The day Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly came out, Flying Lotus took to twitter to let us know some inside information on the LP. It turns out that FlyLo was helping Kendrick with the visual portion for his opening slot on the "Yeezus" Tour, and, at the same time, he gave the MC a folder full of beats to mess with for TPAB. Apparently, that folder of beats inspired Kendrick's album theme.
Yesterday, Flying Lotus interviewed Kendrick on his BBC Radio 1 show. Although the interview was short and sweet, we learned a few valuable pieces of information that let us dig deeper into the genius of Kendrick Lamar, and Flying Lotus for that matter. We decided to compile the 6 things we learned in case you weren't able to catch it.
If you want to listen for yourself, you can check out the interview, and listen to the whole radio show for that matter, by clicking here.
Dreams
In response to Flying Lotus' question, "What do you dream about?" Kendrick said, "The things I dream about is usually from my childhood. Whether it's me waking up in the morning looking at cartoons, going outside, playing basketball, doing backflips...it's always stemming from me being 6, 7, 8 years old. That's usually a recurring dream, going back to birthdays and moms and pops playing music inside the house parties and what not."
Children are usually more creative and imaginative than adults. Maybe that's why Kendrick's music is so much more experimental than your average hip hop.
Nightmare
Kendrick used to be scared of airplanes. This stems from a nightmare he had, where he flew on a plane and never came down. It's something that has stuck with him to this day, and he shares the story with Flying Lotus over some psychedelic jazz courtesy of Kamasi Washington, and it almost sounds like an outtake from the album with that spoken word vibe.
Influences
The album was influenced by Kendrick collecting every little bit of music he's collected and learned to love over his lifetime. From "oldies to gangster rap," he said he has no fear in showing these influences in order to resist redundancy.
He says later that he wanted to put his heart into it, and that's why you won't find a mainstream sound or a bunch of hit records.
Advice
Kendrick says, "I give that advice to any artist out there, do what your heart tells you to do, because the rewards is that much better." He goes on to say, "Follow your heart, because it leads you into directions that you may not believe is possible, but when the opportunity presents itself, you know, it'll put you in an opportunity you could never imagine."
Longevity
As he's signing off, the last words out of Kendrick's mouth are, "We gon' keep doin' this music forever ya'll. Bless." We know it isn't usual for an MC, especially one at the top of his game, to say anything other than that, but with the passion Lamar poured into his newest album, it doesn't seem like his run of artistically ambitious hip hop is over any time soon.
New Music
Kendrick Lamar recorded over Flying Lotus' instrumental "Eyes Above," which is off his newest album You're Dead. The segment ends with FlyLo playing the K. Dot version, one which has only previously been heard at his live shows. It's a blitzing verse over some of that futuristic jazz that both artists have been messing with for the past year. It's also nothing short of incredible.
Follow along with lyrics courtesy of Genius:
"[Verse: Kendrick Lamar]
Thuggin' on other planets, pluckin' my black antennas
Listenin' for freelancers that bitted my style in famish
I don't allow the cameras, I don't allow the managers
I just break down the answers and hope humanity handles it
This is no radio fluke, this is me takin' your food
This is you bullied to school, give up your jacket and shoes
This how I practice the rules, this is what happen with dudes
Like Flying Lotus notice the genius they wrote it is rude
You should promote it, I diagnosis it when virus is through
Microphone's hopin' the plug is runnin' inside of Pro Tools
How can I dodge you buffoons?
I could collide a kaleidoscope with the stars and the moon
The moment I morph in my mood
These are the gorgeous'd of tunes
Police reported then tried to sort it with criminal views
This is intentional fuel
For the fireball dragon, fire shots where you wrastlin'
AK over the dash and now vacate with the jurassics
The jungle, the wicked masses, the sabertooth eighty proof
On my breath, this the look of death, this ain't auntie's Mercedes Coupe, yes
[Outro]
Buffalo soldiers at war, you shot fast, but that ain't the final score
Buffalo soldiers at war, you shot fast, but that ain't the final score"