To Pimp A Butterfly Analysis

In the essay, “Hip-Hop’s Betrayal Of Black Women”(221), by Jennifer McLune, she vents her feelings regarding hip-hop songs that are rhythmically diminishing the value of black women. She provides example on how the lyrics are being voiced and how hip-hop artists do not seem to care. Kevin Powell in “Notes of a Hip Hop Head” writes, “Indeed, like rock and roll, hip-hop sometimes makes you think we men don’t like women much at all, except to objectify them as trophy pieces or, as contemporary vernacular mandates, as baby mommas, chicken heads, or bitches” (221). There have been apologizes for what the rappers have said but nothing to resolve the dehumanization of black women. McLune informs the readers that hip-hop singers belittle black women and make them invisible. Jay-Z, a popular hip-hop artist is brought to center stage by McLune. The essay shows the example of a part of Jay-Z song that says, “I pimp hard on a trick, look Fuck if your leg broke bitch hop on your good foot” (222). This lyric is a perfect example of how hip-hop artist have no remorse in the words they sing. The hurt feelings and loss of self-esteem black women suffer, is of no concern to the rappers. McLune expresses that those who are underground hip-hop artist follow the footsteps on being sexist and using crude words in their lyrics just because they yearn and dream of being in the spotlight. Upcoming rappers want to be loved like Jay-Z and other famous notorious rappers.

Kendrick Lamar is a hip hop rapper who has been in the music industry for a few years. The first song of his I listened to was “The Recipe” on his album good kid M.A.A.D. city and at the time I did not really take a liking to his music. After watching Kendrick’s performance at the 2014 Grammy Awards with Imagine Dragons, I began to listen to more and more of his music. Kendrick Lamar’s latest studio album “To Pimp A Butterfly,” is great because of how instead of mainly rapping about the common topic of music, sex, drugs, and infidelity in relationships, he chooses to base this album on the struggles of the common people. Although throughout the album he does occasionally refer to sex to emphasize his opinion on how he views himself and how

The connection that is drawn between the formerly economically challenged rapper and the child whose parent works two jobs, and can’t pay his child’s college tuition is paramount in making this point. The illusion of the American dream is set through many hip-hop songs. The picture of the evolution of the rags to riches story is set by many rappers in current hip-hop culture, this picture is the basic premise

Unlike many other mainstream artists, Kendrick Lamar attaches great importance to the lyrics of his songs. Lamar’s song “DNA”, released last April, became a real breakthrough in the world of hip-hop music. In this song, Lamar reflects on various social issues faced by the modern African-American community of the USA. The song’s lyrics, as well as the music video, portrays the most common stereotypes and biases labeled to the African-American community. The central aim of the song is to sarcastically demonstrate the image of African-Americans as they are viewed by biased media. By the use of symbolical sarcasm and double meanings, Lamar underlines the acuteness of the race inequality that remains existing in the modern America.

Cultural phenomenon, rapper Kendrick Lamar has embraced a growing minority centered culture in America through his album “To Pimp A butterfly” this album conveys themes of hardship for minorities and cultural uprising. One of the singles on this album “Alright” simply tells black audiences that with faith everything will be alright. He uses the Lyrics “Alls my life I has to fight, nigga .Alls my life I...Hard times like God. Bad trips like: ‘God!’ Nazareth, I 'm fucked up..Homie you fucked up..But if God got us then we gon ' be alright” These lyrics simply tell suppressed minorities that despite hardship there is hope within our communities. . Months prior to the release of Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” several attacks from white police officers happened in the black community. A common case in this uproar was the “Mike Brown case”. In this case a black man was shot dead after allegedly robbing a local gas station. Kendrick simply responded to these seemingly racial attacks with his album to “Pimp a Butterfly”. To pimp a butterfly simply means to use your influence to the best of its ability to make a meaningful impact. With tracks like “Alright” Kendrick Lamar does just that. The Primary themes and issues conveyed in this song are white supremacy, racism and black uprising

Drake growing up lived two different lives, while heavily affected by his parents' divorce. In Toronto, he lived in an upper-class life. When in Memphis, Tennessee where his father lives,

