Kendrick gave us Hip Hop marinated in Funk, Soul, Jazz and Blues, a cerebral mix of several different idioms, welded together by a strong cast built from the likes of the aforementioned, and new-gen Jazz heads like Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, and Terrace Martin. The record was full of bold moves, Kendrick challenging himself to make something entirely different to the hugely successful Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, enormous and complex in sound and concept but coherent enough to stand as a complete package drawing on the aforementioned artists but still maintaining the very unique arsenal of styles that helped Lamar nab the contemporary hip hop throne on which he currently sits. What Kendrick did on his universally acclaimed 2015 project was step away from surface expectations (something most of his peers cannot afford to, or just cannot, do) and towards the very roots of Californian hip-hop roots soaked in an undying need for exploration and experimentation, that sprout from the likes of George Clinton and Bootsy Collins, the same ones that inform producers like Flying Lotus, Thundercat, and Knxwledge, all of whom were clear influences on the direction Lamar took TPAB, along with the footprints of a young, politically charged Ice Cube, a funkafied DJ Quik, a radical Public Enemy, an oddball OutKast, a slick Digable Planets, a poetic Freestyle Fellowship, and a multiplex The Coup. Kendrick Lamar‘s To Pimp a Butterfly has been hyped as much as it has for some very good reasons and we’re still yet to see how that album will continue to grow, influence, and inspire the next generation of discerning emcees, who will hopefully seek a similar impact to the one Lamar has had over the last few years.
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