50 Fun Facts About To Pimp a Butterfly

Which late rapper does Kendrick Lamar appear to interview at the very end of To Pimp a Butterfly?

Tupac Shakur answers Lamar's questions through audio lifted from a 1994 radio interview, taped only weeks before he was shot. His mother and stepbrother approved the use of the tape.

Which politician called How Much a Dollar Cost, from To Pimp a Butterfly, the best song of 2015?

Barack Obama picked the album's parable about a beggar over every hit of the year while he was still in office. Lamar later joined his 2016 Independence Day celebration at the White House.

Which rock legend's final album, released in 2016, was influenced by Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly?

David Bowie and his producer Tony Visconti listened to a lot of Lamar while making Blackstar, admiring that the rapper had refused to make a straight hip-hop record. They wanted the same freedom.

Which pop star's album beat Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly to Album of the Year at the 2016 Grammys?

Taylor Swift won with 1989, though Lamar left with five trophies, more than anyone else that night. He had arrived with the most nominations too.

Which song from To Pimp a Butterfly had its chorus chanted by marchers at Black Lives Matter protests?

Alright was taken up at youth-led marches against police brutality, and several magazines called it the movement's unifying soundtrack. Lamar described the song as a message of hope.

The booklet of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly hides the album's full title in what form?

Braille dots run through the CD and vinyl booklet. A translator hired by Complex found a jumbled phrase, most likely meant to read A Blank Letter by Kendrick Lamar.

The opening track of To Pimp a Butterfly is named after which Hollywood actor?

Wesley Snipes went to prison for failing to file tax returns. Lamar used the case to argue that nobody teaches poor young stars how to manage sudden money or celebrity.

On Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, what happens to the recurring poem each time it returns between songs?

It grows longer: Lamar adds more lines at each return, so the poem is revealed slowly across the record. Only the last track delivers it complete, then shows who has been listening.

In How Much a Dollar Cost on To Pimp a Butterfly, who does the gas-station beggar turn out to be?

God is the man Lamar refuses a single dollar, and the refusal costs the rapper his place in Heaven. Lamar has called the song a true story about a test of integrity.

Which superstar reportedly recorded with Kendrick Lamar for To Pimp a Butterfly but ran out of time to finish anything?

Prince and Lamar shared a session but were too pressed for time to complete anything for the record. Lamar also tried to reach the producer Madlib and never got through.

Which creature did the word butterfly replace in the working title of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly?

A caterpillar came first: the working title's initials spelled the name of a late rapper the album addresses. Lamar swapped the word because he wanted to show the brightness of life.

A trip to which country led Kendrick Lamar to scrap whole albums of material before To Pimp a Butterfly?

South Africa changed the record's direction: Lamar toured the country and visited Nelson Mandela's cell on Robben Island. He came home and dropped two or three albums' worth of songs.

Which hitmaker produced and sang the hook on the protest anthem from Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly?

Pharrell Williams built the beat in 2014 with another rapper in mind. Lamar worried it clashed with the album's jazz and funk until his producers worked drums into it.

King Kunta, from To Pimp a Butterfly, takes its name from the rebellious hero of which bestselling novel about slavery?

Roots follows Kunta Kinte, who is captured in the Gambia and rejects the slave name his owners give him. Lamar's title puts a crown on the rebel.

The video for King Kunta, from To Pimp a Butterfly, was filmed on the streets of which California city?

Compton supplied the cast as well as the streets: Lamar said most of the people in the video were friends of his who still lived there. Director X made the clip.

Which rap mogul is credited as an executive producer of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly?

Dr. Dre shared the executive producer credit with Anthony Tiffith, the head of Lamar's home label. The album also came out through Aftermath, the label Dre founded, and he is credited with background vocals on two tracks.

At the 2015 BET Awards, Kendrick Lamar performed a To Pimp a Butterfly single while standing on top of what?

A police car covered in graffiti was his stage, with a huge battered American flag beside it. The performance opened the show and drew angry commentary on cable news.

