That refusal may be part of the politic here. And those who are upset that Lamar won’t stay in his lane as a great technical rapper are in a sense doing the same thing. Yet when Obama does invite Common to the White House, or perhaps when I label Kendrick Lamar as a poet, that is also an act of containment, of domestication, of pimping the butterfly. Because, the subtext clearly went, only a black president would debase poetry (which Fox News of course holds so sacred) by including rap in it. And while the other radical poets tied themselves in knots over whether that made Goldsmith a political sellout, the real action was over on Fox News, where they were raising hell because Common was also on the bill. That such a high profile artist endures the same mental health issues that plague so many people around the world isn’t surprising, but Lamar’s honesty about his insecurity is what makes this track so compelling.Kenneth Goldsmith himself was invited by President Obama to the White House a couple of years ago, for a day of poetry appreciation. Lamar stayed in the booth for three hours with the lights off during the studio session. Sounwave, who produced the track, said there was no shortage of tears during the recording session. It’s clear that Lamar feels incredible guilt and doubt on this track, amplified by the sounds of liquor bottles clanging and Lamar slurring his words in the final two verses. Lamar also doubts his standing in the Hip-Hop community, despite several west coast rap legends anointing him as the next west coast king. He blames himself for his teenage sister getting pregnant and one of his close friends from Compton dying while Lamar was overseas. If that homeless man wasnt God, which is technically right to assume he might as well have been.
Throughout this song, Lamar lays all of his insecurities out. To Pimp a Butterfly, an Album by Kendrick Lamar. This was especially due to so many people looking up to him. He admitted that even with his fame and wealth, he battled depression.
#Kendrick lamar pimp a butterfly homeless man god series
He had just released a series of deeply mediocreand occasionally outright bad.
This infuriates Lamar to the point that he gets out of the car and confronts the man. Lamar enters his car, and the vagabond is still glaring at him. Lamar immediately denies the request and looks to go about his day, but he notices that the homeless man is staring at him as he pumps his car. Lamar tells a story about a homeless man who begs him for money while he’s trying to get gas.