What We Learn From Kendrick Lemar s At Pimp A Butterfly

James Powell Ben Pack WRIT-340 31 March 2015 What We Learn From Kendrick Lemar’s To Pimp A Butterfly Life is a jungle, a beautiful, colorful landscape, often painted with harsh conflict and oppression. Navigating forward requires keeping healthy relationships with the community and those close to you, maintaining focus on your true identity, and not losing sight of larger than life goals. These ideals are the message that Kendrick Lamar wishes to bestow upon whomever experiences his latest album, To Pimp A Butterfly. Kendrick’s story originates in Compton, a jungle at its core, where he learned that survival depends on working with others and keeping intact with your roots. Because of the harsh living environment and unavoidable presence†¦show more content†¦Similar to Tupac, Kendrick wanted to demonstrate characteristics of a great leader so he too could be an example for his people. Unfortunately, the excessive fame and separation from Compton came with harsh consequences: Kendrick began to struggle with keeping in touch with his roots, and the ideals that hoisted him to the throne. He expresses these emotions in the track Momma, where he states how he knows everything about life, but goes on to realize that after reaching stardom, he may be out of touch with his roots and all he knew. Throughout the rest of To Pimp A Butterfly, we find out he felt lost in â€Å"the cocoon† a metaphor for the grasp media has on society, and desperately began to cling to his true identity as a way to break free from the cocoon’s bounds. Eventually, Kendrick emerges as a butterfly, wanting to return home and teach all the â€Å"caterpillars† what he learned. For Kendrick, African American oppression and Compton’s black-on-black crime is at the forefront of his frustration, and a prime inspiration for his need to teach the community about working together. On the track simply called â€Å"I†, a live recording, Kendrick is heard calling out to a crowd to join together. Unfortunately, his message seems to initially fall on deaf ears. Instead of listening, the crowd continues to fight over how to fix the problems in their community, rather than unite to fight them together. As he continues to speak, the crowd becomes quieter, and Kendrick goes on to condemn