dreading the next song. Features were well thought out and used incredibly well, and again I just have to praise the instrumentation. I can totally see why Bowie was influenced so much by this on Blackstar, and that just earns the album more praise from me. A true masterpiece.

Challenging, all over the musical map and grating at times. BUT, it's undeniably awesome.

Heard before: yes Ostensibly, this record was seen as a move to activism, but it's real strength is keeping things personal. Kendrick's ability to be vulnerable while presenting as hard and a leader is his greatest strength. Musically, it's rich and varied, a swirling mix of funk and jazz filtered through 90s hip hop, with hooks galore. The fits and stops of the songs, shifting from one vibe to another, are narratively driven rather than just there for fun or surprise. And it's the narrative that rules the day, the shift from "u" to "i" and the gradually revealing poem that questions the price of leadership to the individual, the degree of compromise that is required to succeed. The side skits that could be distracting from 90s hip hop have been absorbed into the main tracks, and the overall project is more than the sum of its parts. Cinematic and contextual, it acknowledges Kendrick, the person he is, while showing a glimpse of the person he might become. Top tracks: u, i, How Much A Dollar Cost

fucking immaculate.

5/5. I listened to this album many times in high school and although at first, this was much different than what I was used to, there is no denying this is a classic. Amazing instrumentation, deep lyrical flows and themes, and important lessons that go over your head if you refuse to listen to any rap. It’s not hard to listen to this album; it’s hard to go out of your way to hate something before even giving it a chance. You’re the only one missing out. Probably should get up and wash your ass. Classic. Masterpiece. Awesome album.

I yelled at 5 am when I saw that this was today’s album. I know some people love Maad City and Section.80 but I think this is Kendrick’s best work and, coincidentally, also the best rap album of all time. It stands out from the rest of Kendrick’s incredibly impressive discography by being jam packed with jazz, funk, more jazz, and spoken word. But what’s cooler I think is that he tells a story in three acts like it’s an opera. I like to think I understood it as a junior in high school as much as a 17 year old white guy could, but every time I listen I get it more and more. It’s a masterpiece, and the caterpillar/butterfly poem at the end is the perfect bow on top.

From a hits perspective, Kendrick Lamar is rightfully best known for Good Kid Maad City and Damn. But when looking at each album as its own work of art, To Pimp A Butterfly is Kendrick at his best, and the parallels with To Kill A Mockingbird go well beyond their respective titles. “King Kunta” is one of the greatest, most complete hip hop songs ever recorded. You might think a song with references from Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (among other literary works) would be overwhelming, but really it showcases Kendrick’s unmatched talent as a songwriter and a poet. It’s tough, if not impossible, to think of a song more closely associated with a social movement than “Alright” is with Black Lives Matter. I’ll admit that I prefer the simpler 2014 single version of “i” to the album version, but it’s still a centerpiece of the record. The album goes far deeper, both lyrically and stylistically, than the highlight tracks. “These Walls” sounds like late 20th century Compton, while the instrumental of “How Much A Dollar Cost” sounds so much like Prohibition-era Manhattan that I half-expected a Billie Holiday appearance. Some songs are soothing, like the R&B of “Complexion,” and some appear as painful for Kendrick as they are necessary for the audience, like “The Blacker The Berry.” “Mortal Man,” with its deep introspection and experimental mid-track interview, is the perfect way to end the album. From the repetition of “forty acres and a mule” to the all-time classic lyrics “I remembered you was conflicted / Misusing your influence,” there’s no wondering why Rolling Stone ranked To Pimp A Butterfly in its top 20 albums ever. Just like Harper Lee’s masterpiece, this record will stand the test of time as a shrine to decades of civil rights movements. I can only hope that high schoolers in the 2050s may write essays about both of them.

I think TPAB was the first rap album I ever listened to straight through. I'm aware of few other artists who have a voice as clear as Kendrick's. I didn't fully understand what he was trying to convey about being a Black person in America during my first listen back in 2015. Now, I get it a little better, but I'm still learning.

