“Now that we are older, I hear people my own age (I’m in my early 50s) putting down the music of today. Sure, like any other age, there is no shortage of crap that sells, and with the easy availability of literally thousands of releases and a certain crashing of the once-prevalent gatekeepers, it might be harder to know what to look for, but I would like to go on record as saying that some of the finest songwriting I’ve ever heard is occurring right now.
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To Pimp a Butterfly is the long-awaited follow-up album by Kendrick and it certainly does not disappoint. From the provocative cover shot to the opening song, it’s clear that he intends to build on his already formidable reputation at the front line of our social consciousness with his raps on the current state of affairs, especially regarding our country’s stilted attempts to own up to its racial legacy and where it stands in this era of “we’ve come so far but still have so far to go.” Many people on both sides of the spectrum are discussing it and a few are trying to address it in their art or writing but, to me, no one is addressing it all with so clear a voice and such literary eloquence as Kendrick Lamar.”
– Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)

I couldn’t say it better, so I let Mr. Hood tell us.

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