Music: Poetic Lyrics Elevate “To Pimp a Butterfly”

Story by Ryan Fontenette-Mitchell, Reporter

West Coast rapper and Compton native Kendrick Lamar unveiled his new album “To Pimp A Butterfly” on March 15. Lamar’s poetic lyrics bring America’s issues to life with upbeat tracks, a heavy jazz influence and strong vocals.

Lamar shows growth from his previous album “good kid m.A.A.d city” by pushing listeners to think deeply about how they can bring about social change in America.

West Coast rapper and Compton native Kendrick Lamar unveiled his new album “To Pimp A Butterfly” on March 15. Lamar’s poetic lyrics bring America’s issues to life with upbeat tracks, a heavy jazz influence and strong vocals.

Lamar shows growth from his previous album “good kid m.A.A.d city” by pushing listeners to think deeply about how they can bring about social change in America.

The order in which Lamar lays out his tracks allows listeners to journey through his mind, experience thoughts and emotions. The album challenges popular views on politics and racism. It also addresses the depression and suicidal thoughts Lamar has faced.

In the song “Mortal Man,” Lamar includes audio from a 1994 interview with the last great king of Hip-Hop, Tupac Shakur.

In the interview, taken from Swedish radio show P3 Soul, Lamar realized the best way to reach out to teens and help them change the world is through music.

“In my opinion, only hope that we kinda have left is music and vibrations. A lot of people don’t understand how important that is,” Lamar said.

“To Pimp A Butterfly” should be listened to closely in order to discover its full meaning. Online music magazine Pitchfork has ranked the album No. 2 on its highest rated album of 2015 list. Parental advisory is on the album for use of profane language.

Courtesy picture by Hypebeast.com, Interscope Records,Top Dawg Entertainment

TIPA 2015

Six members of Accent’s student staff attended the 2015 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference April 9-11 in San Antonio.
Congratulations to Accent Editor in Chief Noor Alahmadi who was elected Secretary of the 2016 TIPA student executive committee.
Congratulations to the following Accent students for being recognized in five categories including two First Place awards:
  • First Place Critical Review – Joseph Van Vranken, Multimedia Editor
  • First Place Picture Story – Dave Creaney, Photographer and Preston Bezant, Layout/Design Editor
  • Honorable Mention News story – Manal El-Haj, Reporter
  • Honorable Mention Feature Page Design – Preston Bezant, Layout/Design Editor
  • Honorable Mention Illustration (Non-photo) – Daniel Groh, contributor
TIPA was established in 1909 at Baylor University and is the oldest collegiate press association in the nation.
This year 442 students and 76 advisers attended the convention from 62 member colleges and universities. The convention hosted journalism contests ranging from TV News Broadcasting to Newspaper Headline Writing. Professional journalists and journalism professors held workshops on networking, resume writing, and various aspects of journalism.
“The contests were very competitive and drove me to put my best foot forward,” Ryan Fontenette-Mitchell, Accent reporter and business clerk said. “The workshops were detail oriented and gave me a lot of information that I can apply in my career.”
Accent Staff
Accent’s spring 2015 staff members complete registration at their first Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference April 9 at the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio. This was the time attending the convention for (left to right) Ryan Fontenette-Mitchell, Chloe Kwak, Noor Alahmadi, Gaius Straka, Joseph Lee and Shannon Mullery.