Kako je taj čovjek napravio ovaj album e.

Perfect

Very nice album, Kenny is goat, will keep listening to it

Easiest 10/10 of my life. TPAB not only changed the game for hip hop, but also raised the bar for what an album could be and how much societal impact it can have.

On rare occasions an album single-handedly revolutionizes an entire genre. This is one of those records.

This album was foundational to my understanding of rap and hip hop in high school and made me seek out new music instead of sticking to the boring ass music taste of rural midwestern white people; so not only is this album a landmark in contemporary rap but it’s also personally important to me to some extent. I’ve listened to tpab countless times but what made this listen fresh is that it came in the second half of the list for me after a number of albums that exposed me to the full history of hip hop. I think I came out of this listen with an even greater appreciation of it because I better (but not fully) understand its influences from dj shadow to a tribe called quest. As for my thoughts on the album itself it’s mindblowingly well produced and accompanies songs focusing on interesting and thought provoking subject matter. Every song is an absolute banger except for maybe you ain’t gotta lie and mortal man only because the Tupac convo at the end goes on too long.

Absolutely phenomenal. You know an album is pretty great when the worst song on here is pretty good. There's some deep shit in this Album of you care about that kinda stuff but what I love about this is unique form of Hip Hop this is and man every single beat in this Album goes hard. Wesley's Theory, King Kunta, how Much a Dollar Cost, The Blacker The Berry and the Mortal Man are all certified classics. This Album is an experience and highly reccomended to anyone that wants to listen to music focusing on black culture because there's some really good shit here.

This is tied for me as one of his best albums

Wow. Pretty much a modern rap Dark Side of the Moon. Always loved Kenny, and a few songs on this album are my favorites. But! So glad I finally took the chance to listen all the way through! 5/5

The greatest album of all time.

- Heard this album many times before - Simply one of the greatest hip hop records of all time, if not one of the greatest records of all time full stop - Every song on this is brilliant, one of very few albums that I would describe as flawless - Fav songs: All of them but really: These Walls, i, Institutionalized

Banger

Need to keep this short, but oh my god. If GKMC was a concept album in perfect execution, then TPAB is an absolutely transcendental piece of art. Sonically richer, lyrically more dense and infinitely much more intense of a listening experience, with production unlike anything I'd ever heard before (GOSH was this album just a sonic experience through and through). After my first listen I had still said I preferred GKMC more (it's a little rawer, less refined/polished), but what's important to note is that they're really just... different, overall. TPAB sounds much more matured and cleaner, but also less "listenable" (wrt. individual tracks), per se--it feels like an album designed to be noskipped from start to finish, and I can appreciate that. Sorta like the Suburbs, ha ha. Big problem on my end is that it's just such a dense piece of art that processing it is really overwhelming. I'm going back in for a third listen currently and there's just more to unpack. This definitely detracts from replayability. It's an actual brain exercise listening to this with any form of intention (unless you just want to melt to the music, which is aight too). I might not revisit after a couple of plays, honestly. Maybe a listen every couple of months. But it's a masterpiece, and that's all that matters.

i mean yeah as good as everyone says it is

First time listening this one from beginning to end and, pretty legendary.

Another near perfect album that fails to get old and remains interesting every time I listen 4.8/5

Amazing combo of jazz, funk and rap. I had already listened to this several times, but it def holds up on the re-listen. 4.5/5

One of the best ever

I'm

Possibly the best hip hop album of the century so far. The man is a genius, and I am now going to watch his Glastonbury headline set (for the 99th time!).

