Jay-Z’s advice to Kendrick Lamar before ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ revealed
Kendrick Lamar released his groundbreaking To Pimp a Butterfly album in 2015. Leading up to its release, Jay-Z gave Kendrick and his team some important advice.
To Pimp a Butterfly was a success through its ambitious jazz rap/neo-soul sound, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with 324,000 units in its first week.
TDE president Terrence ‘Punch’ Henderson recently appeared on Elsie Not Elise, where he revealed some comments he received from Hov.
Punch would have conversations with Jay during Beyoncé’s studio sessions when his other artist, SZA, was writing lyrics for her.
“While we were working on To Pimp a Butterfly, me and SZA would go to Beyoncé’s sessions — [SZA] was writing for her,” he said. “Jay-Z was there every night so I had a chance to talk to him and I told him, ‘Yo, we’re about to drop this album that’s gonna piss off the whole fanbase.’”
The music executive continued, “His response was, ‘Good, do it now so they can’t never put you in a box.’ That stuck with me, for sure. It gave me more confidence, like, ‘Yeah, we’re on the right track, for sure.’ There are rules that are set, but geniuses know when to break those rules.”
Jay collaborated with Kendrick years earlier on a remix of ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’, which appeared on 2012’s good kid, m.A.A.d city album.
He chose Kendrick to perform at the Super Bowl earlier this year. Speaking on the decision, he said, “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer. His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision.”
Hov added, “He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”