Welcome to Dissect, Long Form Musical Analysis broken into short digestible episodes.

I'm your host Cole Kishna. In episodes one and two we explored three, the history of Compton,

Kendrick's upbringing and evolution as artist

and Good Kid Mad City, his major label debut.

These are the foundational elements

that the Pimpa Butterfly are built upon and will be used as

reference points throughout our examination of the album. As you'll remember, Good Kid

Mad City told a coming-of-age story. We witnessed K-dot, a young boy whose actions were influenced by the chaos of Compton,

transform into Kendrick Lamar, a man who found redemption through music and lives by principles of love,

family, and God.

To Pippa Butterfly picks up where Good Kid left off.

Kendrick, now a global icon, is transported into an unfamiliar world of fame, wealth,

influence, and temptation. Remember, for the first 25 years of his life, Compton

was the only world Kendrick knew. When he made it out, he was ill-equipped to navigate his new world.

He was met with more temptation of sin, not less. He also

experienced deep remorse about the people he left behind and was confused and

insecure about his place in the world outside of Compton. I always figured I was, you know, a real strong, strong-minded person, you know what I'm saying?

I fell and bumped my head a few times, you know, being influenced by people around me, but I always felt like, you know, I was always a leader.

But it's a different type of temptation when the spotlight is on you.

You know what I'm saying?

And that right there, that really defines how much willpower

and how strong- mind you really are. What's my weak

...