Kendrick Lamar's 11 Grammy nominations in the To Pimp a Butterfly year fell one short of which star's 1984 record?

Michael Jackson set the single-night record of 12, which Babyface later matched. Lamar's 11 was the most a rapper had received in one night, and he turned five of the nominations into wins.

Which NBA star's public request prompted Kendrick Lamar to release leftover To Pimp a Butterfly demos in 2016?

LeBron James asked for the songs after Lamar performed nameless new material on television. Eight dated, unfinished tracks followed within weeks and went straight to number one.

Why did Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly reach iTunes and streaming eight days ahead of its release date?

A label error at Interscope put it out early, by the account of Lamar's own label boss. iTunes pulled the album the next day, but it stayed up for streaming.

Which closing track of To Pimp a Butterfly finally delivers the album's recurring poem from start to finish?

Mortal Man runs past twelve minutes: a song, then the complete poem, then a staged conversation with a dead hero. Lamar said the title means he is just a man.

Which funk pioneer sings on the opening track of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly and cameos in the video for i?

George Clinton lends his voice to the album's first minutes. Lamar said he listened often to Parliament-Funkadelic, the funk collective Clinton leads, while he was recording.

Which bassist, once of the metal band Suicidal Tendencies, was called the creative epicenter of To Pimp a Butterfly?

Thundercat plays bass across the album and sings on two tracks, one of which won him a Grammy. He also produced two others and developed an EP of his own during the same sessions.

Which rapper guests on Institutionalized, the Rahki-produced fourth track of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly?

Snoop Dogg shares the song with two singers, and he is one of only two guest rappers credited on the whole album. Rahki also produced the record's lead single.

Kendrick Lamar's single i, from To Pimp a Butterfly, is built on the song That Lady by which soul group?

The Isley Brothers gave more than permission: Lamar flew to St. Louis to ask their lead singer in person, and the singer ended up adding ad-libs of his own to the record.

Which Kendrick Lamar release is made up of songs left over from the To Pimp a Butterfly sessions?

Untitled Unmastered gives its tracks no names, only numbers and dates. Lamar left the recordings rough on purpose, and the set still debuted on top of the Billboard 200.

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly set a global first-day record of 9.6 million plays on which service?

Spotify counted 9.6 million plays on the album's first day, a global record for the service at the time. In the same week the record debuted at number one in the United States, Britain and Australia.

At which 2022 event did Kendrick Lamar perform a To Pimp a Butterfly anthem alongside Eminem and Mary J. Blige?

The Super Bowl halftime show of February 2022 put Lamar on stage with five other stars. He had sung the same song at the 2016 Grammys, in a medley two magazines ranked the night's best moment.

Which actor joins Kendrick Lamar on a talent-show stage to dance to Hit the Quan in a To Pimp a Butterfly video?

Terry Crews dances beside Lamar in the comic clip for the album's fifth single, subtitled A Black Comedy. The video opens in a jail cell and ends on the words To be continued.

Which R&B star sings background vocals on u and one of the interludes of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly?

SZA was signed to the same label as Lamar and sings behind him on two tracks. She also turns up in one of the album's music videos, where he comes bursting into her apartment.

Which fifth and final single from Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly won the Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration?

These Walls features two singers and a bassist beside Lamar. He performed it on daytime television while a couple danced around the stage and an artist painted their portrait.

Which rapper, signed to 9th Wonder's label, raps the guest verse on Complexion from To Pimp a Butterfly?

Rapsody got the call through her label boss and almost no instructions: Lamar gave her the song's title and its theme, that people are beautiful whatever the shade of their skin.

Which producer played Lamar beats meant for his alter ego Captain Murphy, one of which opens To Pimp a Butterfly?

Flying Lotus shared the beats during a tour, and Lamar kept every one of them. Only one reached the final track list, and a second contribution was swapped for another producer's version.

Which producer, a collaborator since Kendrick Lamar's 2009 EP, produced the majority of To Pimp a Butterfly?

Sounwave has producer credits on five tracks and additional production on five more. He later won the Record of the Year Grammy two years running, for Not Like Us and Luther.

