The Butterfly Effect

there in real time, decided to download the album and listen to it, and thought that it was technically so brilliant, and that it was such an important piece of work, they decided to make that a nomination.” Though DAMN. was a critical darling and a sonic marvel, some critics wondered why the Pulitzer board didn’t give the award to To Pimp a Butterfly, which had strong jazz elements and had made a massive cultural splash, two years earlier. Nonetheless, Kendrick had at least three albums that could’ve won the Pulitzer, so this was a pronounced achievement for hip-hop either way. The rapper wrote a personal letter to Dana Canedy, thanking her for recognizing his art. “He said when he got word that he won that he thought it was a joke,” she says. “He is such a kind, gracious, humble, spiritual young man. I kept saying to myself, ‘I can’t imagine this young man on a stage rapping, it seems like he ought to be in a choir.’ He was so humble and sweet, but when he turns it on, on the stage, he takes on a completely different persona and it’s completely fascinating.”

Kendrick notched another first around this time: In February 2018, TDE released Black Panther: The Album, a soundtrack to the Ryan Coogler–directed blockbuster Marvel superhero film starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, and Michael B. Jordan. Kendrick and Top Dawg cocurated the soundtrack and handpicked each South African musician who landed on the LP. It was supposed to represent their version of Wakanda, the fictional African country where the film is set. “I’ve been a massive Kendrick fan ever since I first heard him, since his mixtapes, and I’ve been trying to track him down,” Coogler told NPR. “Eventually I caught up with him a couple years ago—first with Anthony ‘Top Dawg’ Tiffith, who runs his label, and then later on sat down with him and Kendrick and just spoke about how much his music affected me. He talked about my movies that he had seen, and we said if the opportunity comes, we’d love to work with each other on something.” Kendrick, Top Dawg, and Sounwave started compiling the soundtrack in August 2017 while touring DAMN. Black Panther became a massive cultural smash and the highest-grossing solo superhero film of all time, a powerful feat given its majority-black cast. It won three Oscars, and Kendrick was nominated for an Oscar for his collaborative song “All The Stars” with vocalist SZA (who by then had become a masterful songwriter and musician in her own right).

DAMN. and Black Panther: The Album punctuated a rise that we’d never seen before, the likes of which we’d never see again. Surely, Kendrick wasn’t done—he still hadn’t written his best verse or delivered the perfect album—but that’s also what made him great, and that’s why his art connected the way it did. He’d vanish again soon enough, popping up in occasional photos and one-off concert appearances, leaving us to ponder his next move. By early 2020, weeks after the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump, and after Trump’s approval to kill Iranian general Qasem Soleimani put us all in jeopardy, chatter began to surface about his next, well, anything. It had been too long since DAMN. lit up the industry and his art ignited the soul of Black America. But that’s what Kendrick did best: he’d always left us wanting more; we’d have to wait once more as he recharged, recentered, and reconfigured his spirit. “All I can do is continue to be an actual human being,” Kendrick once said. “And to show them that I go through the same emotions, and the same feelings that y’all go through. All I can do is express myself and hope you take something from it.”

Acknowledgments

I’ve been asked this question a lot over the past two years: Why Kendrick Lamar? The answer is always simple: Why not? Though he isn’t done creating (as of this writing), there’s no denying the grand impact he’s had on music and black culture over the past decade. His story is worth celebrating, so why not give him flowers now? Why can’t we acknowledge their impact while they’re still working? To wait until they’re gone seems cold and unnecessary. We lost Kobe Bryant too soon. Pop Smoke passed when he was just becoming a star. More than anything, I hope you see the light in this work, that while it delves into the good and bad and raises some questions, it’s meant to be a resounding document for today’s readers and future generations.

And while he’s all set on praise from strangers, I want to formally thank Kendrick Lamar for creating honest, thought-provoking art. Thank you for taking risks, for showing your generation that it’s okay to go against the grain. You could’ve easily followed good kid, m.A.A.d. city with good kid, m.A.A.d. city II, or To Pimp a Butterfly with something equally steeped in jazz and funk, but you’ve always changed course, making it cool for music to say something forthright and uncomfortable. I respect the quiet you exude, the stealthy demeanor through which you and TDE operate. I appreciate you all from afar.

There’s been a lot of goodwill surrounding this book, and for that, I am truly appreciative. Thanks to my literary agent, William LoTurco, for listening to my ambitious ideas, and to Jason Reynolds and Todd Hunter for guiding me very early in the process. Big thanks to Phonte Coleman, Erik Otis, Kim Robinson, and Ashley Dior-Thomas for your immense help behind the scenes—whether you shared resources or offered words of encouragement, it really meant a lot and I’ll never forget it. Much love to all the friends who made sure I remained human; you all know I’m a perfectionist, and your “just checking in” messages helped me through some tough creative days. Sincerest love to dear friends like Briana Younger, Andre Taylor, Carl “Kokayi” Walker, and Yudu Gray, Jr., who