Album Review: To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

It starts with a spoken-word excerpt from funkateer, George Clinton, segues into a jazz riff by bassist Thundercat, then explodes into a retro-future soundscape that may formally qualify as ‘rap’, but is so gloriously wonky that putting it in a box feels entirely futile.

Rather than dropping from the clear blue sky, To Pimp A Butterfly is a continuation of Lamar’s debut, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, in which he reflected on his life in Compton, Los Angeles and the poverty-fuelled crime that formed part of daily existence (several uncles were sent to prison, many school friends died in gang conflicts before graduation).