To Pimp a Butterfly

To Pimp a Butterfly is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the United States, with production from Sounwave, Terrace Martin, Taz "Tisa" Arnold, Thundercat, Rahki, LoveDragon, Flying Lotus, Pharrell Williams, Boi-1da, Knxwledge, and several other high-profile hip hop producers, as well as executive production from Dr. Dre and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Guest appearances include Thundercat, George Clinton, Bilal, Anna Wise, Snoop Dogg, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley, and Rapsody.

To Pimp a Butterfly
Studio album by
Kendrick Lamar
ReleasedMarch 15, 2015 (2015-03-15)
Studio
Genre
Length78:51
Label
Producer
Kendrick Lamar chronology
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
(2012)		 To Pimp a Butterfly
(2015)		 Untitled Unmastered
(2016)
Singles from To Pimp a Butterfly
  1. "I"
    Released: September 16, 2014
  2. "The Blacker the Berry"
    Released: February 9, 2015
  3. "King Kunta"
    Released: March 24, 2015
  4. "Alright"
    Released: June 30, 2015
  5. "These Walls"
    Released: October 13, 2015

The music of To Pimp a Butterfly incorporates a variety of styles from traditional African-American music, including jazz, funk, soul, spoken word, and avant-garde. Lyrically, it features political commentary and personal themes concerning African-American culture, racial inequality, depression, and institutional discrimination. This thematic direction was inspired by Lamar's tour of historic sites during his visit to South Africa, such as Nelson Mandela's jail cell on Robben Island.

To Pimp a Butterfly sold 324,000 copies in the US in its first week of release, earning a chart debut at number one on the US Billboard 200, while also becoming Lamar's first number-one album in the UK. It was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold one million copies in the US by 2017. Five singles were released in promotion of the album, including the top 40 hit "I". Lamar also supported the album with the Kunta's Groove Sessions Tour from late 2015 to early 2016.

The album received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its musical scope and the social relevance of Lamar's lyrics. It earned Lamar seven nominations at the 2016 Grammy Awards, including a win for Best Rap Album and an Album of the Year nomination. He received four additional nominations for other collaborations from that year, receiving a total of 11 Grammy nominations, which was the most nominations for any rapper in a single night. The most acclaimed album of 2015 and the 2010s, it topped The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop poll of American critics nationwide, and was also ranked as the best album of 2015 by many other publications. In the years following its release, several publications named To Pimp a Butterfly one of the best albums of the decade; in 2020, the album was ranked 19th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Background

On February 28, 2014, Kendrick Lamar first revealed the plans to release a follow-up to his second studio album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012), during an interview with Billboard.[1] Between the releases of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar traveled to South Africa. Touring the country  and visiting historic sites such as Nelson Mandela's jail cell on Robben Island heavily influenced the direction of the record[2] and led to Lamar scrapping "two or three albums worth of material".[3]

Co-producer Sounwave spoke on Lamar's visit, saying, "I remember he [Lamar] took a trip to [South] Africa and something in his mind just clicked. For me, that's when this album really started."[4] Regarding his visit to South Africa, Lamar said, "I felt like I belonged in Africa. I saw all the things that I wasn't taught. Probably one of the hardest things to do is put [together] a concept on how beautiful a place can be, and tell a person this while they're still in the ghettos of Compton. I wanted to put that experience in the music."[4] In addition, Lamar said, "The idea was to make a record that reflected all complexions of black women. There's a separation between the light and the dark skin because it's just in our nature to do so, but we're all black. This concept came from South Africa and I saw all these different colors speaking a beautiful language."[4]

Recording and production
The mixing desk at Chalice Recording Studios in Hollywood

To Pimp a Butterfly was recorded at a variety of studios; including Chalice Recording Studios, Downtown Studios, House Studios, Notifi Studios and No Excuses Studios. Lamar wrote the lyrics to the song "Mortal Man" while on Kanye West's Yeezus Tour.[5] During the whole tour, producer Flying Lotus played Lamar a selection of tracks that was intended for Captain Murphy's album (Flying Lotus's alter ego). Lamar kept all the tracks, but only opener "Wesley's Theory", which also features Thundercat and George Clinton, made the final cut onto the album.[6] Lotus had produced a version of "For Sale? (Interlude)" that was ultimately discarded, with Lamar using Taz Arnold's version of the song on the album instead. Lotus stated that it is unlikely his version of the song will see a release.[7] American rapper Rapsody appeared on the album, contributing a verse to the song "Complexion (A Zulu Love)". Lamar had requested that 9th Wonder contact Rapsody and request her appearance. Rapsody and Lamar discussed the song but there was little instruction from Lamar regarding her contribution. Speaking about the song, she stated that Lamar had already decided on the concept of the song and stated that the only instructions he gave were the song's title and the idea that "...we are beautiful no matter our race but he really wanted to speak to our people and address this light versus dark complex".[8][9] Lamar attempted to contact Madlib, to see if they could work together, but was unable to reach him.[10]

In 2014, Pharrell Williams, who previously worked with Lamar, along with producer Sounwave, played the "Alright"-track at the Holy Ship Festival.[11] The track features the same unidentified sample that Williams used on Rick Ross' track "Presidential" from his album God Forgives, I Don't (2012). Reportedly, at one time it featured a guest appearance from American rapper Fabolous.[11][12][13] The album went through three different phases before the production team could move forward with the idea. Afterwards, producer Thundercat was brought into the process, after Flying Lotus brought him along to see Lamar's performance on The Yeezus Tour.[14] The album's lead single, titled "I", was produced by Rahki, who also produced a song for the album entitled "Institutionalized". Although the version of "I" appearing on the album is drastically different from that on the single release, both versions contained a sample of the song "That Lady" performed by The Isley Brothers. Lamar personally visited The Isley Brothers, to receive permission from lead vocalist Ronald Isley to sample the song.[15]

Bass player Thundercat (left) and singer Bilal are among the musicians who contributed to the album.

