Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly dropped unexpectedly on Sunday night, ahead of its official March 23 release date. Now The New York Times has released a feature story on the project, which shows a more religious side to Lamar. We learned about his thoughts on fame, the critics who question him, his calling to be an instrument for change, his disdain for consumerism, his desire to stay connected to Compton and more. Here are some things we learned.
1. After good kid m.A.A.d. city, he got baptized. "I felt like it was something I had to do."
2. He believes he was called to teach his fans. "I'm the closest thing to a preacher that they have. I know that from being on tour - kids are living by my music. My word will never be as strong as God's word. All I am is just a vessel, doing his work. ...From my perspective, I can only give you the good with the bad. It's bigger than a responsibility, it's a calling."
3. He doesn't believe those living in the streets want to hear rappers boast about murder and drug dealing. "They want to get away from that. If it comes across as just a game all the time, the kids are going to think it's just a game."
4. He keeps quiet about his relationship with girlfriend Whitney Alford because she doesn't want fame. "I don't want to put somebody else in the spotlight and make them a celebrity when they don't want to be a celebrity."
5. He wasn't prepared for the depression and uncertainty that came with being named the voice of his community. "You can tell a person about fame and fortune all you want, but until you're really in it and you know the person that you can become...I know every artist feels this way, but in order for it to come across on record for your average 9-to-5-er is the tricky part. I have to make it where you truly understand: This is me pouring out my soul on the record. You're gonna feel it because you too have pain. It might not be like mine, but you're gonna feel it."
6. In response to critics who say he was ignoring institutional racism in his comments about the unrest in Ferguson, he said he was only basing his comments off his own experience. "When I speak, I speak for self first - this is my experience. I know where I come from. I know the hurt that I've caused families. These are my demons."
7. Despite advocating inner change and self-love, he still acknowledges the problems the black community faces with police brutality and political disenfranchisement. "I know the history. Black and brown pride have been taught in my household for a long time."
8. When he was 15 years old, he experienced his first of two L.A. Police Department house raids. "I've been stomped in the back. I'm not talking to people from the suburbs. I'm talking as somebody who's been snatched out of cars and had rifles pointed at me. [But] playing the victim only works so long."
9. The cover of To Pimp A Butterfly represents his desire to stay connected to Compton. "[The cover represents] taking the same things that people call bad and bringing them with me to the next level, whether it's around the world or to the Grammys or the White House. You can't change where I come from or who I care about."
10. He says that igniting change is what inspires him, not material possessions. "What gives me inspiration is giving thought and game to people who don't have it. Where we're putting in the real work with these kids and these ex-convicts."
Read the full feature here, and let us know what you think in the comments section!
