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Rapper Lamar's fresh Butterfly leaves others in dust

To Pimp a Butterfly
by Kendrick Lamar
To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar

A- Kendrick Lamar

To Pimp a Butterfly

Interscope

Before his career-defining, genre-realigning latest album, Kendrick Lamar was one hip-hop heir apparent among several.

Now there is only one: It's hard to imagine there will be a smarter or more ambitious rap album this year than Butterfly. It's a dizzying deep-dive examination of race, capitalism, religion, relationships, post-Ferguson America and fame and its discontents. At almost 80 minutes, it never flags.

It has made Lamar's chart rivals -- like Macklemore and Iggy Azalea -- appear even less serious and obsolete. It even threatens the hegemony of Kanye West.

"Wesley's Theory," a retro-minded thesis on the dangers of selling out, contains unshowy features from George Clinton and wunderkind bassist Thundercat. Cerebral, doubtful, peevish, full of self-loathing and bordering on brilliant, Butterfly is overloaded with samples, symbolism and questionable coffeehouse poetry and is deeply influenced by free jazz, soul, and '70s-centric sounds.

Even the metaphors have a '70s vibe: The Roots-invoking "King Kunta" is a profoundly strange, talk-box-happy funk explosion.

This loosely knit concept album charts Lamar's rise from a Compton, Calif., kid to a superstar with survivor's guilt, struggling to resist material temptations. On the harrowing "u," Lamar grapples with self-loathing ("I never liked you") and regret over leaving his friends behind.

It's a fearless and insular set piece that is more interested in looking inward at the thorny intricacies of the black experience than in interpreting that experience for whites. Butterfly lacks an obvious banger that might attract mainstream fans. It comes closest with "i," a tepid single built around an Isley Brothers sample that feels halfhearted.

"I can truly tell you that there's nothing but turmoil going on," Lamar tells the ghost of his idol Tupac Shakur on the 12-minute closer, "Mortal Man." It ends with the rapper asking Tupac about his life and work, with Tupac's replies drawn from a 1994 radio interview. Twenty years on, Tupac seems less like a flesh-and-blood person and more like a symbol of outsider cool co-opted by the mainstream, as Che Guevara was. Lamar leaves no doubt that he, more than anyone else, has earned his place as Tupac's heir. The hard part will be keeping it.

Hot tracks: "Wesley's Theory," "Mortal Man," "King Kunta," "u."

-- ALLISON STEWART

The Washington Post

B+ Elana James

Black Beauty

Snarf

The fiddler and singer from western swing/jazz group Hot Club of Cowtown steps out solo again, with a striking program that includes a countrified take on the Grateful Dead's "Ripple," a stunning and sensually-sung Gypsy jazz/bluesy original, "Who Loves You More" and a honky-tonk flavored cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight."

James continues to grow as a songwriter. Along with the wonderful "Who Loves You More," she shines on the cool country swing of "High on the Mountain." But the high point for many will be "Hey Beautiful: Last Letter From Iraq." James builds a traditional folk background around U.S. Staff Sgt. Juan Campos' final letter home from Iraq. The soldier, who died in Iraq in 2007, writes about home, his friendship with other soldiers and his love for his wife.

James' angelic voice is gentle. But her fiddle playing is stellar and inventive throughout. Guests include her band mates from Hot Club, Whit Smith, guitar, and Jake Erwin, bass. The album also features the luminous guitar work of Erik Hokkanen and pianist Joe Kerr.

Hot tracks: "Who Loves You More," "Ripple," the instrumental "Ayriliq," "Hey Beautiful."

-- ELLIS WIDNER

B Sleeping With Sirens

Madness

Epitaph

Anxiety about rock's fading prospects tends to focus on its bloated center, overambitious bands like Imagine Dragons who aim for grand scale but have little substance. But the frisson that could potentially keep rock broadly viable is often happening far from that center. Throughout the 2000s, it has been punk and its many offshoots that have been rock's great pop hope. Today, it may finally be post-hard-core's turn. That seems reasonable when listening to the fourth album by Sleeping With Sirens, which has slowly shed its abrasions in search of something more accessible.

It starts with frontman Kellin Quinn's sweet and piercing voice, plaintive, even when he's shrieking. Even this album's most aggressive moments, like "We Like It Loud," are served with honey. Largely, this strong album -- which in places recalls Paramore -- blends tender and anguished notes in equal measure.

"Go Go Go," about a foolhardy relationship, bursts with zooming guitars and vocals processed until they gleam. Sometimes the lyrics don't match the music's energy.

They tend toward blandly inspirational, with a handful of exceptions, like the haunting darkness on "Better Off Dead," about pushing back suicidal thoughts, and, on "The Strays," a heartbreaker about growing up unloved.

Hot tracks: "We Like It Loud," "Go Go Go," "Better Off Dead."

-- JON CARAMANICA

The New York Times

Style on 03/31/2015

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