Kendrick Lamar Reveals The Original ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ Title That Honored Tupac

Bianca Gracie | April 1, 2015 6:43 am
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Kendrick Lamar’s third studio LP, To Pimp A Butterfly, has a unique and metaphorical meaning. But the rapper recently revealed that was not his first choice for the album title! In an interview with MTV, K. Dot explains he wanted to call it Tu Pimp a Caterpillar in honor of the late Tupac Shakur.

“That was the original name and they caught it because the abbreviation was Tupac, Tu-P-A-C,” the rapper stated in reference to a blog figuring out his intentions. He continued, “Me changing it to Butterfly, I just really wanted to show the brightness of life and the word pimp has so much aggression and that represents several things. For me, it represents using my celebrity for good. Another reason is, not being pimped by the industry through my celebrity.”

On the album’s closing track, “Mortal Man,” K. Dot actually conducts a mock interview with Tupac with audio taken from a 1994 interview.

To Pimp A Butterfly has features from Snoop Dogg, Ron Isley,Bilal, James Fauntleroy, George Clinton and more. It also includes tunes like“i,” “The Blacker The Berry” and “King Kunta.” The album is currently sitting pretty at the number one position on Billboard 200.

Watch K. Dot’s interview below, and let us know which album title you prefer in the comments!

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