@@grammar_antifayeah that craziest part about this album. I know so much people who don’t listen to rap at all bust still consider this album a masterpiece. Which is why for there no other rapper that can touch kendrick
This! And as soon as you walk into the spaceship it’s like a psychedelic trip and you can’t keep your eyes open because you just want to feel the music
Thundercat is the backbone for A LOT of this last decades most critically acclaimed music. Pop, hip-hop, r&b, jazz, funk... Once you've heard of him, his name pops up in liner notes absolutely everywhere.
@@joshwhite5730not just a Thrash band, it was Suicidal Tendencies. Not to mention he's been an extremely notable Jazz Bassist since the YJG release. Just the best
Kendrick is the GOAT for many reasons. In a matter of four albums he’s managed to give us: A movie (Good Kid Maad city) A poem (To Pimp a Butterfly) A Pulitzer Prize winning album that serves as a warning and can be played backwards for a different ending (Damn) And a stage play (Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers). An absolute genius and master of his craft and I can’t recommend diving into all of his albums enough. Each one is truly a masterpiece in its own right.
@@TFHereticyeah but the way the album sounds and plays out is kind of like a stage play i still think mr morale is amazing, i really don’t get why so many people hated it
@@javiartem the album is a masterpiece in my eyes but I don't think people "hated" it, just underwhelmed I guess...? I get that, it has very minimal production and doesn't have a lot of commercial bops
man’s facial expressions a few seconds into the record lol. He’s absolutely loving it. what i wouldn’t give to be able to experience this album for the first time all over again.
@@cedrichumphrey96 dude no, they basically said "oh man, what I would not give to experience this again" meaning he wouldn't give anything to experience again Also meaning that that he doesn't think the album is deserving of giving something precious to experience again iykwim
I knew it wasn't just me. The production is insane on this track. I've been listening to it every day for the past month. My cousin asked what the hell are you listening to I just ignored him and turned it up louder.
Shout out to Flying Lotus on the production for this track! Kendrick apparently sat on many of his beats, but they did release a collab before this album on Lotus’s ‘You’re Dead’. It’s called Never Catch Me, has an amazing video, and is super funky too! (Thundercat and FlyLo have almost always worked closely together throughout both their solo albums), and inspired by Queen though I wouldn’t have guessed! It was actually Lotus who finished the production and suggested George, when Kendrick wanted a finishing touch on the song!
I dunno how you would do this but if you did one big long video reacting to this album would be awesome. The full effect of the genius of this record is when it's heard in full. For me this is one of the best Hip-Hop albums of the last 10-15 years, it's like a benchmark for what came afterwards
Word. It's like an exclusive club of the ones that actually get it. Universal. However, it's so accessible if you just give it an actual opportunity. 💯
I honestly get excited and a lil jealous when folks here T.P.A.B.(to pimp a butterfly) for the first time. I was 11-12yrs old when the album dropped. I loved every minute of it. It was a breath of fresh air. So to see other reaction to it makes me happy and excited
I was 19. I remember the distinct feeling after hearing it from start to finish for the first time as Mortal Man ended, that I was a different person than I was before.
Listened to the entire record in full today for the first time! I had listened to Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers which I loved and maad city which I disliked, DAMN which I thought was fine. And I never realized I hadn't listened to TPAB yet, I loved All Right and still never listened to the album. The first song had me shook! I feel so dumb for forgetting to listen to it 😭
The album just gets better, it really is an experience. Even if you don't do it on camera you should treat yourself to a front to back listen. Going track by track like this is like reading individual chapters of a brilliant novel. It's contiguous. The tracks bleed into each other, contextualize each other, and build into something greater than the sum of the tracks with each other. Take a Saturday. Pull up lyrics. Get out the good headphones. It's worth it.
