Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly is an album so dense, every interview with the rapper is bound to reveal something new about the politically-charged LP. Lamar appears on the cover of the new issue of Mass Appeal, and he shares plenty more commentary on his new album in the magazine's cover story.
Not only does K-Dot speak of the song he'd most want his idol, Tupac Shakur to appear on, he reveals a secret message hidden within the album's liner notes, one that will reveal the full title of the album. So if there are any braille experts who also happen to be Kendrick stans, this may be your chance to shine.
Read some excerpts from the interview below, and read the story in full at Mass Appeal.
On which song he'd put Tupac on:
You know when the beat switches on “The Blacker The Berry”? I’d have him go off over that, and tone it all the way down, but in his aggressive tone, man. And give it more of a sincere attribute to the song because the song is so aggressive. But you know when he comes on, his spirit is just so warm, he’s gonna speak nothing but the truth. So when that beat breaks down into that, and then goes into “You Ain’t Gotta Lie,” that’s all him.
On a hidden message within the TPAB liner notes:
[There]’s actually a sketch of braille that’s added to the title hidden inside the [CD] booklet that I don’t think nobody has caught yet. You can actually feel the bump lines. But if you can see it, which is the irony of it, you can break down the actual full title of the album.
On Ice-T's aspirations to "pimp" himself rather than depend on a label:
Whether I knew it or not, I’d be wrong for saying that Ice-T wasn’t an influence on what I’m talking about because [older rap artists], they’ve been there, done that. Especially him, [with] his longevity in the game. I thank him for giving me that game because it’s something that has been goin’ on for a long time, y’know? You take this raw talent and put a price on it, and you’re not rewarded as much as you should be rewarded. This is a God-given talent. The reward should be infinite [for] our ability to think of what we think of, and even more so, how we make people happy. Ain’t no feeling better than that.
