TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY
“To Pimp a Butterfly” is an odyssey through the landscapes of societal unrest, personal revelation, and a pulsating desire for growth in an exploitive world.
The caterpillar, a symbol for potential, finds itself entangled in a strangling web of pressures from societal expectation and systemic oppression; it indulges.
Lamar unveils the delicate wings of his own metamorphosis; exposing the raw vulnerability of an artist wrestling with the complexities of his identity to emerge with resilience, a butterfly mindful of its historical experience and background.
The journey becomes a collective pilgrimage; an exploration of identity, empowerment, and the struggle for inner peace.
“The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it.”
From childhood, we construct an image of the world through the sensing of our immediate environment. The “phaneron”, built by our primitive conceptions of the world, molds the fabric of our life’s journey. Though the phaneron is distinctive from the real world, it is all we know.
Some learn the limitations of an engulfing environment designed for exploitation. Born into poverty, systemic oppression, prejudice or problematic societal expectations, we are bound. Through no fault of the child, it knows no better. Some are never given the opportunity to leave or explore their true potential.
Lamar pens a detailed character portrait of a good kid trapped in a mad city; a living, breathing narrative that captures the essence of a generation’s struggle for selfhood lost in a predestined plot of offense and violence.
“Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it in order to protect itself from this mad city.”
To survive in a world of limiting beliefs, we partake in the world. Though, hurt and pain are imminent in an environment developed on marginalization.
To mask our vulnerabilities and distract from the larger picture, we deploy into a cycle of consumerism. We deplete our environment and exploit the people around us in an attempt to feel powerful. Whether the manifestation of our pain takes form in ostentatious jewelry, tattoos or exploitations; our actions contribute to the feedback loop of our own oppression.
“The caterpillar goes to work on the cacoon, which institutionalizes him.”
We have fallen ill; Into the haunting echoes of an internal dialog which feedbacks to us all the ways we have come up short as a person. The indulgences of mass consumerism will never satisfy the hunger when it is a suicidal weakness you are battling.
At our worst, dissociation with the self can leave us with a sentiment of “Loving U is complicated”. The phrase is a perfect window into the inner struggle faced when scanning within ourselves, the hurt and pain experienced throughout our lives. Many times, this difficult task can prove to be the pivot moment of our journey.
“When trapped inside these walls, certain ideas take root, such as going home.”
Lamar details “going home” in his journey as his travels to his home roots in South Africa. Being witness to the acts of apartheid and discrimination suffered by the community in recent years.
“Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant. Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered.”
The wings of the butterfly allowed Lamar the courage to travel and dream. During his travels, Lamar gains an outside view of the destructive cycle he was placed in. Noticing the analogies of the tribal warfare still present in South Africa to the gang culture dominating the marginalized black communities in the United States.
Captivated by the works of Nelson Mandela, Lamar preaches the concepts of respect and forgiveness of the hurt and pain we’ve caused each other.
“Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same.”
At some points in our life, we are caterpillars. In others, we can be butterflies. In the majority of cases, we are both at the same time.
As caterpillars, we are fueled by the hurt and pain we feel to act in ostentatious, destructive and consumeristic ways.
As butterflies, we foster inner peace, safety and joy-filled self-expression in the way we show up in the world.
Although Lamar might see the challenges faced by his people as a sisyphean task, To Pimp a Butterfly offers a path to resolution for those who feel marginalized and discriminated against.
To Pimp a Butterfly is an invitation to question limiting preconceptions. It pleads us to have courage and self-trust so that we can travel and explore to challenge the bounds which have been established within us since childhood.
To Pimp a Butterfly also asks us to delve beneath the impenetrable surface of our inner struggle; be forgiveful to ourselves in the times we have been unkind to ourselves and to the people around us.
Rahul Sarangal 
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