To everyone’s surprise, the much anticipated album from Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterly, popped up on iTunes and Spotify about a week earlier than expected. The premature release of Kendrick’s follow-up to good kid, m.A.A.d city seemed like an intentionally strategic move by Kendrick and his team to generate excitement, but as it turns out, the whole thing had been a giant slip up, and after just 12 hours online, the album was pulled from iTunes (while still remaining on Spotify). Apparently, To Pimp a Butterly had its release date set for March 23rd, but, after a miscommunication between the album’s two labels: Interscope and Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), it was released early. TDE’s CEO, Anthony Tiffith, initially blamed Interscope. He posted a tweet (that has since been deleted) saying: “I WOULD LIKE 2 PERSONALLY THANK @Interscope FOR FUCKING UP OUR RELEASE… SOMEBODY GOTS 2 PAY 4 THIS MISTAKE !!!! #TOP”
He later tweeted:
Working on getting the iTunes link fixed smh
— dangeroo kipawaa TDE (@dangerookipawaa) March 16, 2015
Kendrick Lamar tweeted soon after:
Keep calm. All is well. — Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) March 16, 2015
Followed by a link to the explicit version of his album:
TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY. http://t.co/jaMCXJ7SNG (explicit version)
— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) March 16, 2015
Interscope realized its error and pulled the album from iTunes. Shortly after, the album was put back on iTunes and is now out for good. To Pimp a Butterly contains sixteen track, features guest appearances by George Clinton, Snoop Dogg and Flying Lotus and is available in both clean and explicit versions.
To Pimp a Butterly full tracklist:
1. Wesley’s Theory (ft. George Clinton & Thundercat)
2. For Free? (Interlude)
3. King Kunta
4. Institutionalized (ft. Bilal, Anna Wise & Snoop Dogg)
5. These Walls (ft. Bilal, Anna Wise & Snoop Dogg)
6. U
7. Alright
8. For Sale? (Interlude)
9. Momma
10. Hood Politics
11. How Much A Dollar Cost (ft. James Fauntleroy & Ronald Isley)
12. Complexion (A Zulu Love) (ft. Rapsody)
13. The Blacker The Berry
14. You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said)
15. I
16. Mortal Man