Lamar began traveling to St. Louis and began working with Isley at the studio. Isley also performed on the song "How Much a Dollar Cost" alongside the singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy.[15] Producer and rapper Pete Rock provided some backing vocals and scratches to the song "Complexion (A Zulu Love)", and as he stated, the contribution was unusual, as he was not the producer for the track.[16] Singer Bilal features on the songs "Institutionalized" and "These Walls", and has provided un-credited backing vocals on the songs "U", "For Sale? (Interlude)", "Momma" and "Hood Politics".[17] Bilal stated that he and Lamar were initially unsure of how many songs he would be featured on, stating he worked on various tracks, but did not yet know the outcome. "For a lot of the material, Kendrick had a idea of what he wanted. He would sing out the melody and some of the words, and I would interpret what he was telling me." On the songs where Bilal added backing vocals, he stated that "...some of it was freestyle; just adding color to make it a fuller sound."[18] Lamar also reportedly worked with American musician Prince, however, the duo were too pressed for time during the recording session and therefore were unable to complete any work for inclusion on the album.[19][20][21] Lamar professed to having listened often to Miles Davis and Parliament-Funkadelic during the album's recording.[22]

In 2016, Lamar released Untitled Unmastered, a compilation album, which contains previously unreleased demos that originated during the recording of To Pimp a Butterfly. According to producer Thundercat, it "completes the sentence" of Lamar's third studio album.[23]

Musical style

According to musicologist Will Fulton, To Pimp a Butterfly engages in and celebrates the black music tradition. Much like the singer D'Angelo on his 2014 album Black Messiah, Lamar "consciously indexes African American musical styles of the past in a dynamic relationship of nostalgic revivalism and vanguardism."[24] Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly described the album as "embracing the entire history of black American music."[25] Lamar's co-engineer/mixer MixedByAli praised Lamar, saying, "[Lamar is] a sponge. He incorporated everything that was going on [in Africa] and in his life to complete a million-piece puzzle."[4] Lamar described the album as an "honest, fearful and unapologetic" work that draws on funk, hard bop, spoken word and soul[2][22] while critics also noted elements of West Coast hip hop[26] and avant-garde.[27][28] Allison Stewart from The Washington Post says the album is "threaded" with G-funk.[29] Speaking on the album's styles, co-producer Terrace Martin said, "If you dig deeper you hear the lineage of James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Mahalia Jackson, the sounds of Africa, and our people when they started over here. I hear something different every time. I heard Cuban elements in it the other day."[4]

Stereogum described To Pimp a Butterfly as an "ambitious avant-jazz-rap statement,"[30] and The Source categorized the album as an experimental hip hop release.[31] Dan Weiss of Spin noted "shades of Miles Davis' On the Corner and free jazz all over [...], as well as Sly Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On and Funkadelic and Erykah Badu's similarly wah-crazy but comparatively lo-fi New Amerykah (4th World War)," but stated nonetheless that "the sense of this album is vividly contemporary."[32] Other critics regard it as "throwback" to neo soul music of the 1990s.[33] Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune noted the album's affinities with previous black music, but argued that "Lamar takes familiar musical tropes into new territory."[27] The Atlantic noted the influence of collaborator Flying Lotus, writing that "his signature sound—jazz instrumentation and hip-hop layered into chaotic collages—is all over the album."[34] Steve Mallon of The Quietus noted an "eerily warped psychedelia bursting out of its idiosyncratic arrangements."[35]

Lyrics and themes

The album explores a variety of political and personal themes related to race, culture, and discrimination. Critic Neil Kulkarni said it appraises "the broken promises and bloody pathways in and out of America's heartland malaise",[36] while Billboard categorized it as a "politically-charged" conscious rap album,[37] Jay Caspian Kang observed elements of critical race theory, respectability politics, theology, and meta-analysis examining Lamar's success and revered status in the hip hop community.[38] It was compared by California State University, Fullerton professor Natalie Graham to the 1977 television miniseries Roots. While "Roots compresses and simplifies" black history, Graham said To Pimp a Butterfly "radically disrupt[s] meanings of black respectability, heroic morality, trauma, and memory."[39]

In the Toronto Journal of Theology, James D. McLeod Jr. drew parallels between Lamar's examination of death's domineering significance in the African-American experience and the works of Christian theologian Paul Tillich, with McLeod calling To Pimp a Butterfly an original example of "existentialist hip hop."[40] Meanwhile, Adam Blum discerned connections between To Pimp a Butterfly and the writings of psychoanalysts such as Wilfred Bion, Nicolas Abraham, and Sigmund Freud.[41] In an essay published in The Lancet Psychiatry, University of Cambridge professors Akeem Sule and Becky Inkster described Lamar as the "street poet of mental health," noting how To Pimp a Butterfly (as well as its predecessor, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City) explore topics such as addiction, anxiety, depression, and resilience.[42]

