Overall score: 7.06 High score: 10 (Tom Vercetti, Venus, Price of Fame, theREALslimSHADY)
Low score: 3 (Staryu, Witch_Privilege, enxe)
Kendrick has a lot on his mind on To Pimp a Butterfly, and it all comes to a head in this cerebral 12-minute final track. The song evokes Nelson Mandela, among other world leaders and civil rights icons, to position Kendrick as a prophet for his generation, before transitioning into an imagined conversation with his own inspiration, 2Pac, that touches on the difficulty of being a black man and ultimately reveals the meaning of the album’s title. This is dense, challenging, egotistical stuff, so it’s perhaps no surprise that it’s also Kendrick’s first elimination (though several voters took particular offense to the line “That ***** gave us Billie Jean, you say he touched those kids?,” which dismisses Michael Jackson’s child molestation allegations in stunningly insensitive fashion).
Best bit: “I freed you from being a slave in your mind, you’re very welcome”
I don't really think it's boring. I think the dialogue at the end is interesting, gives some really interesting insight into Kendrick's inspiration and intent for the album, and it's a just a great closer to the album.
I'm still not here for that repetitive "When **** hit the fan, is you still a fan?" though
People like the standard three to four minutes for a song, clearly. Much more or less doesn't cut it. Mortal Man is not something that I'd ever want to sit through many times, but I've always been kind to it because I feel it ties together all of the album's many ideas nicely.
S-K really should have made the top 50 unscathed, but I'm not mad at the Gimme Love punch.
And I feel like I would care a lot more about Never Get To Hold You if it wasn't a slow song at the end of a long album, y'know?