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To Pimp a Butterfly:

Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America

Addie Nguyen

Department of Sociology, Michigan State University

SOC 214: Social Inequalities

Dr. Prior

April 18th, 2024

To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 2

Abstract

This paper will serve as an analysis of the overarching sociological themes present in the album

“To Pimp a Butterfly” by Kendrick Lamar (2015), in particular the racial oppression present in

education, government and public policy, as well as empowerment and efforts to reform, in

connection with Ore’s book “The Social Construction of Difference and Inequality” (2022).

However, this analysis would be incomplete without mentioning the background context of

Kendrick Lamar as an artist, the album, and its public reception. Hence, this section will serve as

a brief summation of the album’s context in popular culture.

Kendrick Lamar has become “the mainstream’s most touted rapper with music that is undeniably

Black in focus” (Williams, 2018). With multiple Grammy awards, a revered Pulitzer Prize award

in his arsenal, critical acclaim, and general public appraisal, Kendrick has asserted himself to be

“the reigning fount of significance for not only hip-hop culture specifically, but more generally

for black and brown young people during the second decade of the twenty-first century”, as well

as having the ability to “give voice to the complexity of racialized life under continued

economic, political, social, and cultural uncertainties” (Driscoll et al., 2024/2019). With this

influence, K. Dot (as affectionately called by fans) holds immense power as one of the leading

voices in the conscious rap and hip-hop genre, as well as the mainstream music scene.

Receiving critical and mass public acclaim regarding the musicality of the album, the album

draws endless inspiration and pays homage to revered artists such as Robert Glasper, Miles

Davis, Sly Stone, Tupac, Outkast, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Sufjan Stevens (Weiss, 2015).

Apart from the incredible musicianship and artistry demonstrated throughout, To Pimp a

Butterfly has also cemented its place in modern pop culture as one of the most influential pieces
To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 3

of artwork due to its approach and dissection of rich existential themes, the black experience,

racism, toxic masculinity, and a showcase of racial empowerment (Butler, 2015).

The Cycle of Poverty, School-To-Prison Pipeline, Hyper-Consumerism, and Struggle for

Education Reform

Throughout the album, Lamar touched on the ramifications for young black men caused by

failures of the current education system. He used Wesley Snipe, who was both sentenced to three

years in prison and fined 5 million US dollars for willful failure to file and 15 million US dollars’

worth of federal income tax returns (Hattenstone, 2020), as one of the examples of success not

maintained due to lack of proper education. Wesley Snipe did not understand the tax and

bureaucratic system, and without timely help, he suffered the consequences. Kendrick Lamar

extrapolated on this throughout Wesley’s Theory, the opening song of the album:

“Hit the press with a Cuban link on my neck

Uneducated, but I got a million-dollar check like that”,
and

“And when you hit the White House, do you

But remember, you ain't pass economics in school
And everything you buy, taxes will deny
I'll Wesley Snipe your ass before thirty-five”.

This theme is commonly seen in the hip-hop scene and is a part of a much bigger conundrum

regarding multiple socio-economic barriers that prevent black youth from ascending their class

status, or even push them to a descend. Low-income caregivers are unable to access high-quality

schooling, social services, and childcare. In addition, when black youth enter schools, inner-city

black youths are clustered in failing schools, more likely to be suspended or enrolled in special
To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 4

education classes, less likely to graduate on time, and more likely to drop out of school

altogether (Quane, Wilson, and Hwang). With black girls in particular, qualitative data showed

that black girls were more likely to experience exclusionary discipline outcomes for subjective

reasons, such as disobedience/defiance, detrimental behavior, and third-degree assault, which

depend on judgement of school personnel, in contrast white girls, would receive discipline

outcomes for objective reasons, such as drug and alcohol possessions (Annamma et al.).

Research has also shown that black youth are more likely than their peers to be confined in

secure detention, be arrested, have their cases formally adjudicated by the courts, and be

incarcerated (Quane, Wilson, and Hwang).

“The blue-eyed devil”, which would emerge later on throughout the album as “Lucy”, or morph

into “Uncle Sam”, served as the personification of white supremacy, the devil Lucifer that

represented internal struggles, and government as an institution aiming to drag down Kendrick:

“I'ma get my Uncle Sam to fuck you up” (For Free? (Interlude) [Song], Kendrick Lamar),

and

“Lucy give you no worries, Lucy got million stories

About these rappers that I came after when they was boring
Lucy gon' fill your pockets
Lucy gon' move your mama out of Compton
Inside the gi-gantic mansion like I promised
Lucy just want your trust and loyalty, avoiding me?
It's not so easy, I'm at these functions accordingly” (For Sale? (Interlude) [Song],
Kendrick Lamar)

Hyper-consumerism, which is perpetuated by a combination of greed, societal expectations of

black men in entertainment to be visibly affluent, escapism, and government policies and traps,
To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 5

also contributes to making Lamar succumb to his desires and possibly pushing him out of wealth.

