Kendrick Lamar Had Another Name for His Album Before ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’

Kendrick Lamar revealed the original title of his new album. He sat down with MTV and disclosed that To Pimp A Butterfly was originally titled Tu Pimp A Caterpillar, a nod to Tupac (Tu.P.A.C.). The meaning of the title was discovered by DeadEndHipHop.

"That was the original point when I got the [2Pac] interview, that was the original idea," he said. "And me changing it to butterfly is me really wanting to show the brightness of life and pimp had so much aggression. For me it represents several things. It represent using my celebrity for good. Another is me not being pimp by the industry."

The interview he's referring to is on the album's last track "Mortal Man," where Lamar "talks to" Tupac Shakur. The TDE artist goes on to discuss depression, the death of close friends, the album cover, ghostwriting, leaving Compton and survivor's guilt. He also broke down some tracks from To Pimp A Butterfly, pointing out "Wesley's Theory" is his favorite right now.

On "Wesley's Theory":

"This is one of my favorite records off the joint. The lyrics is me going back to that feeling of what I wanted to do when I got signed. You go back to that same mentality when you get some money. I'm gonna do this for the homies. I'm gonna take them around the world and let them see things they haven't seen before.

"The overall theme of the record, why I love it so much, is because it talks about something we weren't taught in school when we get this money. I spent all my time in school and escaping prison and escaping the system. So you mean to tell me the moment I become successfully and I get some money and I don't know how to manage this money, you're going to throw me back in jail for taxes?"

Watch the interview below.

Filed Under: Kendrick Lamar

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