Kendrick Lamar begins his latest album, To Pimp A Butterfly, with a statement.
Although it wasn’t Kendrick Lamar’s voice saying the phrase, To Pimp A Butterfly’s opening track, “Wesley’s Theory,” begins with the sound of a vinyl record playing “Every Nigger Is a Star.”
The song playing was recorded by Jamaican artist Boris Gardiner.
After hearing Gardiner’s feature on Kendrick’s latest offering, Boomshots profiled the “old-school Jamaican legend.”
The song the phrase was drawn from is titled “Every Nigger Is a Star,” the title track of the soundtrack for a Jamaican blaxploitation film of the same name. Gardiner’s song has spawned multiple reggae renditions, including one by Big Youth.
According to the website blaxploitationpride, the Every Nigger Is a Star movie aimed at “turning the word Nigger on its head for the black population of Jamaica in the ’70s.”
Gardiner is credited on Lamar’s album for “Wesley’s Theory” alongside George Clinton, Thundercat, Sounwave, Flying Lotus and Lamar.
Listen to the original track below:
“Wesley’s Theory”:
Recent Boris Gardiner interview:
For more Kendrick Lamar coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
HEY CHRISTINA HARRIS WHO GIVES A FUCK? PLEASE JUST DIE ALREADY SMH
Mediocre album at best, good messages but music is way overdone to sound like Motown funk, if he even gets nominated this year over albums like Forest hills drive, Under pressure, drake and any one of yelawold, mgk, dizzy wright, eminen or Wayne if he drops something this year I will lose faith in the Grammies
Wow, you’re stupid.
there should be NO faith in grammys already bruh. its the ‘whos hot at the moment’ award, that’s all
Hip-Hop’s best.
boy u crazy….(is what I wana say)
the album isn’t for u fair enough but the general consensus is that Kendrick has crafted a masterpiece so you might as well learn to live with it and make you peace with its inevitable Grammy win after the snub that wa good kid maad city lol
Classic music is what it is not Motown funk. This is deep west coast G shit real musicians on instruments, dope vocals and george clinton with a message in the music on top of all that don’t hate….
smh .. i can’t understand how these young dumb ass “NIGGAS” cant grasp this beautiful album concept?.. Pure classic.. that’s why almost all old heads “true hiphop lovers” love this masterpiece.. and its the young dumbfuks that dont.. you are the reason HipHOp was dying.. thank you Kdot and Joey badass..
dumbest reporting ever.