The album continues a nuanced dialogue about weighty topics that affect the African-American community. Releasing his album in a time of renewed black activism, Lamar's song "Alright" has become a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.[43] With lyrics like "and we hate po-po / Wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho, nigga" he makes it clear that he is supportive of the movement and the families of black men and women like Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, and others who have fallen victim to police brutality in the United States. Lamar takes his opinions further to lend his position on black crime in the song "The Blacker the Berry". He criticizes himself and his community by rapping, "So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street? / When gang bangin' make me kill a nigga blacker than me?". Some critics claim that his attitude facilitates the rhetoric that silences the Black Lives Matter movement. Stereo Williams of The Daily Beast wrote in response to his lyrics that "it's dangerous to use that violence as a silencing tactic when the public is angry about the systematic subjugation of black people."[44]

Lamar has offered explanations of the meanings behind songs such as "Wesley's Theory" and "King Kunta".[45][46][47] The album's 70s funk inspired[48] opening track "Wesley's Theory" is a reference to Wesley Snipes and how the actor was jailed for tax evasion; according to Lamar, "no one teaches poor black males how to manage money or celebrity, so if they do achieve success, the powers that be can take it from right under them".[45][46][47] "For Free? (Interlude)" sees Lamar rapping in a dense, spoken word-esque manner with musical accompaniment by jazz pianist Robert Glasper.[48]

"King Kunta" is concerned with the "history of negative stereotypes all African-Americans have to reconcile".[45][46][47] Lamar also explained his criticism of rappers who use ghostwriters on "King Kunta", revealing that he came to prominence as a ghostwriter, and has respect for writers, but says that "as a new artist, you have to stand behind your work."[45][46][47]

"These Walls" has been described by Billboard as "pondering sex and existence in equal measure; it's a yoni metaphor about the power of peace, with sugar walls being escape and real walls being obstacles."[49] Lamar revealed that "U" was inspired by his own experience of depression and suicidal thoughts.[50] He also mentioned feelings of survivor's guilt as inspirations for the album.[51] "Alright" begins as a spoken-word treatise before exploding into a shapeshifting portrait of America that brings in jazz horns, skittering drum beats and Lamar's mellifluous rapping as he struggles with troubles and temptations. Yet at the end of each verse, he reassures himself that "We gon' be alright"—a simple rallying cry for a nation reeling from gun violence and police brutality.[52] For critics a "celebration of being alive",[53] Lamar described "Alright" as a message of hope.[54] "The Blacker the Berry" features a "boom bap beat" and lyrics that celebrate Lamar's African-American heritage and "tackle hatred, racism, and hypocrisy head on."[55] The song's hook is performed by Jamaican dancehall artist Assassin, notable for performing on Kanye West's 2013 LP Yeezus, whose lyrics similarly address racial inequality, specifically against African Americans.[56][57]

Title and packaging

The album was originally going to be titled Tu Pimp a Caterpillar, a backronym for Tu.P.A.C., itself an allusion to the rapper Tupac.[46] Lamar decided to replace "caterpillar" in the original title to "butterfly", which he explained in an interview for MTV, "I just really wanted to show the brightness of life and the word 'pimp' has so much aggression and that represents several things. For me, it represents using my celebrity for good. Another reason is, not being pimped by the industry through my celebrity ... It gets even deeper than that for me. I could be talking all day about it."[46] Lamar later also told Rolling Stone, "Just putting the word 'pimp' next to 'butterfly'... It's a trip. That's something that will be a phrase forever. It'll be taught in college courses—I truly believe that."[58]

The album's CD release included a booklet produced with braille letterings; according to Lamar, these characters when translated reveal the "actual full title of the album."[59] Complex commissioned a braille translator, who found that it translated to A Kendrick by Letter Blank Lamar which Complex noted was most likely supposed to read as A Blank Letter by Kendrick Lamar.[59][60]

Marketing and sales

The album's release was preceded by the release of two singles, "I", on September 23, 2014,[61] and "The Blacker the Berry" in February 2015.[62] The former became Lamar's sixth top-40 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was performed on Saturday Night Live.[63] "King Kunta" was released as the third single in March 2015,[64] and "Alright" was released to radio stations on June 30.[65] With the latter's release, several contemporary progressive news outlets, including BET, raised the idea of "Alright" being the modern Black National Anthem,[43][66][67] while the media reported youth-lead protests against police brutality across the country chanted the chorus of the song.[68][69] Primarily for the latter, Lamar was featured on Ebony magazine's Power 100, an annual list that recognizes many leaders of the African-American community.[70] "These Walls" was released as the album's fifth single on October 13.[71] Aside from the singles' accompanying music videos, the song "For Free? (Interlude)" also featured visuals,[72] as did "U" with "For Sale? (Interlude)" as part of the short film God Is Gangsta.[73] In support of the album, Lamar embarked on the Kunta's Groove Sessions Tour, which included eight shows in eight cities during October and November.[74]

To Pimp a Butterfly was first released to the iTunes Store and Spotify on March 15, 2015, eight days ahead of its scheduled release date.[75] According to Anthony Tiffith, CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment, the album's early release was unintentional, apparently caused by an error on the part of Interscope Records.[76] The following day, it was made unavailable on iTunes, and the release was rescheduled for March 23, although it was still available for streaming on Spotify.[77] In its first week of release, To Pimp a Butterfly debuted at number one on record charts in the United Kingdom, Australia,[78] and the United States, where it recorded first-week sales of 324,000 copies.[79] The album was streamed 9.6 million times in its first day on Spotify, setting the service's global first-day streaming record.[80] By the end of 2015, To Pimp a Butterfly was ranked the sixteenth most popular album on the Billboard 200 that year[81] and reached sales of one million copies worldwide.[82] By March 2016, it had sold 850,000 copies in the US,[83] where it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[84] In June 2017, it reached one million copies sold in the US.[85]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?9.3/10[86]
Metacritic96/100[87]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[88]
The Daily Telegraph[89]
Entertainment WeeklyA[25]
The Guardian[90]
The Irish Times[91]
NME8/10[92]
Pitchfork9.3/10[93]
Rolling Stone[94]
Spin10/10[32]
USA Today[95]

