My Interpretation of To Pimp A Butterfly
Steven Frlke
1. Before we start

Important for interpretation is to determine the meaning of the caterpillar, butterfly and the cocoon. This becomes clear in the second poem on "Mortal Man", and is explained later on this page. Scroll down the page, and you will find both poems annotated

Caterpillar: in the hood (or Compton) there are a lot of caterpillars; people like Kendrick when he was younger: someone who hasn't found his talents yet, and does nothing but "surviving" in the hood

Butterfly: when caterpillars dig deep, and search in themselves, they can find the beautiful things, or their talents. Kendrick has become a butterfly when he learned what it is to be Real. A butterfly loves himself. A butterfly is a caterpillar broken out of it's cocoon (Compton)

However, a butterfly can still be "pimped": money, success and fame can still bring him down

It's important to note: the caterpillar and butterfly are one and the same person! This is important for the final conclusion of the album


2. Connection songs to the poem

All lines of the poem are written in Italics
Every new line added to the poem is written in bold


1. Wesley's Theory ft. George Clinton and Thundercat

2. For Free? (Interlude) 


3. King Kunta

I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence



4. Institutionalized ft. Bilal, Anna Wise, and Snoop Dogg

I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence
Sometimes I did the same

5. These Walls ft. Bilal, Anna Wise, and Thundercat

I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence
Sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screaming in a hotel room
6. u


7. Alright

I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence
Sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screaming in a hotel room
I didn't wanna self destruct
The evils of Lucy was all around me
So I went runnin' for answers

8. For Sale? (Interlude)

I remembered you was conflicted
Misusing your influence, sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screamin' in the hotel room
I didn't wanna self destruct
The evils of Lucy was all around me
So I went runnin' for answers
Until I came home
9. Momma

10. Hood Politics

I remembered you was conflicted
Misusing your influence, sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screamin' in the hotel room
I didn't wanna self destruct
The evils of Lucy was all around me
So I went runnin' for answers
Until I came home
But that didn't stop survivors guilt
Going back and forth
Trying to convince my self the stripes I earned
Or maybe how A-1 my foundation was
But while my loved ones was fighting
A continuous war back in the city
I was entering a new one

11. How Much A Dollar Cost ft. James Fauntleroy and Ronald Isley

12. Complexion ft. Rapsody


13. The Blacker the Berry ft. Assassin


14. You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)

15. i

16. Mortal Man

I remember you was conflicted
Misusing your influence
Sometimes I did the same
Abusing my power, full of resentment
Resentment that turned into a deep depression
Found myself screaming in the hotel room
I didn’t wanna self destruct
The evils of Lucy was all around me
So I went running for answers
Until I came home
But that didn’t stop survivor’s guilt
Going back and forth trying to convince myself the stripes I earned
Or maybe how A-1 my foundation was
But while my loved ones was fighting the continuous war  back in the city, I was entering a new one
A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination
Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned
The word was respect
Just because you wore a different gang colour than mine's
Doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a black man
Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets
If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us
But I don’t know, I’m no mortal man, maybe I’m just another nigga

3. “The Caterpillar and the Butterfly”

The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it
Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it , in order to protect itself from this mad city
While consuming its environment the caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive
One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly
The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the caterpillar
But having a harsh outlook on life the caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a way to pimp it to his own benefits
Already surrounded by this mad city the caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon which institutionalizes  him
He can no longer see past his own thoughts
He’s trapped
When trapped inside these walls certain ideas start to take roots, such as going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city
The result?
Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant
Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the eternal struggle
Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same

4. Conclusion and message of To Pimp A Butterfly

To me, the most important quote of the album is the very final line of the final poem:

Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same

Like I explained earlier on this page, because every butterfly used to be a caterpillar, a caterpillar is the same person as a butterfly.  A butterfly is nothing but a caterpillar who has developed himself in a good way. Any caterpillar can become a butterfly. However, a big part of America doesn't see it this way:

One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly

Because a butterfly and a caterpillar are the same person, they deserve to respected and loved equally. This message comes early in the album as “King Kunta” and "For Free? (Interlude)" come on. Black people are treated wrongly, unless they are capable of something special (becoming a musician, NBA player, etc.). Kendrick wonders where all the attention for him was when he had yet to make it big as a rapper. And what if things in his career go downwards from here for Kendrick? Will the world still love him equally?

It has to be said that the album's message doesn't just focus on white on black racism, though. The comments Kendrick made in his Billboard Cover Story were received badly, since they seemed to pin the blame of police violence on the victims. In this album, Kendrick further explains his comments. The album emphasizes the fact that black on black violence is just as ridiculous as any other form of violence, and that change has to start within

Shit don’t change until you get up and wash your ass nigga

In To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick pleads for mutual respect. We have to stop thinking in "us" against "them", and every man has to be given the same amount of respect, and opportunities. He words it beautifully in the poem, before ending the album with a surprisingly natural and beautiful conversation with the late rapper 2Pac

But while my loved ones was fighting the continuous war back in the city, I was entering a new one
A war that was based on apartheid and discrimination
Made me wanna go back to the city and tell the homies what I learned
The word was respect
Just because you wore a different gang colour than mine's
Doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a black man
Forgetting all the pain and hurt we caused each other in these streets
If I respect you, we unify and stop the enemy from killing us
But I don’t know, I’m no mortal man
Maybe I’m just another nigga
Write the lyrics for a rap song made in 2015, titled "My Interpretation of To Pimp A Butterfly", by artist "Steven Frlke".