I remember buying this as a CD back in 2015, I was just a broke college kid who was in love with Hip Hop and a big fan of Kendrick. I felt like at the time he was extremely underrated and as someone who loves lyrics, I genuinely thought he was on his way of becoming the greatest of our generation. When I played the CD in my car for the first time driving and I honestly I was like holy shit this is so different, I was in love with it but hated how people received it. Calling it boring or weird at the time and I felt alone. My personal favorites are institutionalized and Momma. That fucking beat change and instrumental in institutionalized is soooooo fucking amazing Jesus Christ And momma is just so nostalgic, it’s humbling and the outro is one of my favorites. The “I know everything” scheme and ending it with “until I realized I didn’t know shit.. the day I came home” AND the outro when he’s talking about looking for happiness and trying to find it in everything Idk why but it gave me like a lump in my throat. Looking back at it now, in a way I’m so happy that people are realizing how amazing it is and he’s getting his flowers. Also I’m saying this here and now, the exact same reception is happening to Mr. Morale. But in 5 years when kids grow up and people mature, they’re going to listen and realize how therapeutic that record is.
This reminds me why I love music so much that I minored in music and piano despite not being a natural musician. It was a love affair I will never regret.
The defining record of the post 2000s. Nothing in any genre can touch this in terms of musicianship combined with uniqueness combined with cultural relevance
The thing about every kendrick album is that the music is only half the fascination. There is always a surreal feeling when you realize the concept of the album and how everything ties together to a coherent story.
I love the range of reactors. There are some that I watch for lyric analysis and hype around the music for hip-hop, but RUclipsrs like Michael show me a new world of genius that lie in the instruments that support the rapper.
I know every comment has suggested it, but here’s another… please do the whole album!! This entire album blends jazz/funk and hip hop soooo well. Add that to the absolutely dense subject matter that Kendrick raps about through the album and that is why it’s considered one of the best albums of all time.
I haven’t clicked this quickly on a video in a long time. So happy that you went back to another Kendrick video, Michael! You hit the nail on the head - the production quality, the grooves, the melodic flow and rhythmic content, every member of the band playing super tight. Whether or not you make a video of it, please listen to the whole album! The way Kendrick slowly reveals threads of the overall themes of discovering himself is mind blowing. There are colleges that teach courses on “To Pimp a Butterfly” because of how deep it goes. You won’t regret it!
Momma is my second favorite song of his. Very digestible but intricate. The adlibs and vocals on it towards the end are beautiful. First favorite is of course the live version of "i"
TPAB was the first album I've ever bought. Got it on CD. Streaming was around but CD's weren't quite an archaic concept yet. When I tell you I played this album front to back 300 times, you better know it's the truth. The poetry teacher at my school even had multiple classes breaking this album down. For me, the production was the main appeal, but this is the first album that made me care about rap lyrics (and I'm a young black guy from the hood).
Wesley’s Theory and How Much a Dollar Cost are up there as a couple of my favorite tracks he’s ever made and they both genuinely got me to reflect on my own life. I’m a white guy but I grew up around black folks and even though I’ve never fully understood the black struggle, Kendrick makes me feel like even though I didn’t directly experience what my friends experienced growing up, that I can still care about the experience and relate a lot of it to my own life. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it, but I genuinely think kendrick is the best to ever do it.
I remember listening to this for the first time and being absolutely blown away too, it's awesome to see you go through the motions we all went through haha🤯🤯🤯
The depth of lyricism in this album is so incredible that i think many often forget the masterful production as well. Top to bottom one of the most compicated pieces of music ever made, taking production and lyrics into account.
I listen to Kendrick daily and he’s my favorite artist of all time.. But your reactions and responses are making me feel like I’m hearing this song for the first time again
and in the reaction video before this : The Heart Part 5 "Euphoria is glorified and made His Reflectin' on my life and what I done Paid dues, made rules, change outta love" To Pimp a Butterfly released 2015 and would have been maybe a year after the whole Drake beef started and obv had no relevance at the time if anything not to the level it is today and I really doubt he was playing 5D chess 10 years ago already but at the very least he has a big footprint of the music that he had made that was killing it at the time and that started to fuel Drakes pettiness
Well if you listened to albums you would realise that the last few notes of Wesley's Theory extends the intro of the next track For free(interlude). It’s a melodic reference.
Watching a musician break down the greatest rapper of a generations best (imo) song in real time is fascinating. You just see the cogs turning and the realness to the reaction, and it’s mostly the production, not even the lyrics and amazing storytelling
love that this man just posted a damn near religious experience for us to watch. I was right there with you, i was AMAZED by how a song i already loved so much had transformed because u made it feel like i was listening to it for the first time again. this is why i love this type of stuff so much, it really makes me feel like i'm listening to this like its brand new. hope u like the rest of the album!
