(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.