To Pimp a Butterfly was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 96, based on 44 reviews.[87] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 9.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[86] According to Gigwise writer Will Butler, it was universally hailed by critics as an "instant classic".[96]

Spin magazine's Dan Weiss regarded To Pimp a Butterfly as the "Great American Hip-Hop Album" and an essential listen,[32] while Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph called it a dense but dazzling masterpiece.[89] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Kyle Anderson found the record twice as substantial as Lamar's debut major label album and more comprehensive of African-American music styles, with supremely "cinematic" production qualities but "the freedom of a mixtape".[25] Irish Times journalist Jim Carroll deemed it "a record for the times we're in", in which Lamar transitioned from his past narratives about Compton to fierce but precise reflections on "black America".[91] In Rolling Stone, Greg Tate deemed To Pimp a Butterfly "a masterpiece of fiery outrage, deep jazz and ruthless self-critique" that along with D'Angelo's third album Black Messiah, made 2015 "the year radical Black politics and for-real Black music resurged in tandem to converge on the nation's pop mainstream."[94] Robert Christgau wrote in his review on Cuepoint that not many artists were as passionate and understanding as Lamar, who offered "a strong, brave effective bid to reinstate hip hop as black America's CNN" during an era of social media.[97] To Pimp a Butterfly is also one of only five albums to receive a perfect score from Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop.[98][99]

While the album's reception was almost universally positive, there were still a few reviews at release that offered minor critiques. For instance, New York Times critic Jon Caramanica was less enthusiastic than others, feeling Lamar still struggled in reconciling his density as a lyricist with the music he rapped over: "He hasn't outrun his tendency towards clutter [and] still runs the risk of suffocation."[100] In The Guardian, Alexis Petridis found the music somewhat erratic and lamented "moments of self-indulgence" such as the twelve-minute "Mortal Man" and Lamar's reflections on fame. However, Petridis still ultimately awarded the album four stars out of five.[90]

Accolades

At the end of 2015, To Pimp a Butterfly was the most frequently ranked record in top ten lists of the year's best albums. According to Metacritic, it appeared 101 times in the top ten of lists published by critics, magazines, websites, and music stores. The record topped 51 lists, including those by Rolling Stone, Billboard, Pitchfork, Slant Magazine, Spin, The Guardian, Complex, Consequence of Sound, The Irish Times, and Vice.[101] NME ranked it second on their list, while Time named it the year's third best album.[102] It was voted the best album of 2015 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published by The Village Voice.[103] Christgau, the Pazz & Jop's creator, ranked it fourth in his ballot for the poll.[104] The album placed ninth in British magazine The Wire's annual critics' poll.[105] Based on such rankings, the aggregate website Acclaimed Music lists To Pimp a Butterfly as the most critically acclaimed album of 2015.[106]

On their lists of best albums of the decade, The Independent placed it first,[107] Consequence of Sound second,[108] Rolling Stone third,[109] and Pitchfork fourth.[110] In The Guardian's 2019 poll of 45 music journalists, To Pimp a Butterfly was voted the fourth best album of the 21st century, and contributing writer Ben Beaumont-Thomas said in an accompanying that, "as a celebration of the richness of black artistry, the whole album was a riposte to bigotry."[111] Similarly, in his March 2015 review of the album for The Verge, editor and journalist Micah Singleton had hailed it as "the best album of the 21st century, the best hip-hop album since The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die and Nas' Illmatic in 1994, and it cements Kendrick Lamar's spot as an all-time great."[112] In September 2020, Rolling Stone released an updated version of their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, based on the opinions of over 300 artists, music journalists, and industry insiders, which ranked To Pimp a Butterfly as the 19th-best album of all time.[113]

To Pimp a Butterfly also earned Lamar seven nominations at the 2016 Grammy Awards. It was nominated in the categories of Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, winning the latter but losing the former to Taylor Swift's 1989. "Alright" won for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song while also being nominated for Song of the Year and Best Music Video. "These Walls" won for Best Rap/Sung Performance.[114] He would also receive four additional nominations for other musical collaborations from that year, making it a total of 11 Grammy nominations for Lamar, which is the most nominations for any rapper in a single night and the second most by any artist in a single night behind Michael Jackson and Babyface (12).[115][116] At the previous year's ceremony, "i" had won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.[117] To Pimp a Butterfly also received a nomination for Top Rap Album at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.[118]

Impact

The album's immediate influence was felt as "a pantheon for racial empowerment", according to Butler, who also argued that the record helped create a respected space for conscious hip hop and "will be revered not just at the top of some list at the end of the year, but in the subconscious of music fans for decades to come".[96] Writing for Highsnobiety, Robert Blair said, "[To Pimp a Butterfly] is the crystallized moment in time where Kendrick became a generation's most potent artistic voice."[4] Uproxx journalist Aaron Williams said the album "proved that left-field, experimental rap can function in both the critical and commercial realms".[119] Jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington said that the album "changed music, and we're still seeing the effects of it [...] [the album] meant that intellectually stimulating music doesn't have to be underground. It just didn't change the music. It changed the audience."[4] To Pimp a Butterfly was an influence on David Bowie's 2016 album Blackstar. As its producer Tony Visconti recalled, he and Bowie were "listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar [...] we loved the fact Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn't do a straight-up hip-hop record. He threw everything on there, and that's exactly what we wanted to do."[120] Prince highlighted that he was a fan of To Pimp a Butterfly and Lamar in an interview, saying, "[Lamar] just has something to say [...] [To Pimp a Butterfly is] pure. And with Thundercat on the album? Come on. You're not taking "Alright" off my playlist!"[121]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[17]

