Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly Turns 10 Years Old

Kendrick Lamar has gone on to become one of the biggest and most influential rappers ever. Kendrick had an amazing 2024 with the rollout of his new GNX album. Before that, Lamar beefed with Drake, and it spawned his biggest hit in Not Like Us. If that wasn’t enough, Kendrick Lamar put on a great performance during halftime of the Super Bowl. Let’s go back in time and go to the year of 2015. Kendrick Lamar released his 3^rd studio album, and it was called To Pimp a Butterfly. Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly turns 10 years old today. To Pimp a Butterfly is the follow-up to his classic Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City project. 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. 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. The album was originally going to be titled Tu Pimp a Caterpillar, a backronym for Tu.P.A.C., which was an ode to 2Pac. To Pimp a Butterfly was accompanied by a total of five singles. I was the name of the first single and it dropped back in September of 2014. The highly anticipated track featured a cover of the classic Isley Brothers track That Lady. It won two awards at the 2015 Grammy Awards: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. I went platinum and it started the anticipation of to Pimp a Butterfly album.

Blacker the Berry was the second single and it was released prior to the release of the album. The gold selling single was another banger from the album. Blacker the Berry was a controversial track with a lot to unpack when you break down the track. The pro-black track is one of the many highlights of the album. King Kunta was the third single to be dropped from To Pimp a Butterfly. King Kunta was placed at number seven on Rolling Stone’s “50 Best Songs of 2015. Additionally, Pitchfork ranked the song at number four on its “The 100 Best Tracks of 2015” list. The video for the platinum selling single was like an ode to Dr. Dre and 2Pac. Alright was the fourth single from To Pimp a Butterfly. “Alright” received widespread critical acclaim from music critics.

Ranked number one on Pitchfork’s “The 100 Best Tracks of 2015” and “The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s. Alright was chanted in various Black Lives Matter protests and was the theme song for the entire movement. The platinum selling Alright was nominated and won several awards. Once again, this was another dope record and one of my favorite tracks by Kendrick Lamar. The fifth and final single from the album was called These Walls. These Walls weren’t as popular as previous singles, but still a good track. It won Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards on February 15, 2016. Lamar has stated that this song is his favorite from the album. To Pimp a Butterfly has been praised ever since its release. Overall, this is a classic album, and it has accolades to prove it.

Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City was an amazing album, but this one made people pay attention to Kendrick. For us older heads, In a Major Way by E-40 and 2Pac’s Me Against the World celebrated their 30th anniversary. Below are my top 5 tracks from the To Pimp a Butterfly album. After that, check out track listing and stream link for the album.

Top 5 Tracks: How Much a Dollar Cost, Momma, Mortal Man, Alright, and You Ain’t Gotta Lie