Lupe Fiasco was born in the crevice between the ghetto and the suburbs, his house on the border between them. His house was filled with modern art, books, music and culture, whereas the outside was right next door to a crack house, clustered with drug dealing and gang violence. Growing up in the hoods of Chicago around prostitutes, drug dealers, killers, and gangbangers, Lupe grew up juxtaposed as stated in an interview: “On the doorknob outside of our apartment, there was blood from some guy who got shot; but inside, there was National Geographic magazines and encyclopedias and a little library bookshelf situation. And we didn't have cable, so we didn't have the luxury of having our brains washed by MTV. We watched public television — cooking

But having a harsh outlook on life, the caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a way to pimp it to its own benefits…” To Pimp a Butterfly can be compare to a musical play, where each song represents a scene of the unpredictable drama. Through the listen of the sixteen tracks on the album, Kendrick describes his rise as a rap star and the temptations he faced, the self-hatred, and the epiphany that forced him to stay grounded. But he understands he is part of a modern-day system that is under control by “the evils of Lucy”, Kendrick feels that he himself is an influence that can be used to heal, and inspire his community by becoming an outspoken leader. Annotated Bibliography Lee, Spike dir.

In his song titled “m.A.A.d city” he talks about his early memories, witnessing murders when he was only nine years’ old, “Seen a light-skinned n***a with his brains blown out” (Lamar). Principally as a result of his early traumas, Kendrick is against these murders and gang activities, while seeking hope of peaceful living conditions in these neighborhoods. His intention is to unify the street gangs, in order to stop the violence and establish collective peace within these communities. In his poem from To Pimp a Butterfly, he clarifies his approach on this

Intro: Kendrick Lamar Duckworth's work is the product of his life experiences. Through his personal life and the constant pain and pleasure discussing personal struggles and triumphs, Lamar was able to rise above the expectations of failure through his music, a product of the ghetto where his heroes are the musicians who escaped. Thoughtful details about Compton childhood baby born in poverty, gang war, and the crack epidemic where there can be a different path. Lamar's music reaching out, narratives on how he didn't give up. His work demonstrates the struggles black people faced in the past as well as today in regards to racism, discrimination, and police violence.

Kendrick Lamar has lyrics that are hard, but within those lyrics is a description of his childhood which was even harder.To provide some background on Kendrick Lamar, he grew up in Piru territory of Compton, also know as Bompton. His parents both used drugs, and listened to many different types of music ranging from, “Jazz and blues to gangsta rap.” Any hip hop fan should be familiar with Kendrick’s name, they should also be familiar with his music. The fact that Kendrick Lamar isn’t being recognized as a legend this early in his career slightly upsets me.

One challenge Kendrick Lamar faced was when his family was directly touched by the violence of the streets, He handled it by remaining thoughtful and safe, also he was a strong observer, even as a child. In 2015, Kendrick released his next album, To Pimp a Butterfly, including and featuring artists like Bilal, Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams, and others.

Almost 20 years to the day of it’s release, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ (TPAB) was released. Between the release of his previous album and the recording of TPAB Kendrick paid a visit to South Africa. As he toured the country - visiting historic sites such as Nelson Mandela's jail cell on Robben Island - his worldview broadened, and so did his music. The trip led Kendrick to scrap "two or three albums worth of material," according to engineer/mixer Derek "MixedByAli" Ali. Kendrick wanted to make music that reflected the sounds of his upbringing in Compton, Calif. He began to listen to the likes of Sly Stone, Donald Byrd and Miles Davis. Kendrick incorporated

The next segment included, “Ha. Butterflies. Stand on walls, do that dance. Yeah… Buddy’s cool.” This was to me very jumbled. In this piece, I would have to say that Freud would say that unconsciously, there was a link between a butterfly and me. To

In modern music, the message of the song tends to be drowned out by its ability to sell. In order to determine the substance of a piece of music, one must take a critical look at the work and the message therein. Chamillionaire’s song, “Good Morning” depicts the good life in such a way that one must love themselves, as well as their haters, in order to live well. The video portrays Chamillionaire’s life of excess, including depictions of expensive cars, designer clothes, diamonds, and other luxuries to suggest that a life well lived is a materialistic one.