I just want to remind everyone that Taylor Swift’s 1989 album won album of the year in that years Grammy over TPAB. At the time it was probably the politically correct album to pick because telling all Americans to listen to TPAB at the time was probably seen as taboo or just too much. America wasn’t ready for this album and neither was the Grammys. Looking back now, 1989 is just another Bed bath and beyond nostalgia album while TPAB is a piece of history, a piece of musicianship that is worth being remembered in museums and taught in contemporary history.
Grammys is an overall under representation of black music. Macklemore won album of the year over GKMC, cardi b won over Travis Scott Astro world, Nicki Minaj has never won a Grammy, Busta rymes has never won a Grammy, the list goes on and it's alarming.
You're underselling 1989 -- it really is a modern classic, regardless of whether it's our particular taste or whether it's her best (it isn't) -- but yes, it's clearly the wrong choice for that year. Far from the worst choice the Grammys have ever made, but wrong nonetheless.
Honestly as a fan of rap, this song specifically was such an acquired taste for me. I remember being so confused by it at first because it’s so musically complicated. People probably didn’t appreciate the album as much when it first came out
i still remember the winter this dropped and i put it on. i was not ready for what this song was about to be, i had a nice system in my car at the time and it just instantly sucked me in with that beat. great reaction!
I came here after watching your review of The Heart Part 5. So awesome watching you take in all the nuance Kendrick offers as a rapper. George Clinton and Thundercat are downright incredible on this song. The "person" he's talking about in the song is actually the rap game. "At first I did love you, but now I just wanna f***". He adored the rap game until he became a part of it, now he just wants to dabble in it lol. "Late nights thinking of you, until I got my nut." Adding to what Dr. Dre was saying over the phone, Kendrick continues with "What you want? You a house? You a car? 40 acres and a mule? A piano? A guitar? See, my name is Uncle Sam, I'm your dawg" That's "the government" talking. He's sending an overarching message of financial literacy. Like yeah, you can buy all this stuff to impress people who don't even like you, but eventually, the "tax man coming". So what should your priorities REALLY be? Don't end up in prison like Wesley Snipes for tax evasion lol. And he's sending this message to people across all walks of life, not only to himself. Sorry for the wall of text but I get so enthused when I see people discovering awesome stuff like this. Thank you for your great videos.
Lyrically Kendrick is portraying himself as a rapper with money, that takes the Wesley Snipes route of balling and frivolous spending but Not Paying Taxes . Thus Wesley’s Theory
13:41 one of my favorite things about TPAB is how it sounds like a live performance. And there is so much depth and small details that you miss on each listen that you can play it over and over again and feel like it’s a different experience like a live performance feels. This album truly is a benchmark in music history
You should’ve seen my face when I first heard this album…. I had just discovered Kendrick Lamar from a Rob Scallon video… of all places. 8 years ago in high school, this song blew my mind, the whole album blew my mind
My favorite fact is that the intro monologue is Josef Leimberg. He was playing trumpet on songs. Kendrick heard his voice and said, "I need that on my album." A crazy happy accident.
So so glad you checked this out, even just to get a glimpse of Kendrick Lamar’s genius. If you don’t plan on reviewing any more from this album DEFINITELY give it a full listen when you have time. It masterful piece of conceptual art, super funky, incredibly powerful, with incredible flows and rhyming. Good Kid Mad City is another great rap album by him, even more conceptual, but is more of a commercial rap sound. Glad you checked this out and hope you do more studio recordings!
One of my favorite albums of all time. Been a huge Hip-Hop head since I was a kid. When TPAB came out I was gobsmacked by it's greatness. Had it on loop for weeks and weeks. Still go back to often.
04:22 is such a genuine reaction hahaha. I still feel this way when I listen to this song, it's just something else - an absolute goosebump factory to say the least.
I love that you said “it’s like I’ve heard it before but not in this way, but it could have only come from one place.” That’s the nature of hip hop baby! You’ve got all these different influences mashing together in harmony to create a certain sound that is distinct and distinguishable. Sounwave alongside George creates this Funky west coast classic sound that is just beautiful.
