What Does To Pimp A Butterfly Mean

The journey of achieving self-love in To pimp a butterfly

Kendrick Lamar is an American rapper and songwriter known for his uplifting and progressive music. His music is known to be aware of issues within society and communities. It is also aware of deeper issues within himself, which Lamar takes a careful interest in considering his youth in Compton. The album, To Pimp a Butterfly, addresses the topics of racism, oppression, materialism, and self-love. Although each song shadows different themes, the conflict of achieving self-love follows through in almost every song, which exists through narcissistic injury, alcoholism, and the misuse of influence. Through the use of metaphors and incorporating symbolism and imagery, Kendrick Lamar creates

He briefly forgot his self-hatred and his reference to alcohol content is a metaphor for how his emotions are constantly fluctuating. This momentary slip in his thoughts is an indication of his inner struggle. He wants to be in a place of contentment, but his inner demons keep resurfacing. This is further demonstrated in the lines "I can feel your vibe and /recognize that you're ashamed of me/Yes, I hate you, too." The alcohol served as a temporary escape from his troubles, allowing him to forget the pain of being unloved. He embraced the idea of being intoxicated, as it meant forgetting his sorrows. Afterwards a housekeeper interrupts the song “Housekeeping, housekeeping (what do i got to do to get to you) ¡Abre la puerta! ¡Abre la puerta tengo que limpiar el cuarto!..¡Es que no hay mucho tiempo tengo que limpiar el cuarto!" which translates to "open the door, I need to clean the room, there's not a lot of time." This is a symbol used to represent the lack of time Kendrick feels he has, as he can’t bring himself to open the door to allow the housekeeper to clean, the alcohol helps endure his shame for being a hypocrite. This leads up to the next section of the song, where Kendrick continues to sing in a drunkish tone, slurring his words and sobbing. In this part of the song, Kendrick has left his ruminative style and his now in a slow, hopeless tone. Kendricks writes “I know you are irresponsible, selfish, in denial, can’t help it” which further exposes the pure self deprecation brought on by the guilt of his past and his narcissistic