To Pimp a Butterfly, vignettes of
eternal struggle;
color,
sex,
money,
ways of life, the vices of
all life concerned, rapped about,
grappled with quality flow;
slow, fast, all in between is
the tempo of Lamar's words
diversity the name of each game
each track, experience of a new
variety
the jazz, the soul, in full coordination
with the hip-hop roots, expressed with
guests; Isley, Clinton, Gordy,
legends of old soul
old funk and
the best of 70s nights on Thriller grounds
But it's still Kendrick, still centric in the writing,
performance, presence, all there from "Wesley"
to "Mortal," all the way to Tupac;
spoken from nostalgia, 90s snippets, from the man
who inspired the Lamar's gift
But "How Much a Dollar Cost," "For Free"
"I," "For Sale" among other names see
another decade, made of Motown,
now alive, always been alive, a sound
not dead but fresh through new ears
To Pimp a Butterfly, generations of struggle
captured, flashing through stories in all shades
confusion
complication
bleakness
triumph,
the nothing and somethings of bitter Compton
or elsewhere
To Pimp a Butterfly,
hip-hop
soul
jazz,
black,
blacker than black
blacker than the blackberry
(so sweet the juice),
classic.