Watching this just gave this album a whole life to me. I’ve already heard it a hundred times but like you said, there’s always something new to grasp and I love to see your love for the details and cohesiveness of this song. 10/10
if you`re that impressed by the very first song just imagine the rest of the record
for me, wesleys theory is my favorite Kendrick song, possibly my favorite song of all time
@@lilnoodletm8806top 5 oat for me, def my fav kendrick
we the same@@lilnoodletm8806
@@lilnoodletm8806 I agree. I think it’s anything I could possibly ask for out of a song.
The album is amazing but this song imo is the best of the album as an individual song, cuz the U and I duality is insane (U and I are song names)
This entire albums is jazzy, groovy, rapping goodness.
God mode-ness*
Untitled Unmastered is the same, love it!
@@mbizozo6271>😢is 😢😢🎉😮😢😢😢😢🎉>is the
@@mbizozo6271 untitled is crazy underrated
@@mbizozo6271 untitled unmastered is so underrated! the track with CeeLo Green is one of my favourite songs of all time
Wesley's theory is a song where the first time you can be like "wtf is this?" And the second time it's one of the best songs ever made
My exact reaction, I still have a comment on it where I was like, IM TRYING TO LIKE THIS YALL I REALLY AM. now it's a top 5 song for me
I started getting into rap with tpab solely based on thinking I heard someone say it was good and Wesley's theory broke my brain for a bit lmao
Please, do this entire album! It's absolute insane and definitely one of the greatest albums of all time.
Agreed
Yeah. Rap isn't what I listen to most often, but I still think this is one of my top albums of all time of any genre.
Agreed. He should do a Kendrick Listening party and listen to Pimp a Butterfly or one of his other classics.
@@grammar_antifayeah that craziest part about this album. I know so much people who don’t listen to rap at all bust still consider this album a masterpiece. Which is why for there no other rapper that can touch kendrick
its the goat
To Pimp a Butterfly is like a groovy spaceship that crash landed onto earth and blessed our ears
This! And as soon as you walk into the spaceship it’s like a psychedelic trip and you can’t keep your eyes open because you just want to feel the music
The moment Mike admits he should listen to albums is so funny lol Kendrick has him shook! I love it!
Fr!!!!!
Thundercat is the backbone for A LOT of this last decades most critically acclaimed music. Pop, hip-hop, r&b, jazz, funk... Once you've heard of him, his name pops up in liner notes absolutely everywhere.
Yep hes keeping it moving. Thundercat even jammed with Prince, dude runs deep
@@justinguitarcia holy fuck prince?
@@jordanlee5594 yeah he told the story I think to Nardwuar
He was also in a Thrash Metal Band
@@joshwhite5730not just a Thrash band, it was Suicidal Tendencies. Not to mention he's been an extremely notable Jazz Bassist since the YJG release. Just the best
Kendrick is the GOAT for many reasons. In a matter of four albums he’s managed to give us:
A movie (Good Kid Maad city)
A poem (To Pimp a Butterfly)
A Pulitzer Prize winning album that serves as a warning and can be played backwards for a different ending (Damn)
And a stage play (Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers).
An absolute genius and master of his craft and I can’t recommend diving into all of his albums enough. Each one is truly a masterpiece in its own right.
You forgot section 80
Mr Morale is a sequence of therapy sessions. Each song a new trauma is unpacked, and by the end he comes to terms with his Savior complex.
@@TFHereticyeah but the way the album sounds and plays out is kind of like a stage play
i still think mr morale is amazing, i really don’t get why so many people hated it
@@javiartem the album is a masterpiece in my eyes but I don't think people "hated" it, just underwhelmed I guess...? I get that, it has very minimal production and doesn't have a lot of commercial bops
and a novel (section.80)
man’s facial expressions a few seconds into the record lol. He’s absolutely loving it.
what i wouldn’t give to be able to experience this album for the first time all over again.
Isn't it what you WOULD give?
@@youssefomar6254no. What I wouldn’t give implies theres nothing they wouldn’t give up which is the desired sentiment.
@@cedrichumphrey96 dude no, they basically said "oh man, what I would not give to experience this again" meaning he wouldn't give anything to experience again Also meaning that that he doesn't think the album is deserving of giving something precious to experience again iykwim
@@youssefomar6254google the phrase and come back buddy
@@youssefomar6254the saying can go either way you’re thinking way too deep into it 😂
Kendrick's flow is like a jazz drummer improvising
Kendrick is a real one.