The line “Choice is devastated, decapitated the horseman” in “For Free? (Interlude)” alluded to

how the United States, with its “head” (policies and history) already “decapitated” (pointing to

the damage done on African Americans throughout history), cannot be reserved and only is

reenforced over time.

Attempts to dismantle institutional injustices present in these sectors have been made, but not

without obstacles. An allusion repeated throughout the album is “forty acres and a mule”, which

pointed to the promise President Abraham Lincoln made after slavery abolition that was broken

by President Andrew Johnson:

“What you want you, a house⁠? You, a car?

Forty acres and a mule? A piano, a guitar?” (Alright [Song], Kendrick Lamar)

With attempts to dismantle racialized policies, there exist challenges. For example, President

Obama’s attempts to revitalize poor, underresourced neighborhoods can best be considered as

“multisite demonstration programs”, since these programs only reach a fraction of the

beleaguered neighborhoods, due to Congress’s refusal to requests for additional funding (Quane,

Wilson, and Hwang). Researcher Goldstein reconfirmed this disparity between efforts to reform

and the US’s policies that reenforce and intensify the suffering of impoverished people:

“Social policy as a matter of social control and labor market regulation serves more

decidedly as a means to humiliate, punish, and moralize. The consequences of this

orientation are compounded by the proliferation of eviction and predatory revenue

schemes targeting and criminalizing impoverished people of color – including a massive

complex of escalating fines, fees, debt, and credit regimes associated with citations,
To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 6

arrest, adjudication, incarceration, probation, bail, and bond payment, as well as direct

asset seizure in the form of civil forfeiture” (Goldstein, pp. 252).

Overall, after accounting for attempts that aim to reform the system, the systematic racism

embedded into government policies, programs, and legislation have all contributed to strengthen

racialized poverty, prevent proper access to education, and escalated loss of previously gained

wealth.

Police Brutality, Black Empowerment, and Hope for Social Reform in America

With many existential and oppressive themes throughout, the album still managed to champion a

message of black empowerment and unity among black youth. Although the most prominent

showcase of this message embodiment would be “Alright” ([Song] Kendrick Lamar) being one

of the anthems soundtracking the #BlackLivesMatter movement (Limbong, 2019), many songs

in the album also serve as a champion for a message of hope.

In the first example, “Alright”, this is echoed especially in the pre-chorus and chorus:

“Hard times like, "Yah!"

Bad trips like, "Yah!"
Nazareth
I'm fucked up, homie, you fucked up
But if God got us, then we gon' be alright” ([Song] Kendrick Lamar)

and

“Nigga, we gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

We gon' be alright
To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 7

Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Huh? We gon' be alright

Nigga, we gon' be alright

Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon' be alright” ([Song] Kendrick Lamar).

Police brutality, the systematic oppression which the #BlackLivesMatters movement fought
against, was also explored in this song:

“Nigga, and we hate po-po

Wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho' ” ([Song] Kendrick Lamar).

An imagined revenge for the systematic oppression by subverting expectations was expressed
later in the song “i” as well:

“Ahh, I put a bullet in the back of the back of the head of the poli' ” ([Song] Kendrick
Lamar).

Racial differences in neighborhoods have been shown to led to problematic policing that is

especially apparent in African American communities. The dilemma of simultaneous under and

over-policing in these zoned neighborhoods that typically more Black and Latinos/a/x presented

challenges in helping African Americans escape mass incarceration and police brutality, as well

as reforming trust with authoritative figures and institutions. With this comes to the rise of legal

cynicism – “a cultural orientation in which the law and its agents of control are viewed as

ineffective and illegitimate – something that makes people feel free to violate the law” (Braga,

Brunson, and Drakulich).

However, multiple songs on the album expressed optimism of the black youth for regain in

power and status in society. In Alright, this presented as optimism for the collective black body

to, through solidarity, come out the other end “Alright”. In “i”, this is expanded to a love for
To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 8

oneself after destructive suicidal tendencies and thoughts of zero self-worth that was contrasted

in “u”:

“Dreams of reality's peace (Oh, yeah)

Blow steam in the face of the beast
Sky could fall down, wind could cry now
Look at me, motherfucker, I smile” (“i” [Song], Kendrick Lamar),

and

(I love myself)
Uh, and when you lookin' at me, ah, tell me what do you see?
(I love myself)
Ahh, I put a bullet in the back of the back of the head of the bully
(I love myself)
Huh, illuminated by the hand of God, boy don't seem shy
(I love myself) (“i” [Song], Kendrick Lamar).

