The Rundown: Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly

A track-by-track look at K Dot's second major label release.

Native Son - Contrary to some reports, To Pimp a Butterfly is not based on To Kill a Mockingbird. Explaining several meanings behind the album’s concept, Kendrick stated, “The butterfly represents the thoughtfulness and how people view me in society and on the TV screen and what I can do with this is say, 'Middle fingers up' to everybody where I come from ... or I can do something productive with it. That’s one meaning. Or I can go a little bit deeper and show how the industry looks at artists and how they pimp artists out or how the world views us coming from an urban community and the hood.” (Photo: Interscope Records)
"Wesley's Theory" featuring George Clinton and Thundercat - Computer games wouldn't begin to explain how we finally got our hands on K Dot's sophomore album, making the George Clinton feature here as prophetic as the song's bass line. "Anybody can get it," Dr. Dre says on it. "The hard part is keeping it, motherf***er."(Photo: Chelsea Lauren/WireImage)
"For Free? (Interlude)" - Church leads this track right into the mind of your typical around-the-way girl and then left turns to rest at an open mic night. "This d**k ain't free," Kendrick The Poet repeats, in anxious restraint.(Photo: Angelo Merendino/Getty Images)
"King Kunta" - "Now I run the game, got the whole world talking," King Kendrick announces over a stank and feverish Sounwave and Terrace Martin-produced beat. He ain't never lied.(Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images)"Institutionalized" featuring Bilal, Anna Wise and Snoop Dogg - To Pimp a Butterfly slows down a bit here –– musically, not in message. "S**t don't change until you get up and wash your a**," sings Bilal. Snoop is in storytelling mode, even though he's relegated to a hook.(Photo: Noel Vasquez/WireImage)

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"Wesley's Theory" featuring George Clinton and Thundercat - Computer games wouldn't begin to explain how we finally got our hands on K Dot's sophomore album, making the George Clinton feature here as prophetic as the song's bass line. "Anybody can get it," Dr. Dre says on it. "The hard part is keeping it, motherf***er."(Photo: Chelsea Lauren/WireImage)

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