Yes. I know it in my heart.
I knew it wasn't just me. The production is insane on this track. I've been listening to it every day for the past month. My cousin asked what the hell are you listening to I just ignored him and turned it up louder.
Cousins never get it.
Shout out to Flying Lotus on the production for this track! Kendrick apparently sat on many of his beats, but they did release a collab before this album on Lotus’s ‘You’re Dead’. It’s called Never Catch Me, has an amazing video, and is super funky too! (Thundercat and FlyLo have almost always worked closely together throughout both their solo albums), and inspired by Queen though I wouldn’t have guessed!
It was actually Lotus who finished the production and suggested George, when Kendrick wanted a finishing touch on the song!
the flows kendrick goes on in never catch me are CRAZY@@stateportSound_wav
I’m just going to say it: Drakes music will never need a breakdown like this. Kendrick’s musical depth is extraordinary indeed
It's like comparing Shakespeare to my 13 year old poems that were all
Joe Montana is the man/and I am his biggest fan.
I dunno how you would do this but if you did one big long video reacting to this album would be awesome. The full effect of the genius of this record is when it's heard in full.
For me this is one of the best Hip-Hop albums of the last 10-15 years, it's like a benchmark for what came afterwards
One of the best hip-hop albums of all time, it's easily top 10 in my opinion.
Yes plz, plz do this
Yur
well said, definitely a bench mark hip-hop record for everything that came out after
yes
Watching ppl discover the genius of Kdot is exhilarating. It feeds my soul and makes me so happy. Please do more kdot
Word. It's like an exclusive club of the ones that actually get it. Universal. However, it's so accessible if you just give it an actual opportunity. 💯
I honestly get excited and a lil jealous when folks here T.P.A.B.(to pimp a butterfly) for the first time. I was 11-12yrs old when the album dropped. I loved every minute of it. It was a breath of fresh air. So to see other reaction to it makes me happy and excited
I was 16 and it blew my mind man… incredible music our age
I was 19. I remember the distinct feeling after hearing it from start to finish for the first time as Mortal Man ended, that I was a different person than I was before.
❤❤❤❤❤
Listened to the entire record in full today for the first time! I had listened to Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers which I loved and maad city which I disliked, DAMN which I thought was fine. And I never realized I hadn't listened to TPAB yet, I loved All Right and still never listened to the album. The first song had me shook! I feel so dumb for forgetting to listen to it 😭
The album just gets better, it really is an experience. Even if you don't do it on camera you should treat yourself to a front to back listen. Going track by track like this is like reading individual chapters of a brilliant novel. It's contiguous. The tracks bleed into each other, contextualize each other, and build into something greater than the sum of the tracks with each other. Take a Saturday. Pull up lyrics. Get out the good headphones. It's worth it.
Beautifully written
The Kendrick Lamar Algorithm Bump - I loved this album and your reaction has me feeling the "goose bumps" all over again.
Nice pfp
I remember buying this as a CD back in 2015, I was just a broke college kid who was in love with Hip Hop and a big fan of Kendrick. I felt like at the time he was extremely underrated and as someone who loves lyrics, I genuinely thought he was on his way of becoming the greatest of our generation.
When I played the CD in my car for the first time driving and I honestly I was like holy shit this is so different, I was in love with it but hated how people received it. Calling it boring or weird at the time and I felt alone.
My personal favorites are institutionalized and Momma.
That fucking beat change and instrumental in institutionalized is soooooo fucking amazing Jesus Christ
And momma is just so nostalgic, it’s humbling and the outro is one of my favorites.
The “I know everything” scheme and ending it with “until I realized I didn’t know shit.. the day I came home”
AND the outro when he’s talking about looking for happiness and trying to find it in everything
Idk why but it gave me like a lump in my throat.
Looking back at it now, in a way I’m so happy that people are realizing how amazing it is and he’s getting his flowers.
Also I’m saying this here and now, the exact same reception is happening to Mr. Morale. But in 5 years when kids grow up and people mature, they’re going to listen and realize how therapeutic that record is.