To Pimp a Butterfly track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Wesley's Theory" (featuring George Clinton and Thundercat)
4:47
2."For Free? (Interlude)"
Martin2:10
3."King Kunta"
  • Sounwave
  • Martin[a]
3:54
4."Institutionalized" (featuring Bilal, Anna Wise and Snoop Dogg)
4:31
5."These Walls" (featuring Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat)
  • Martin
  • Dopson
  • Sounwave[a]
5:00
6."U"
  • Arnold
  • Whoarei
  • Sounwave[a]
4:28
7."Alright"
  • Williams
  • Sounwave
3:39
8."For Sale? (Interlude)"
  • Duckworth
  • Arnold
4:51
9."Momma"
4:43
10."Hood Politics"
4:52
11."How Much a Dollar Cost" (featuring James Fauntleroy and Ronald Isley)
LoveDragon4:21
12."Complexion (A Zulu Love)" (featuring Rapsody)
  • Thundercat
  • Sounwave
  • Martin[a]
  • The Antydote[a]
4:23
13."The Blacker the Berry"
5:28
14."You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)"
  • Duckworth
  • Martin
  • McKinney
  • Leimberg
  • Spears
LoveDragon4:01
15."I"
Rahki5:36
16."Mortal Man"
Sounwave12:07
Total length:78:51
  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer
  • "U" and "I" are stylized in lowercase letters

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits for To Pimp a Butterfly adapted from AllMusic[122] and the album's digital booklet.[17]

  • Kendrick Lamar – vocals; art direction
  • George Clinton – vocals (track 1)
  • Thundercat – vocals (tracks 1, 5); background vocals (tracks 7, 12, 14); bass (tracks 3, 13, 15, 16); additional bass (track 5); producer (tracks 10, 12); additional production (track 1)
  • Anna Wise – vocals (tracks 4, 5); backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 10)
  • Bilal – vocals (tracks 4, 5); backing vocals (6, 8–10)
  • Snoop Dogg – vocals (track 4)
  • James Fauntleroy – vocals (track 11); background vocals (track 16)
  • Ronald Isley – vocals (track 11); additional vocals (track 15)
  • Rapsody – vocals (track 12)
  • Flying Lotus – producer (track 1)
  • Ronald "Flippa" Colson – producer (track 1)
  • Sounwave – producer (tracks 3, 7, 10, 12, 16); additional production (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8, 10); keyboards (track 14); string arrangements
  • Terrace Martin – alto saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 6–9, 11, 13, 14, 16); horns (track 1); keyboards (tracks 5, 6, 8–12); producer (tracks 2, 5); additional production (tracks 3, 8, 12, 13); vocoder (tracks 9, 14); string arrangements
  • Rahki – producer (tracks 4, 15); percussion (track 15)
  • Fredrik "Tommy Black" Halldin – producer (track 4)
  • Larrance Dopson – percussion (tracks 5, 11–14); keyboards, producer (track 5)
  • Taz Arnold aka Tisa – background vocals (tracks 4, 8, 9, 15); producer (tracks 6, 8)
  • Whoarei – producer (track 6)
  • Pharrell Williams – producer, vocals (track 7)
  • Knxwledge – producer (track 9)
  • Tae Beast – producer (track 10)
  • Lovedragon – producer (tracks 11, 14)
  • Boi-1da – producer (track 13)
  • KOZ – producer (track 13)
  • Dr. Dre – executive producer; background vocals (track 1)
  • James Hunt – engineer (tracks 1–7, 13–16); mix assistant
  • Derek "MixedByAli" Ali – engineer (tracks 1–6, 8–16), mixer
  • Katalyst – additional drum programming, additional engineering (track 13)
  • Mike Bozzi – mastering engineer
  • Ash Riser – background vocals (track 1)
  • Josef Leimberg – trumpet (tracks 1, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16), vocals (track 1)
  • Whitney Alford – background vocals (tracks 1, 3)
  • Robert Sput Searight – drums (track 2); keyboards (track 10)
  • Robert Glasper – piano (track 2); keyboards (tracks 5, 12, 13, 16)
  • Brandon Owens – bass (tracks 2, 16)
  • Craig Brockman – organ (track 2)
  • Marlon Williams – guitar (tracks 2, 5, 6, 11, 14, 16); additional guitar (track 3)
  • Darlene Tibbs – background vocals (track 2)
  • Matt Schaeffer – additional guitar (track 3); engineer (tracks 3, 6, 11–16)
  • Sam Barsh – keyboards (tracks 4, 15)
  • Pedro Castro – clarinet (track 4)
  • Gabriel Noel – cello (track 4), upright bass (track 11)
  • Paul Cartwright – violin (tracks 4, 11, 16)
  • Gregory Moore – guitar (track 5)
  • Kamasi Washington – tenor saxophone (track 6); string arrangements
  • Adam Turchan – baritone saxophone (track 6)
  • Jessica Vielmas – background vocals (track 6)
  • SZA – background vocals (tracks 6, 8)
  • Candace Wakefield – background vocals (tracks 7, 15)
  • Preston Harris – background vocals (tracks 8, 10, 14)
  • Lalah Hathaway – background vocals (tracks 9, 12, 13)
  • Dion Friley – background vocals (tracks 10, 15)
  • Talkbox Monte – background vocals (track 12)
  • JaVonté – background vocals (tracks 12, 14, 16)
  • Pete Rock – background vocals/scratches (track 12)
  • Ronald Bruner Jr. – drums (track 13)
  • Wyann Vaughn – background vocals (track 14)
  • Keith Askey – guitar (track 15)
  • Kendall Lewis – drums (track 15)
  • Chris Smith – bass (track 15)
  • William Sweat – background vocals (track 15)
  • Devon Downing – background vocals (track 15)
  • Edwin Orellana – background vocals (track 15)
  • Dave Free – background vocals (track 15)
  • Junius Bervine – keyboards (track 16)
  • Ambrose Akinmusire – trumpet (track 16)