The cover of Kendrick Lamar's single i shows members of which two rival gangs forming a heart together?

Bloods and Crips pose side by side on the sleeve. Lamar said he wanted hearts in place of the gang signs he used to throw, to spark some kind of change through music.

Which Fox News commentator called a Kendrick Lamar awards-show performance of a To Pimp a Butterfly single disgusting?

Geraldo Rivera went on to claim hip-hop had done more damage to African Americans than racism. Lamar asked how a message of hope became hate, then sampled the remarks on a later song.

Which music site named the protest anthem from Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly the best song of the 2010s?

Pitchfork put the song first on its list of the decade's 200 best, having already named it the top track of 2015. The site ranked its video the best of that year too.

To Pimp a Butterfly became the top-rated album on Rate Your Music in 2023 by overtaking which Radiohead record?

OK Computer was passed when Lamar's album reached an average of 4.34 out of 5. Many fans also hear a Radiohead piano figure in one of its songs, though the band is not credited.

Kendrick Lamar wrote the lyrics to the closing track of To Pimp a Butterfly while on tour with which rapper?

Kanye West's Yeezus Tour doubled as a workshop: a producer played Lamar a stack of beats along the way, and a bassist brought to watch one of the shows ended up joining the album.

The Blacker the Berry, from To Pimp a Butterfly, shares its title with a 1929 novel set during which cultural movement?

The Harlem Renaissance is the backdrop of Wallace Thurman's novel, whose dark-skinned heroine is looked down on by lighter-skinned black neighbours. Lamar's album takes on the same prejudice.

Which singer, once of the Soulquarians, is featured on two To Pimp a Butterfly songs and uncredited on four more?

Bilal sang what Lamar hummed to him, then freestyled extra colour onto other tracks. One writer said the album had turned him into an arty Nate Dogg for a new generation.

Which singer-songwriter's All for Myself is sampled on Hood Politics, from Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly?

Sufjan Stevens earned a songwriting credit on the track as a result. He sits in the album's credits beside funk and soul writers, a sign of how widely its producers dug for sounds.

The closing track of To Pimp a Butterfly credits which African bandleader because it samples a cover of his 1975 song?

Fela Kuti wrote I No Get Eye for Back, and the album borrows it from a 1977 version by the saxophonist Houston Person. The credit lists him under his full name, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

The 1994 interview tape heard at the end of To Pimp a Butterfly was recorded for a radio show in which country?

Sweden's P3 Soul host Mats Nileskär taped the conversation in November 1994, and he handed Lamar the audio when the two met in Germany twenty years later.

What name does Kendrick Lamar give the recurring character on To Pimp a Butterfly who grows as his fame does?

Lucy is introduced on the album's protest anthem and plays an essential role from there on. The poem brings her back as that song ends, when Lamar describes his darkest thoughts in a hotel room.

The protest anthem on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly opens with words taken from which American novel?

The Color Purple by Alice Walker supplies the song's first line. Lamar said the song itself came to him abroad, after he saw people facing struggles far harder than his own.

Kendrick Lamar said he listened to Parliament-Funkadelic and which jazz trumpeter while recording To Pimp a Butterfly?

Miles Davis echoes through the finished record: one reviewer heard shades of his album On the Corner, and of free jazz, all over it.

The Boris Gardiner song sampled at the start of To Pimp a Butterfly also opens which 2016 film?

Moonlight, the Best Picture winner, begins with the same theme, written for a 1974 film now considered lost. Its director, Barry Jenkins, chose the song after reading the story behind it.

Which label executive, asked by Kendrick Lamar to sum up To Pimp a Butterfly, wrote words that close the album?

Punch, the president of Lamar's label, stepped in when the rapper felt a bit lost in his own concept. His summary of the title's metaphor was added to the end of the last track.

Which producer plays alto saxophone on ten tracks of To Pimp a Butterfly and later reworked its closing song himself?

Terrace Martin also produced two tracks and helped add the drums that won one of the singles its place. His own version of the finale appears on his album Velvet Portraits.