TPAB (album) is his magnus opus imo. I hope I get to see him do some kind of anniversary tour of it so I can experience it in person.
God i know right. If i was a few years older I definitely wouldve been at one of those kunta groove sessions
This Song Is The Pinnacle Of Layering. The Production & Engineers Need All The Love.
This reminds me why I love music so much that I minored in music and piano despite not being a natural musician. It was a love affair I will never regret.
The defining record of the post 2000s. Nothing in any genre can touch this in terms of musicianship combined with uniqueness combined with cultural relevance
Hell yeah I can't believe you're reviewing this.
You are from Baltimore after all.
Yes INDEED :)
This song is such a chaotic symphony
The thing about every kendrick album is that the music is only half the fascination.
There is always a surreal feeling when you realize the concept of the album and how everything ties together to a coherent story.
I love the range of reactors. There are some that I watch for lyric analysis and hype around the music for hip-hop, but RUclipsrs like Michael show me a new world of genius that lie in the instruments that support the rapper.
Yessir!
KING. KENDRICK.
Thank you so much for this.
That's the intro, the rest of the album is also mindblowing 😁 A perfect blend of funk, jazz and hip hop
I’m with everyone else in the comments, the effort that was put into this album is unparalleled by anything else in the last 15 years for me
Parliament changed my life, became a lil funk drummer and gave me something to really work towards. They did me in the ear hole!!
As they should.
so cool so see someone experience something like this for the first time
I know every comment has suggested it, but here’s another… please do the whole album!! This entire album blends jazz/funk and hip hop soooo well. Add that to the absolutely dense subject matter that Kendrick raps about through the album and that is why it’s considered one of the best albums of all time.
I haven’t clicked this quickly on a video in a long time. So happy that you went back to another Kendrick video, Michael! You hit the nail on the head - the production quality, the grooves, the melodic flow and rhythmic content, every member of the band playing super tight. Whether or not you make a video of it, please listen to the whole album! The way Kendrick slowly reveals threads of the overall themes of discovering himself is mind blowing. There are colleges that teach courses on “To Pimp a Butterfly” because of how deep it goes. You won’t regret it!
same. Instant click.
to pimp a butterfly is just on another level, kendrick is just peak performance.
Momma is my second favorite song of his. Very digestible but intricate. The adlibs and vocals on it towards the end are beautiful. First favorite is of course the live version of "i"
TPAB was the first album I've ever bought. Got it on CD. Streaming was around but CD's weren't quite an archaic concept yet. When I tell you I played this album front to back 300 times, you better know it's the truth. The poetry teacher at my school even had multiple classes breaking this album down. For me, the production was the main appeal, but this is the first album that made me care about rap lyrics (and I'm a young black guy from the hood).
Wesley’s Theory and How Much a Dollar Cost are up there as a couple of my favorite tracks he’s ever made and they both genuinely got me to reflect on my own life. I’m a white guy but I grew up around black folks and even though I’ve never fully understood the black struggle, Kendrick makes me feel like even though I didn’t directly experience what my friends experienced growing up, that I can still care about the experience and relate a lot of it to my own life. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it, but I genuinely think kendrick is the best to ever do it.
Please do the entire album! I promise you will like it.
I remember listening to this for the first time and being absolutely blown away too, it's awesome to see you go through the motions we all went through haha🤯🤯🤯
The depth of lyricism in this album is so incredible that i think many often forget the masterful production as well. Top to bottom one of the most compicated pieces of music ever made, taking production and lyrics into account.
I listen to Kendrick daily and he’s my favorite artist of all time.. But your reactions and responses are making me feel like I’m hearing this song for the first time again
Leavin' metaphors metaphysically in a state of euphoria
Look both ways before you cross my mind
and Kendrick dropped Euphoria
and in the reaction video before this : The Heart Part 5
"Euphoria is glorified and made His
Reflectin' on my life and what I done
Paid dues, made rules, change outta love"
To Pimp a Butterfly released 2015 and would have been maybe a year after the whole Drake beef started and obv had no relevance at the time if anything not to the level it is today and I really doubt he was playing 5D chess 10 years ago already but at the very least he has a big footprint of the music that he had made that was killing it at the time and that started to fuel Drakes pettiness
and Tyler, the Creator and Kali Uchis used "look both ways before you cross my mind"
One of my favorite parts of the song.