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for To Pimp a Butterfly
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[167] Gold 35,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[168] Platinum 20,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[169] Gold 170,000[170]
United States (RIAA)[84] Platinum 1,050,000[171]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. "Top Dawg's Kendrick Lamar & ScHoolboy Q Cover Story: Enter the House of Pain". Billboard. February 28, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  2. Andres Hale (February 9, 2016). "The Oral History Of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on February 11, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  3. "6 key players discuss Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly". Grammy.com. May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  4. "'To Pimp a Butterfly:' How Kendrick's Masterpiece Changed Culture". Highsnobiety. March 24, 2020. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. Zach Frydenlund. "Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole Still Want to Release That Joint Album". Complex. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  6. "Flying Lotus details involvement on Kendrick Lamar's new album". Fact. March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  7. "Flying Lotus Details His 'To Pimp A Butterfly' Involvement". HipHopDX. March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  8. Eric Diep. "Interview: Rapsody Details Her Feature On Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly' Album". Complex. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  9. "Q&: Rapsody Talks Secretly Working on Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly'". Spin. March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  10. Hutchinson, Kate (January 30, 2021). "Madlib: 'Rap right now should be like Public Enemy – but it's just not there'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  11. "Was Kendrick Lamar's Pharrell Produced "Alright" Track was Originally for Fabolous?". The Early Registration. March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  12. "Kendrick Lamar—Alright feat. Pharrell & Thundercat (Pharrell Williams, Sounwave) (15')". March 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  13. "Pharrell Shared A Version Of "Alright" From To Pimp A Butterfly With Fabolous Last Year [VIDEO]". Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  14. Dan Rys (March 18, 2015). "Sounwave Says Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Went Through Three Phases". XXL. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  15. "NME News Kendrick Lamar says he visited Ronald Isley to ask to use 'That Lady' on new track 'I'". NME. September 24, 2014. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  16. "This Iconic Producer Just Called Kendrick's To Pimp A Butterfly 'The Best Album Out'". MTV News. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  17. Digital Booklet – To Pimp a Butterfly (Media notes). Kendrick Lamar. Top Dawg Entertainment. 2015. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. "Kendrick Lamar". Billboard. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  19. "Kendrick Lamar and Prince hit the studio together". April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  20. "Kendrick Lamar Recorded With Prince for 'To Pimp a Butterfly'". April 1, 2015. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  21. "Kendrick Lamar reveals he and Prince hit the studio together". April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  22. "Tracklisting: Kendrick Lamar—'To Pimp a Butterfly'". Rap-Up. March 13, 2015. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  23. Natalie Weiner (March 4, 2016). "Thundercat on How Kendrick Lamar's New Project 'Completes the Sentence' of 'To Pimp a Butterfly'". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  24. Fulton, Will (Spring 2015). "The Performer as Historian: Black Messiah, To Pimp a Butterfly, and the Matter of Albums". American Music Review. 44 (2): 1–11. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  25. Anderson, Kyle (March 26, 2015). "'To Pimp a Butterfly' by Kendrick Lamar: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. New York. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  26. Matt Welty (March 26, 2015). "'90s Underground West Coast Rap Albums That Preceded Kendrick Lamar's New Album". Complex. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  27. Kot, Greg (March 4, 2016). "Kendrick Lamar's surprise 'Untitled, Unmastered' rarely sounds unfinished". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  28. Charity, Justin (March 17, 2015). "Review: Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Is a Dark Album for a Dark Time". Complex. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  29. Stewart, Allison (March 17, 2015). "With "To Pimp a Butterfly," Kendrick Lamar brushes all hip-hop rivals aside". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  30. Helman, Peter (March 17, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly Sets Spotify's Global One-Day Streaming Record". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  31. Garofalo, Jack (January 12, 2016). "A LOOK AT DAVID BOWIE'S LEGACY AND IMPACT ON HIP HOP". The Source. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  32. Weiss, Dan (March 20, 2015). "Review: Kendrick Lamar Returns With the Great American Hip-Hop Album, 'To Pimp a Butterfly'". Spin. New York. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  33. Charity, Justin (March 20, 2015). "Interview: Bilal Rejects 'Neo-Soul,' Says Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Is Jazz". Complex. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  34. "The Power in Kendrick Lamar's Complexity". The Atlantic. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  35. "The Quietus". March 23, 2015. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  36. Kulkarni, Neil. "The Periodic Table of Hip Hop". Ebury/Penguin Publishing. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  37. "Billboard.com's 25 Best Albums of 2015: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 15, 2015. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  38. King, Jay Caspian (March 24, 2015). "Notes on the Hip-Hop Messiah". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  39. Graham, Natalie (2017). "What Slaves We Are: Narrative, Trauma, and Power in Kendrick Lamar's Roots". Transition (122): 123–132. doi:10.2979/transition.122.1.18. JSTOR 10.2979/transition.122.1.18.
  40. McLeod Jr., James D. (Spring 2017). "If God Got Us: Kendrick Lamar, Paul Tillich, and the Advent of Existentialist Hip Hop". Toronto Journal of Theology. 33 (1): 123–135. doi:10.3138/tjt.2017-0006. S2CID 152265044. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018 – via Project MUSE.
  41. Blum, Adam (August 2016). "Rhythm Nation". Studies in Gender and Sexuality. 17 (3): 141–149. doi:10.1080/15240657.2016.1199923. S2CID 219641281.
  42. Sule, Akeem; Inkster, Becky (June 2015). "Kendrick Lamar, street poet of mental health". The Lancet Psychiatry. 2 (6): 496–497. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00216-3. PMID 26360440.
