To Pimp a Butterfly

His debut album "good kid, M.A.A.D. city" has been compared to Nas' album "Illmatic" and was hailed, immediately, as a hip-hop classic. Is "To Pimp a Butterfly" better? That depends on what you need from your hip-hop. This album is definitely different and a large step in another direction -- a melting pot of Black musical influences including field spirituals, jazz, Motown, funk, gospel, and spaced out psychedelia. In my opinion, there is no emcee today that matches Kendrick's ease of flow, lyrical skill, crispness of storytelling, sharpness of observation, and downright coolness while he's speaking the truth. This album is as angry as it is ambitious, full of personal conflicts and contradictions, an album that Justin Charity calls "A dark album for dark times." I loved it.