2 of my favorite kdot songs fasho
😊
This is literally the vibe of this entire album while telling a really unique and relevant story.
Well if you listened to albums you would realise that the last few notes of Wesley's Theory extends the intro of the next track For free(interlude). It’s a melodic reference.
This is my favorite album of all time as well. And this is my favorite song on the album. Love it!
This gave me chills all over again. I'll never forget hearing this album the night it came out.
YES! More Kendrick always good
Watching a musician break down the greatest rapper of a generations best (imo) song in real time is fascinating.
You just see the cogs turning and the realness to the reaction, and it’s mostly the production, not even the lyrics and amazing storytelling
Honestly all the elements in the song are equally good.
Nah the lyrics play just of a big part in the beat
love that this man just posted a damn near religious experience for us to watch. I was right there with you, i was AMAZED by how a song i already loved so much had transformed because u made it feel like i was listening to it for the first time again. this is why i love this type of stuff so much, it really makes me feel like i'm listening to this like its brand new. hope u like the rest of the album!
I'll never forget my first time hearing this song. Thank you so much for capturing your first time and sharing it with us.
Here I am 8 months later, but you need to do the full album reaction.
Please do the full album - you won't regret it
One of the greatest albums of all time!
I’m no expert on rap/hip-hop. I just know what I like and this is absolutely genius! Everything about it makes me want more!
I just want to remind everyone that Taylor Swift’s 1989 album won album of the year in that years Grammy over TPAB. At the time it was probably the politically correct album to pick because telling all Americans to listen to TPAB at the time was probably seen as taboo or just too much. America wasn’t ready for this album and neither was the Grammys. Looking back now, 1989 is just another Bed bath and beyond nostalgia album while TPAB is a piece of history, a piece of musicianship that is worth being remembered in museums and taught in contemporary history.
Grammys is an overall under representation of black music. Macklemore won album of the year over GKMC, cardi b won over Travis Scott Astro world, Nicki Minaj has never won a Grammy, Busta rymes has never won a Grammy, the list goes on and it's alarming.
You're underselling 1989 -- it really is a modern classic, regardless of whether it's our particular taste or whether it's her best (it isn't) -- but yes, it's clearly the wrong choice for that year. Far from the worst choice the Grammys have ever made, but wrong nonetheless.
F GRAMMYS
Honestly as a fan of rap, this song specifically was such an acquired taste for me. I remember being so confused by it at first because it’s so musically complicated. People probably didn’t appreciate the album as much when it first came out
Look up Kendrick and Prince LIVE
i still remember the winter this dropped and i put it on. i was not ready for what this song was about to be, i had a nice system in my car at the time and it just instantly sucked me in with that beat. great reaction!
I came here after watching your review of The Heart Part 5. So awesome watching you take in all the nuance Kendrick offers as a rapper. George Clinton and Thundercat are downright incredible on this song.
The "person" he's talking about in the song is actually the rap game. "At first I did love you, but now I just wanna f***". He adored the rap game until he became a part of it, now he just wants to dabble in it lol. "Late nights thinking of you, until I got my nut." Adding to what Dr. Dre was saying over the phone, Kendrick continues with "What you want? You a house? You a car? 40 acres and a mule? A piano? A guitar? See, my name is Uncle Sam, I'm your dawg" That's "the government" talking. He's sending an overarching message of financial literacy. Like yeah, you can buy all this stuff to impress people who don't even like you, but eventually, the "tax man coming". So what should your priorities REALLY be? Don't end up in prison like Wesley Snipes for tax evasion lol. And he's sending this message to people across all walks of life, not only to himself.
Sorry for the wall of text but I get so enthused when I see people discovering awesome stuff like this. Thank you for your great videos.
I'm also a live music fanatic and listen to a ton of jam bands as you do... but this is my favorite album ever.
Gotta listen all the way through for full effect! I’m geekin in my seat watching you hear this for first time. Enjoy!
Everybody including producers , kendrick , the mixing mastering guy , everyone snapped on this album.
The entire record is fantastic, Tpab is easily one of the best of last decade
you must listen to this full album it is certainly heavy content wise, but it's a must listen.