Thrilled to have a chance to dive in with Kendrick. To Pimp a Butterfly is such a phenomenal album and really plays with the idea of what hip hop can and should look like. His poetry is incredible and the themes he deals with continue to be salient today. 10/10

I love this album already and I’m surprised i got it my first day. Amazing commentary on African-American Culture and Racism. Also a great insight into Kendrick’s personal life. 10/10

Mhmm

What else is there to say I love this album

it's TPAB 9,5/10 (5/5)

I've complained a lot of times on here about not getting any Kendrick Lamar albums. Well, we finally made it here I love this album. It's perfect. It's so deeply personal, yet looking outward at all these social issues. His rapping and lyrics are sublime. The music is so far beyond what most of hip-hop was doing at the time, yet it still feels like hip-hop. This is the greatest rap album of all time. It's everything I ever wanted in hip-hop. In a weird way, I didn't want to put this album on today because I knew it would eventually end, and then I would never get to review it for this list again. This is one of the top 5 albums made since 2000 5/5

In the context of the time of its release, a Kendrick record doesn't sound like anything else. He doesn't chase popular sounds, he doesn't chase what's happening on the charts, he just makes work that stands on its own as a cohesive, singular whole. And when you listen to it ten years on? It still sounds like nothing around it. A masterwork like virtually everything he's released, a meditation on fame, success, and what it means to be an American in an America that has suppressed and sidelined you and everyone you know.

Such an insanely good album that I will never be smart enough to completely understand. I come away with something new each time I listen. Kendrick has a way of blending intellectual ideas into enjoyable songs. Not only were there hits on hits, but all of them were also full of substance. One of the best albums of all time. I think that final song could have been cut in half, but whatever. 5/5

Don’t know why I slept on this Kendrick album since he’s my goat but it’s amazing

- I am quite possibly the only person in history to prefer GKMC and DAMN. to this - Still an incredible piece of music with a great message and lyrics - Can't wait to see Kenny again at Bonnaroo, he's one of the greats - Wesley's Theory, King Kunta, The Blacker the Berry

- One of the most profound rap albums I’ve ever heard - Tells a coherent story in literal and metaphorical ways - Reaches a self-awareness that few albums ever have

An album that helped shape my perspective like very few albums do, while being an incredibly vibrant and inventive album. Possibly the most important album of the 2010s.

a fucking great album

The album that got me into hip hop. Even if you took away the lyrics, the beats are amazing, it's an honest to God jazz rap album.

puta que o pariu. isso é muito bom, é como whats going on do marvin gaye so que de hoje em dia. é como se as coisas tivessem piorado tanto que um album como esse foi criado a partir do whats going on so que com a verdade e raiva que realmente precisa pra que algo mude de verdade. e o jazz... o jazz nesse album, o sax os teclados, caralho muito foda, eu passo me arrepiando nisso e cada vez que ele fala "i remember you was conflicted..." vai ficando cada vez mais forte. é um album com letras tão poderosas que minha bunda branca não entende metade delas e mesmo assim elas me atingem que nem um trem. os corais de fundo cantando completamente fora do tempo e funcionando é algo que eu acho que nunca vou entender como que me afeta tanto. é minha primeira experiencia inteira com rap e eu to me julgando por não ter ouvido isso antes. que mundo que acabou de abrir pros meus ouvidos.

This one was a ride, in terms of what I wanted to rate it. Kendrick has a lot to say, and a really compelling way of saying it. The album drags a bit and can be repetitive, but man, this album rules. Equal parts exorcism and meditation. I think I just convinced myself to give it the 5. Standouts: King Kunta, Alright, Momma, How Much A Dollar Cost, The Blacker The Berry, i, Mortal Man

Banger banger banger album, this is *the* rap album, incredibly complex and meaningful, with huge variation throughout. This is Kendricks Magnum opus in a discography already filled with all time great albums

An obvious five

Ce que dise les gens sur cette album. C'est vrai. C'est un chef d'oeuvre modern du Hip hop 5

The best rap album ever

One of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. Kendrick Lamar incorporates a diverse set of sounds grounded by classic funk to tell a story of how the music industry in particular and the United States in general exploits Black talent to enrich itself while objectifying and othering them. The story is told masterfully and ends in a stirring conversation between Kendrick and Tupac. I love everything about this album and have been listening to it since it came out.

