Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 110 Best Albums of the 2010s, representing a varied cross-section of artists, genres, and styles. Click “Next Album” below to explore each album in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & album index here.
KENDRICK LAMAR | To Pimp A Butterfly
Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope (2015)
Selected by Marcus Willis
To Pimp A Butterfly is the rare record that shot for the moon and hit that motherfucker square between its Jackie Gleason eyes. Lamar ambitiously tackled a near-overwhelming number of heavy topics from an extremely Black perspective—police brutality, suicidal ideation, self-love, rap industry politics, colorism—backed by a score just as wide-ranging and culturally centered, seamlessly shifting between P-Funk, free jazz, ‘70s-and-neo-soul, and ‘90s boom-bap. This all could’ve easily fallen apart, but is held together tightly by Lamar’s nimbly chameleonic flows and the album’s house band, anchored by underground heroes Thundercat, Terrace Martin, and Kamasi Washington. The end result is a modern masterpiece that, much like Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele (2000), followed a classic major-label debut with an undeniably special, all-time great piece of work.
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