This song is perfection. Probably my favorite Kendrick song
This song is just so incredibly fun, I get completely lost in the groove and the layers and the bars every single time
this album is incredible, glad to see your reaction to this as Wesleys theory is my favorite on the album and one of my favorite openers of all time!
Lyrically Kendrick is portraying himself as a rapper with money, that takes the Wesley Snipes route of balling and frivolous spending but Not Paying Taxes . Thus Wesley’s Theory
'DRE'... Love the surprise/joy you have hearing Dre making an appearance 😂
Great reaction, it was so clear that you love Music!!
Please keep digging on this album, the musical direction is 11/10
13:41 one of my favorite things about TPAB is how it sounds like a live performance. And there is so much depth and small details that you miss on each listen that you can play it over and over again and feel like it’s a different experience like a live performance feels. This album truly is a benchmark in music history
it feels like a movie
Saw George and P-funk on Beale Street in Memphis about 3 years ago. one of my favorite shows i've ever been to.
You should’ve seen my face when I first heard this album…. I had just discovered Kendrick Lamar from a Rob Scallon video… of all places. 8 years ago in high school, this song blew my mind, the whole album blew my mind
18:11 And he means staying on top of the groove.... staying true to the soul of the groove
Watch the live version on Stephen Colbert Show. He mixes it with King Kuta. Awesome!
It would be so fun to listen to more of this album w you dude, do more! If you want.
My favorite fact is that the intro monologue is Josef Leimberg. He was playing trumpet on songs. Kendrick heard his voice and said, "I need that on my album." A crazy happy accident.
You reacting to this made me love your channel. Please do more Kendrick Lamar "To Pimp A Butterfly"
This song has such a good instrumental, Thundercat really must've worked hard in the studio
This is such a jazz, funk and soulful album. True artistry at it's finest.
One of my favorite albums of all time no joke!!
where did the to pimp a butterfly reaction go
Yeah, I’m bummed it’s been taken down.
MORE, MORE & MORE KENDRICK!!!!!
Michael, love you. Love all your content. You’re gonna love this whole album.
Best artist alive !
Also some of Kendrick’s live performances of this album are insane. He does some of it with a full band
When For Free comes in that transition gives me goosebumps every. Single. Time!
The fact you genuinely considered listening to albums says a lot of how powerful this is as an opening track.
Love to see you reacting to this. Kendrick is one of those guys that just has it. Such a great mind.
Please do this whole album, I would absolutely watch 2/3 hours of you going through and fully experiencing it in its entirety
So so glad you checked this out, even just to get a glimpse of Kendrick Lamar’s genius. If you don’t plan on reviewing any more from this album DEFINITELY give it a full listen when you have time. It masterful piece of conceptual art, super funky, incredibly powerful, with incredible flows and rhyming. Good Kid Mad City is another great rap album by him, even more conceptual, but is more of a commercial rap sound. Glad you checked this out and hope you do more studio recordings!
One of my favorite albums of all time. Been a huge Hip-Hop head since I was a kid. When TPAB came out I was gobsmacked by it's greatness. Had it on loop for weeks and weeks. Still go back to often.
04:22 is such a genuine reaction hahaha. I still feel this way when I listen to this song, it's just something else - an absolute goosebump factory to say the least.
I’ve been listening to this song for years & I still get chills every time. My girl probably sick of me talking about it
WORK OF ART, yes. And starting the album like that, so delightful lol
Soooo happy to see this one here. Kendrick is a master in control of everything. His new record is one of the most honest pieces of art ever made.
Gonna echo everyone else. This album is amazing. Easily the best start to finish album I've heard in 20 years.
Oh to hear this album for the first time again! Your reaction made me so happy 😆
you should listen to "these walls" Thundercat is on it and its another kendrick banger from the same record! "To Pimp A Butterfly".
I love that you said “it’s like I’ve heard it before but not in this way, but it could have only come from one place.” That’s the nature of hip hop baby! You’ve got all these different influences mashing together in harmony to create a certain sound that is distinct and distinguishable. Sounwave alongside George creates this Funky west coast classic sound that is just beautiful.
Watching this just gave this album a whole life to me. I’ve already heard it a hundred times but like you said, there’s always something new to grasp and I love to see your love for the details and cohesiveness of this song. 10/10