  43. Harris, Aisha (August 3, 2015). "Is Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" the New Black National Anthem?". Slate. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  44. Williams, Stereo (February 11, 2015). "Who Exactly Is Kendrick Lamar Raging Against in 'Blacker the Berry?'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  45. "Kendrick Lamar's Latest Album Wasn't Always Called To Pimp a Butterfly". March 31, 2015. Archived from the original on April 25, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  46. "Kendrick Lamar Reveals To Pimp A Butterfly's Original Title And Its Tupac Connection". March 31, 2015. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  47. "Kendrick Lamar Reveals Meaning Behind 'To Pimp A Butterfly' Album Title". March 31, 2015. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  48. Rolling Stone, Staff (March 16, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly': Track by Track". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  49. "Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly' Challenges and Rewards: Album Review". Billboard. March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  50. Boardman, Madeline (April 3, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar Opens Up About Depression, Suicidal Thoughts: Watch". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  51. Golding, Shenequa (April 1, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar Talks Survivor's Guilt, Depression and the Dangers of Lucy". Vibe. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  52. ""SONG OF THE YEAR". Billboard—The International Newsweekly of Music, Video and Home Entertainment". January 2, 2016: 28. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  53. "Kendrick Lamar, 'To Pimp a Butterfly'". Rolling Stone. June 16, 2015. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  54. Brennan Williams (July 6, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar To Geraldo Rivera: 'How Can You Take A Song That's About Hope And Turn It Into Hatred?'". HuffPost. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  55. "New Music: Kendrick Lamar—'The Blacker The Berry'". Rap-Up. February 9, 2015. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  56. "Assassin collobs with Kendrick Lamar". Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  57. Emmanuel C. M. (February 11, 2015). "Assassin Breaks Down Kendrick Lamar's 'The Blacker The Berry'". XXL. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  58. "It Is No Longer Untitled – Kendrick Lamar's New Album: Everything We Know". Rolling Stone. March 11, 2015. Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  59. Nostro, Lauren. "Here's What the Braille in Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Album Booklet Means". Complex. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  60. "Hidden Braille Message Reveals Full Title Of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly". Stereogum. April 29, 2015. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  61. Zach Frydenlund (September 23, 2014). "Listen to Kendrick Lamar's "I"". Complex. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  62. "Kendrick Lamar premieres 'The Blacker The Berry', his intense, racially-charged new single—listen". Consequence of Sound. February 2015. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  63. "Kendrick Lamar Makes a Triumphant Return to 'SNL'". Rolling Stone. November 16, 2014. Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  64. "Kendrick Lamar's New Album: Everything We Know". Rolling Stone. March 10, 2015. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  65. "Kendrick Lamar Picks Fourth Single from 'To Pimp a Butterfly'". 24Urban. June 11, 2015. Archived from the original on June 12, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  66. Hernandez, Victoria (August 5, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" Dubbed The New "We Shall Overcome" By Chicago Rapper Ric Wilson". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on December 21, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  67. Kennedy, John (March 31, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright' Should Be The New Black National Anthem". BET. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  68. Henry, Dusty (July 28, 2015). "Cleveland State University conference attendees chant Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" in protest against police". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  69. Hendicott, James (October 11, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar's 'Alright' chanted at Million Man March for racial equality". NME. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  70. "Ebony Power 100—2015 Honorees". Ebony. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  71. "Kendrick Lamar Picks Fifth Single from 'To Pimp A Butterfly'". 24Urban. September 24, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  72. Stutz, Colin (July 31, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar Goes 'Looney' Living the American Dream in 'For Free?' Video: Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  73. Jon Blistein (December 31, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar Confronts Demons, Temptation in 'God Is Gangsta' Short". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  74. "Kendrick Lamar announces the Kunta's Groove Sessions Tour". Rap-Up. October 5, 2015. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  75. "TDE Feigns Vitriol after Early Kendrick Lamar Release". 24Urban. March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  76. "Kendrick Lamar 'To Pimp A Butterfly' Album Leaked By iTunes". March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  77. "Update: Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Gets Surprise Digital Release". Billboard. March 16, 2015. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  78. "Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Lands at No. 1 in U.K." March 23, 2015. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  79. Lynch, Joe (March 25, 2015). "How Do Kendrick Lamar's First-Week Album Sales Stack Up Against Other Rappers?". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  80. "Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) Joined Kendrick Lamar for 'Alright' Performance at Osheaga". Billboard. August 3, 2015. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  81. "Billboard 200 – Year-end Chart". Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  82. "15 albums à écouter avant la fin de 2015" (in French). Canada: Ici Radio-Canada Télé. December 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  83. Chris Tart (March 2, 2016). "Charts Don't Lie: March 2". hotnewhiphop. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  84. "American album certifications – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  85. Grein, Paul (June 26, 2017). "Chart Watch Chart Watch: DJ Khaled, a Classic Late-Bloomer". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  86. "To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  87. "Reviews for To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  88. Jeffries, David. "To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  89. McCormick, Neil (March 19, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  90. Petridis, Alexis (March 19, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly review – challenging but gripping". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  91. Carroll, Jim (April 2, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly album review: a record for the times we're in". The Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  92. Denney, Alex (March 18, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar – 'To Pimp a Butterfly'". NME. London. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  93. Jenkins, Craig (March 19, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  94. Tate, Greg (March 19, 2015). "To Pimp a Butterfly". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  95. Ryan, Patrick (March 16, 2015). "Album review: Lamar's mighty 'Butterfly'". USA Today. McLean. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  96. Butler, Will (September 15, 2015). "Six months of Kendrick Lamar's masterpiece, To Pimp A Butterfly". Gigwise. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  97. Christgau, Robert (April 2, 2015). "Robert Christgau: Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  98. Gordon, Jeremy (November 30, 2016). "How Anthony Fantano, aka The Needle Drop, Became Today's Most Successful Music Critic". Spin. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  99. Coscarelli, Joe (September 30, 2020). "The Only Music Critic Who Matters (if You're Under 25)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  100. Caramanica, Jon (March 18, 2015). "Kendrick Lamar, Emboldened, but Burdened, by Success". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  101. "Music Critic Top 10 Lists—Best Albums of 2015". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  102. "Top 10 Best Albums". Time. December 1, 2015. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  103. Hermann, Andy (January 12, 2016). "Kendrick Lamar Tops Village Voice's Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  104. "Ballots: Robert Christgau". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  105. "2015 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 383. London. January 2016. p. 33. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018 – via Exact Editions.(subscription required)
