Four years ago, Kendrick Lamar dropped off his most ambitious - and arguably his most compelling - body of work in To Pimp A Butterfly. With tracks like "King Kunta," "Wesley's Theory," "Hood Politics," "The Blacker The Berry," "You Ain't Gotta Lie," and more, the project signaled a sense of artistic daring in Kendrick, the likes of which the game had been missing for a minute. Clearly, K. Dot had a specific vision, a message he felt compelled to deliver. As the creative process unfolded, TDE's Punch found himself having a conversation with Jay-Z, the subject of which he took to Twitter to share earlier today.
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"I had a conversation with Jay Z during the process of “to pimp a butterfly”," writes Punch. "I told him “we are about to drop this album that’s going to challenge and possibly piss off our fan base”, he said “good! Do it now, and they’ll never be able to put y’all in a box”. He was right."
The insight from the Jigga Man reveals a impressive level of musical insight, unsurprising given Jay's own track record. The man behind Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, Black Album, American Gangster, and 4:44 has continuously shown stylistic innovation. There's a reason many consider Jay to be a frontrunner in the GOAT debate, with Kendrick racking up a fair bit of momentum with every passing release. Happy birthday to Kendrick's masterpiece, and respect to Punch for sharing the anecdote.