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Speaking of Frank Ocean, "You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)" is remarkably similar to the Channel Orange musician. "These Walls" features the same collaborators as "Institutionalized," the track right before it, a wickedly catchy hook, and a shoutout to Frank Ocean's "Swim Good." 9. "Thank God for rap," Lamar concludes an incredible flow on "Momma." He hits his stride midway through this track, and lyrics aside, on a purely musical level, it's west-coast inspired rap at its finest. In a track-by-track rundown published earlier this year, Rolling Stone noted the resemblance between "How Much A Dollar Cost" and Radiohead's Amnesiac track "Pyramid Song." It adds an intriguing layer of conversation with other genres to the James Fauntleroy-Ronald Isley collaboration. A few high-profile artists like Azealia Banks and Nicki Minaj have made great strides, but it's still an overwhelmingly masculine genre. "The new James Bond gon' be black as me," Rapsody raps on "Complexion (A Zulu Love)." Her verse is perhaps the most exciting part of this song, especially in a moment where female rappers are fighting for recognition.
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And the Lucy he refers to throughout the track? According to Genius, he's on a nickname basis with Lucifer. Lamar seems to rap through clenched teeth, dancing around ideas of social and artistic value. "For Sale? (Interlude)"Ī jazzy chorus and heavy breathing introduce the later counterpart to the "For Free?" interlude. "For Free? (Interlude)"Ī few Lamar lines float over a jazz track anchored by pianist Robert Glasper in the second track off To Pimp A Butterfly.
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The 12-minute opus "Mortal Man" earns the spot because, to my mind, if we're going to listen to 12 minutes of Kendrick Lamar, the song should be "Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst." 15. To the album's credit, it's tough to name any song on To Pimp A Butterfly in last place. So let's start from the bottom and look at the best tracks off To Pimp A Butterfly. Jazz and rap aren't really that far apart. However, as noted on Complex, To Pimp A Butterfly is a tough album to describe as "enjoyable." It's tough and complicated (when he raps "Loving you is complicated" on "u," it feels almost as though he's speaking for his audience), combining disparate influences and themes in order to reveal their common root. Regardless of how things shape up at the Grammys shape up come February, Lamar has already won. It was deemed Album of the Year by Rolling Stone Vice's Noisey called Lamar Artist of the Year. And by all metrics, To Pimp A Butterfly really is a great album.
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It's a mark of a great album that changes with each subsequent listen. Since March, we've had time to process its myriad influences and messages, so here it is, To Pimp A Butterfly, ranked in order of genius. It's an overwhelming record, impossible to take in in its entirety after the first or second or even third listen. Still, his three prior albums couldn't possibly prepare us for To Pimp A Butterfly, a hybrid of jazz, R&B, rap, and protest song in one 16-track record. His two prior records had garnered interest from his peers and the music establishment, but it took tracks like "Backseat Freestyle" and "Swimming Pools (Drank)" to earn mainstream cred. Kendrick Lamar burst out of Compton with 2012's good kid, m.A.A.d city, his major-label debut.