  106. "To Pimp a Butterfly". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  107. "The 50 best albums of the decade, from Frank Ocean's 'Blond' to Adele's '21'". The Independent. November 18, 2019. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  108. "The 100 Top Albums of the 2010s". Consequence of Sound. December 29, 2019. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  109. "100 Best Albums of the 2010s, Ranked by Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. December 3, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  110. "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 8, 2019. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  111. "The 100 best albums of the 21st century". The Guardian. September 13, 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  112. Singleton, Micah (March 19, 2015). "To Pimp a Butterfly: Kendrick Lamar's new album is perfect". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  113. "500 Best Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  114. "Grammys 2016: The Complete Winners List". Rolling Stone. February 16, 2016. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  115. "58th Annual GRAMMY Awards". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  116. "Grammy Awards 2016: Kendrick Lamar made history with an unapologetically black album". Los Angeles Times. December 7, 2015. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  117. "Grammys 2015: And the Winners Are ..." Billboard. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  118. "Billboard Music Awards 2016: See the Finalists". Billboard. April 11, 2016. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  119. Williams, Aaron (October 26, 2017). "Vince Staples' 'Big Fish Theory' Deserves A Grammy For Creating The Blueprint For Rap's Next Decade". Uproxx. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  120. "New David Bowie album, inspired by Kendrick Lamar, features LCD's James Murphy". The Guardian. November 24, 2015. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  121. "Prince praises 'perfect' Kanye West and 'pure' Kendrick Lamar". NME. September 4, 2015. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  122. To Pimp a Butterfly (Media notes). Interscope Records. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  123. "Australiancharts.com – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  124. "Austriancharts.at – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  125. "Ultratop.be – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  126. "Ultratop.be – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  127. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  128. "Danishcharts.dk – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  129. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  130. "Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  131. "Lescharts.com – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  132. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  133. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 12. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  134. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Kendrick Lamar". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  135. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 12 (dal 16-03-2015 al 22-03-2015)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  136. "Charts.nz – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  137. "Norwegiancharts.com – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  138. "Portuguesecharts.com – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  139. "Spanishcharts.com – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  140. "Swedishcharts.com – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  141. "Swisscharts.com – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  142. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  143. "第30 週 統計時間：2015/7/17 – 2015/7/23" (in Chinese). Five Music. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  144. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  145. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  146. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  147. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  148. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  149. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  150. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  151. "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  152. "Jaaroverzichten 2015" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  153. "Rapports Annuels 2015" (in French). Ultratop. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  154. "Billboard Top Canadian Albums – Year-end Chart". Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  155. "Album Top-100 2015" (in Danish). Hitlisten. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  156. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2015". MegaCharts. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  157. "The Official NZ Music Charts – End of Year Charts 2015". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  158. "Digital Albums Year End 2015". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  159. "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-end Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  160. "Billboard Rap Albums – Year-end Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 18, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  161. "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  162. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  163. "Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-end Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 13, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  164. "Billboard Rap Albums – Year-end Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  165. "ARIA Top 100 Urban Albums Chart" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  166. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  167. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2015 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
  168. "Danish album certifications – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  169. "British album certifications – Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 18, 2015. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type To Pimp a Butterfly in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  170. Jones, Alan (April 21, 2017). "Official Charts Analysis: Ed Sheeran's ÷ makes it seven weeks at No.1". Music Week. Archived from the original on April 22, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017. (subscription required)
  171. Caulfield, Keith (April 6, 2018). "Kendrick Lamar Scores Third Million-Selling Album in U.S. With 'DAMN.'". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2020.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.