Bloomsbury has put out its 33 ⅓ series – a collection of short books analysing your favourite albums – on Spotify, and icl they’ve been accompanying me on my commute every day. Especially Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, which takes a deep dive into K-Dot’s arguably most significant album.
Written and narrated by author and literature assistant professor at Spelman College Dr. Sequoia Maner, the audiobook explores the themes of Kendrick’s To Pimp A Butterfly. The legendary album that broke the global record for streams in a single day (10 million) – Kenny’s sophomore album takes on the themes of USA, the American dream, and American heroes to create political commentary on America and its problems. It’s first and foremost a political album, drawing on culture and racism, fusing funk, jazz and spoken word – bringing innovation (both lyrically and sonically) to the rap world.
Sequoia Maner delves into Kendrick’s lyrical symbolism, his range of sound, and his sense of optimism within the dark political and cultural motifs that he explores.
You can stream Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly by Sequoia Maner on Spotify Audiobooks – available for free to all Spotify Premium users as part of Spotify Audiobooks (if you have a Spotify Premium subscription, you can access 15 hours of audiobook listening each month).
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