Kendrick Lamar has spoken to MTV about his initial thoughts for the title for this year’s radically charged LP, To Pimp a Butterfly.
In a tribute to Tupac Shakur, the rapper had originally decided on Tu Pimp a Caterpillar, the abbreviation of which would have been ‘Tupac’. The deceased rapper and hip-hop icon makes an appearance at the end of the record, in a simulated interview between the pair.
Lamar explained that ultimately, use of the word ‘butterfly’ did a better job of exploring the wide range of meanings and emotions tied up in the word ‘pimp’.
“I just really wanted to show the brightness of life and the word ‘pimp’ has so much aggression, and that represents several things,” the rapper explained. “For me, it represents using my celebrity for good.”
Watch the original MTV interview below. You can read Crack’s review of the number one record here.
