Kendrick Lamar Discusses The Importance Of ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ For Himself & His Fans (VIDEO)

K. DOT: “MUSIC IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN MARKET ALL THE TIME”

(AllHipHop News) Kendrick Lamar recently became the center of attention in the blogosphere and social media once again. The TDE emcee’s latest critically acclaimed album To Pimp A Butterfly was the subject of an editorial on Complex titled “Why Did Everyone Claim to Enjoy Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’?” The article was heavily criticized because the author seemed to downplay TPAB‘s “overwhelming blackness” and use of jazz elements.

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K. Dot held his first show of the “Kunta’s Groove Sessions” tour the night before the Complex piece was published. He used the intimate setting of New York City’s Terminal 5 to speak to his fans about the reasoning behind taking To Pimp A Butterfly in a different direction with its content and soundscape. Video of Lamar’s address to the audience has now been uploaded to YouTube.

“People have said a lot about this album. They said ‘album of the year.’ They said ‘album of this generation,'” stated Kendrick. “That’s cool. But making this motherf*cking album was therapy. Not only for you, but for me.”

He added, “Y’all allowed this motherf*cking album to soar all the way to the top with no commercial success. Y’all allowed it to be top tier without a constant radio single. So that proves to you right there music is not something you can market all the time. This sh*t belongs to you and you only.”

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Watch Kendrick Lamar’s speech below.