Top 10

Great album.

I cannot put into words how much I appreciate and love this stroke of genius. It‘s a political, personal, historicistical, and yet very open and rather song than track oriented hiphop album with a few key patterns and threads that make this a totally conceptual work without pulling out its pop appeal. One of my lifetime top10 or even top5 picks. 6/5 Stars! forever!

muzyka płynie na tym albumie, nawet skit-y mają flow świetna płyta 4,5 sex

One the greatest albums of the 2010s

Best Kendrick album

Pretty good, but it's not like it's going to win a Pulitzer prize or anything.

This is not the best hip hop album ever. It's not even Kendrick's best album ever. However, I am fairly certain this is the most artistic hip hop album ever written. Just an absolutely stunning mixture of everything you could possibly consider when writing music. Genuine pleasure to listen to this every time. The best track on the album is Hood Politics, and it's not particularly close

A magnum opus

Já ouvi tpab há algum tempo, muito bom e lendário, o álbum tem um pouco de tudo, as partes que acabam por se mais "aborrecidas" com o storyteling nunca deixam de ser interessantes se prestarmos atenção às letras e é facilmente compensado pelos bangers, é um álbum que não há muito a dizer, é objetivamente perfeito como álbum.

An absolute masterpiece. Brought so many artists together to collaborate and capture lightning in a bottle. Dives into so many raw topics and does it well.

I don't need to listen to this album to know it is great. One of my favourite album in the genre. 5/5!!

Just when you think the album is starting to drone on with some filler songs, Kendrick comes out of nowhere and kills it.

From ‘King Kunta’ onwards this is fire. Lyrically and thematically deep, with cinematic, jazzy production and an all-star, who’s who of guests and cameos, TPAB is legitimately in the conversation for the best rap album this century, if not all time.

A great, deep, meaningful album. Great cover art. Angry, sad, funny, all rolled into one.

I've tried to listen to this before and it didn't grab me.... I listened to this twice this time, by on the second time I enjoyed it much more! Think the same happened with MAAD city... Although that album was a bit better I enjoyed Wesley's theory and king kunta, great bass. Alright is the best track by far for me How much a dollar cost was good too. I think Kendrick is better when it's a bit more serious l.... I'll be going back to this

I’ve listened to this probably 20 times

Classic. Perfect.

words were nicely placed here😅😁🤭

The album is not without it's shortcomings, but the highs are high enough, as is the overall listening experience from start to finish, to offset any misguided moments. 🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋

One of the greatest albums of the 21st century and Kendrick's magnum opus. A brilliant collage of soul, jazz, funk and hip-hop.

Huge Kendrick fan, since his early EPs & mixtapes.

LP

One of the greatest albums of all time

This is a monster of an album. Ridiculous beats, intelligent writing, and phenomenal performances. The themes and lyrical content are clever, substantial, and important, especially in these times. 9/10

Hip-Hop's answer to The Wall by Pink Floyd. One of the easiest 5/5's I've ever given on this site.

I was gonna re-listen to U, today, anyways!

very important

Fucking classic 10/10 gg no re what honestly hasnt beeen said about this damn masterpiece chefs kiss mwa

I mean, cmon.

smooth transitions - each song flows directly into the next

Listened to this one a lot on college. Loooove this album. King kunta alone gets a 5!

This is incredible and I need to listen to it like 100 more times. Definitely lives up to its reputation, I don't even know what to say about it, this just fucking rules. Favorite track: King Kunta

This album was a very nice surprise. I knew about the song Alright already, but this album takes concept to a whole new level. It's brilliant and refreshing with hints of jazz, blues, and rock masked by the hip-hop/rap. Really creative stuff.

One of the greatest rap albums of all time, period.