OT: So Anyone Listen to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly Yet?

None of the other tracks really move the needle for me. Definitely not an album for radio play and you will likely not hear any of this album in any nightclub setting.

but I'm still working my way through the DatBull discography.

Why is he called K Dot

I gave it one quick run through and no songs jumped out at me as certified "5 stars" in my book.  GKMC had several - Don't Kill My Vibe, Money Trees, Swimming Pools, & The Art of Peer Pressure were immediately favorites.  Beyond that, GKMC's other songs grew on me as I appreciated the artistry and story telling.

Like I said, just one run through.  So I'm sure it'll grow on me as I'm able to "listen" more to it.  But I didn't get that love at first listen that I've had with his other projects.  I'm a longtime fan and looking forward to diving deeper into this project.

 

TDE is taking tap over . Isiah Rashad and K.Dot both released fantastic projects. Can't wait for chance the rappers Surf..

You have to 'listen'to this album a few times. There is nothing for the radio. Nothing for the club.

It has its purpose and I respect it.

only listened to it twice through but I dig it.

its refreshing and feels good.

jdon

 

ps.  a good rap album is like a fine woman, you get attracted to a few highlights but as you keep listening you just get overwhelmed by how flawless the album is...  I feel like the onlly 'flaw' I've found so far is the repetitive use of the 'n-bomb', and I get why he is using it but I also think the word can be so offensive that on times it detracts from from the experience... idk, maybe its just me...

It's an amazing album. GKMC was, for me at least, one of the all-time greats, and I wouldn't quite say the same thing about Butterfly (yet anyway). But it's still amazing. "u" had me in tears. Hearing Pac on the outro made my jaw drop. I'm just gonna repost my reddit comment on the subject:

It really is an immensely dense album. Unlike GKMC it doesn't really have one unifying theme, but many - black culture, self esteem, the "pimping" of rap artists and black culture generally by America.... If I had one bone to pick it would be that the meaning is so convoluted at times that it doesn't always land as well as I feel it should. There are some songs like u (Kendrick's best in my opinion) and Blacker the Berry that are just so raw and emotional, they're incredible. But there are others on the album that left me somewhat underwhelmed, if only because they were so difficult to decipher. This isn't necessarily a bad thing - having more to digest can be good too - but it does detract from the overall feel at times and for me it's the difference between a 9/10 and a 10/10.

Great album. I put it above GKMC but below Section.80 personally. Kendrick is a very, very good artist. His artistry though, in my opinion, is a bit overrated by the mainstream hip hop heads. No one ever wants to speak out against him, even when he has some pretty weak guest verses, and several songs on the album that don't really stand out/have any replay album (even in the context of the album).

I expect So Help Me God to be a better album; I will be shocked if it isn't to be honest. Lyrically Kendrick is very good, but he is no Jay Electronica or anything by any means.

I thought GKMC was overrated and strange at times. I will give this a listen soon.

I like the album a lot but Forest Hills Drive by Cole is better in my opinion. That album seem to blend a little better throughout its entirety

He's following the route of Nas, getting way more political...which is great and all, but it's no longer West Coast. There are no bangable songs. It's more like some underground stuff I would listen to in middle school when I wanted to feel deep. My middle school angsty self would love "u."

Do like the demicrypts and rebloodicans line. Hood politics is a solid song. King Kunta is a solid beat.

The blacker the berry...I dunno. The more times you call yourself a hypocrite, the less I feel like your hatred and passion is earnest.

My friend summarized my feelings: "I am trying to learn to like Kendrick but he's very kente cloth and essential oils."

If you're reading this it's too late

Sounds solid off my first listen, but I'll give it a few more spins. "Alright" and "hood politics", and Mortal Man" stood out so far.

and it's a very good album. I like all genres but loathe gangster rap, bling rap, etc. I'm more of a legit hip-hop guy (Mos Def, Kweli, etc) so it's great that most rap out now is in that mold to a large extent. People have termed it "hipster hop" (which I guess is like anothers genre's "indie" even if on a major label) but I just call it hip-hop. I like it but I'll admit that I didn't buy it. I downloaded it while I could download Sifjan Stevens new record but bought it. I like him enough to buy his albums. I'm not a big enough Kendrick fan to buy his music yet. I'd pay to see him but not drop $10 on an album. I'm a bad person.

but that's about all I can say so far. I feel like I need to hear it a few more times.... which puts it a definite notch below gkmc. First time you hear that album you know what you're hearing.... a fucking masterpiece. Honestly, I dig Big Sean's new album the most of any hip hop albums I've heard this year... but it's only March and House and Techno take up most of my listening time. I've been told I need to check out Joey Badass' new joint and this is the first I'm hearing of Lupe having something new.

I thought it was a very good album. I think this is just a step above Section 80. I didn't think GKMC was that good.

I know there are lots of Lupe fans here, but I thought Tetsuo & youth was bad.

B4Da$$ is my favorite release this year.

I love concept albums and I loved GKMC more and more over time. So I don't think I want to say for sure just yet (and I've only listened to about half so far). I love the message though. Ask me in a year?

Album of the Year so far... I'll reevaluate how I feel about it in a few months. Might be my Album of the Decade

I'm still waiting in vain for my Jay Electronica album. A guy can dream...

I think I am just getting old.  As a hip hop head from 83-present, the last 5-10 years have been less than stellar.  The genre has become very redundant and unoriginal.  I appreciate guys like Kendrick Lamar and Lupe Fiasco because they seem to do their own thing and they do it in a way that is original.  With that being said, the biggest issue I have with both artists is production.  While I enjoyed Lupe's latest, I was incredibly dissapointed in the beat selection.  I would give that album a 7.5-8 out of 10.  From a lyrical perpective, the album is a 9-9.5, but a lot of the beats were just meh, production gets a 6.5-7 out of 10.  Unfortunately, this problem is also Kendrick's big issue for me.  I thought GKMC was decent, lyrically on point but the underwhelming production prevented this from being a classic.  Same with this TPAB.  Lyrically, this album is very very good, 9.5-10, but damn, the beats just don't hit me, and I would give the beats a 6.5-7 out of 10.  So overall a 7.5-8 out of 10.   I see some people here really like Kendrick's crew.  I am not much of a fan of that label, and a lot of their artists are just average to me.  Isiah Rashad, Schoolboy Q and Ab Soul are average mc's, and struggle with wack beat selection.  My favorite albums of the last few years have been older artists.  Run The Jewels takes the cake for me.  It is a throwback album to the days of no holds barred lyricism with a political fire and bomb ass beats.  Also the chemistry between 2 completely different artists in el-p and Killer Mike is undeniable.  Those guys remind me of why hip hop is and has been so important to me.  Also Ghostface Killah's 2 albums 36 season and Sour Soul are ridiculously dope, and are more enjoyable than Lupe's or Kendrick's joints.