Kendrick Lamar also reiterates the importance of a sustained fight for change, wanting to be

revered like the great activists before such as Nelson Mandela:

“The ghost of Mandela, hope my flows stay propellin'

Let these words be your Earth and moon, you consume every message
As I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression” (“Mortal Man” [Song],
Kendrick Lamar).

Researcher Robert Lovato reemphasizes the importance of organized change, providing a

somewhat expansionary opinion to change propelled by a few individuals. Instead of placing the

fate of a movement upon a single individual, and with their death or imprisonment would go the

death of said movement, Lovato showcased the superiority of a more globalized, decentralized,
To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 9

multi-issue-tackling approach that can navigate the complexities of cultural phenomena, political

discussions, and historical contexts.

Kendrick Lamar, with the body of work he possesses, hopes to transcend barriers and direct

people to change, and by directing it to coalitions around common causes - a method agreed by

Patricia Collins - he strives to unify people to aid in systematic racism reform. According to

Collins, by strategizing our reconstruction of race, class, and gender analysis to forming

coalitions around common causes instead of a common enemy, people would be able to focus on

overcoming differences, understanding one’s simultaneous experiences of privilege and

oppression, and work toward reform, instead of short-tunneling and focusing on a short-term

enemy present. Since systematic inequality will adapt and evolve with time, the intersectional,

group effort approach would be the best way to fight for change.

In the end, through To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar, with “room for mistakes and depression”

(“Mortal Man” [Song]), has surmounted himself as a forefront to voice the black experience,

systematic racism, and served to promote black empowerment, not only as a mainstream cultural

phenomenon, but also as a revered artist that will be studied for years to come.
To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 10

References

Kendrick Lamar. (2015). To Pimp a Butterfly [Album]. Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath

Entertainment, and Interscope Records.

Butler, W. (2016, April 12). Six months of Kendrick Lamar’s masterpiece, To Pimp A Butterfly |

Internet Archive. Web.archive.org.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160412065859/http://www.gigwise.com/blogs/102811/ke

ndrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-6-months-later-feature

Weiss, D. (2015, March 20). Review: Kendrick Lamar Returns with the Great American Hip-Hop

Album, “To Pimp a Butterfly.” SPIN; Next Management Partners.

https://www.spin.com/2015/03/kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly/

Hattenstone, S. (2020, November 2). Wesley Snipes on art, excellence and life after prison: “I

hope I came out a better person.” The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/nov/02/wesley-snipes-on-art-excellence-and-

life-after-prison-i-hope-i-came-out-a-better-person

Quan, J. M., Wilson, W. J., and Hwang, J.. Black Men and the Struggle for Work: Social and

economic Barriers Persist. In T. E. Ore (Ed.), The Social Construction of Difference and

Inequality (2022) (8th ed., pp. 485-495). Oxford University Press.

Annamma, S. A., Anyon, Y., Joseph, N. M., Farrar, J., Greer, E., Downing, B., & Simmons, J.

(2022). Black Girls and School Discipline: The Complexities of Being Overrepresented

and Understudied. In T. E. Ore (Ed.), The Social Construction of Difference and

Inequality (pp. 223–233). Oxford University Press.

Goldstein, A. (2022). The Threat of Poverty Without Misery. In T. E. Ore (Ed.), The Social

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To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 11

Limbong, A. (2019, August 26). Both Party And Protest, “Alright” Is The Sound Of Black Life’s

Duality. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/08/26/753511135/kendrick-lamar-alright-

american-anthem-party-protest

Braga, A. A., Brunson, R. K., and Drakulich, K. M.. (2022). Race, Place, and Effective Policing.

In T. E. Ore (Ed.), The Social Construction of Difference and Inequality, (8th ed., pp. 251-

267). Oxford University Press.

Lovato, R.. Voices of a New Movimiento. In T. E. Ore (Ed.), The Social Construction of Difference

and Inequality, (8th ed., pp. 251-267). Oxford University Press.

Collins, P. H.. Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and

Connection. In T. E. Ore (Ed.), The Social Construction of Difference and Inequality, (8th

ed., pp. 251-267). Oxford University Press.

To Pimp a Butterfly: Institutional Oppression and Racial Empowerment in America 12

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