Kendrick Lamar ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ Goes Gold
April 16, 2015 @ 12:54 PM EDT
News
Trinidad Jame$ In Four Weeks.
Kendrick Lamar’s back in the winners circle. A month after its release, his sophomore album To Pimp A Butterfly, has tallied 513,216 in sales. Congrats to the entire TDE camp. See you at the platinum party.
Well deserved. A lesson to people everywhere that u can get to the top by being true to yourself.
Struggling sales are deserved????
Struggling sales? He sold half a fk million records in 30 days…What’s struggle about that? That’s not counting prob the other 50-100 MILLIONS streams on services like Pandora, RDIO and Spotify. These are great #’s and he’ll be platinum by the beginning of the summer.
Are you equating sales to talent?
Megamind
Nah megamind im just saying that because it took him a minute to hit that gold, all his hardcore fans predicted plat from jump.
I hear that…but the numbers game is skewed anyway….so don’t pay that shit any mind my dude. They’re always over/under, +/-
People are so hyped about platinum today. I work in the biz…when i first started out at Def Jam in the late 90s…an artist could go platinum and STILL get dropped.
People don’t release how much money goes into getting a platinum album via…sale (advertising, in-store), marketing, radio (the bulk of the costs), recording budget, advance. The avg platinum album generates about 10+ mil in sales today…that used to be 14+ million. but depending on the genre/artist it could’ve cost the label 6-8, 10 million to make, market and promote the album.
What’s Kendrick, Drake and Cole has done is impressive. Allo dropped with little to know promotions, videos or big radio record. That could have changed for Drake bc he has radio friendly records on his project. But Cole and KL had NONE and still are doing great numbers…speaks volumes.
Sean did well as well…he’s prob at about 350K+ and will be Gold within the next cpl months.
Megamind
I never put stock in the numbers anymore because of exaxtly what you outlined. In this day and age its no longer about the numbers, its about that next hot record, rappers with the exception of a few have gotten lazy theres hardly any effort.
In the words of Cole “labels are archaic/formulaic with their outcomes”. It’s so cyclical bro…The different shit sales and stays…that’s fact (Outkast, KL, Cole, Lauryn Hill…Drake included but he’s on a short lease…he needs to step his content up, not his bars…CONTENT)…However labels are always looking for next so and so!
Like Chris Brown was “next” Usher….we all love both. Fab was the “new” Jay and so on. Think about this…it’s only in urban music we push our OGs & titans to the side…or say “they’re old, etc.”. That fan of Coldplay would never diss U2 because they are the predecessor. You get what i mean though.
So you have up & coming artist working to be different but as long as Migos, Young Thug, K Camp, YG, etc are popping…that’s what they want EVEN when they say they don’t. 4 out 5 A&Rs have NO vision! NONE…i’m around them all day. And today when things are so metric driven even less, they take no chances. Some of the greatest of all time in all genres wouldn’t get record deals today!
Megamind
Yeah, but J Cole has Platinum, and it’s a lesser album in terms of creativity.
Its crazy that Carter 3 went gold in one day
And this is a better album.
Nah
Not better than Carter 3
Your opinion, not mine. Carter 3 won’t stand the test of time.
nah carter 3 was way more well rounded. tpab had one feel to it(jazzy), c3 had more than that.
Was more rounded with pop hits.
so. eminem had pop hits on his album and its a classic, jay z blueprint had it and its a classic. c3 had serious songs(tie my hands, playing with fire,shoot me down,dontgetit) had creative songs:dr carter(about reviving hiphop), phone home(playing the character of an alien), straight tough intro, song for the ladies:comfortable. and let the beat build was a dope concept which he went off perfectly. then he had gully rap songs for his core fans. c3 was a classic.
I agree. Much more layered, better lyrics, superb message…Wayne could, nor would, ever do an album like this.
Congrats to K.Dot on going Gold.Great Impactful Album.It’s good to see Music with Strong Content and a Great Message behind it, get supported by the people.Hip-hop has changed for the worst over the last 7 years.Artist like Kendrick Lamar,J.Cole,Wale,Tink and a few others are keeping Lyricism alive.Too much Below average,Sound biting,Fuckery going on.Like Tupac said,”Support the Real”.Those who really make Good Music.
wale…tink…not like I hate them but to use them as examples for keeping lyricism alive now means you are seriously sleeping on a number of cats out there.
Tink as far as Females who Rap and Wale is good lyrically.
A weak Gold. Nothing special.
The Barter,lolol… your opinion has been revoked.
J.Cole went Plat and K.dot Gold Hip hop has won.
TPAB one of the most important album in the last 5 years
#FACTS
lol. yeah for showing the glaring fact that kdot needs beats. not instruments. he showed off his flaws with this album and the majority didn’t like it. I remember everyone saying it would go gold second week.. hahaha. yeah.. never. by hype standards this album was a flop. music standards and beats this album was a flop.. lyrics wise dude can still spit. he just needs to realize not even his words are bigger than the beats that made gkmc a very good project
You’re an idiot. Have you ever lustened to a hip hop album that came out before 2010?
The realest shit said on this whole thread my g……
Just a couple quick factual statements.
Do you know that this “majority” you speak of are ignorant to most things that are for their own good…here’s I’ll lay out a few “real world” issue for you.
Examples of the “majority” cutting their noses to spite their faces
-Healthcare
-Education
-Equal Pay for Equal Work
-The Dream Act
-Marriage Equality
These are just a few…I can keep going but hopefully you get my point. The majority don’t know what’s good for them, this is fact.
One last example…anytime you hear people complain about paying their taxes be leery…your taxes cover roads, transportation, schools, civil services, etc….people say that shit but wouldn’t know what to do if this shit was like a 3 world county who lacks those amenities.
The weakest argument I hear from detractors of this album is that it doesn’t have “beats”…the album isn’t spoken word!! LOL
“The dumb are mostly intrigued by the drum” – Masta Killa “Triumph” – Wu Tang Clan
Go listen to These Walls, Momma, Alright. For Sale, King Kunta, HMADC, shit the whole album! It got funk, trap, 808, boombap ALL in the album.
What’s your definition of “beats”?
Megamind
Where are the facts in that statement? Everything you just said was your opinion. This album was a flop. Before it came out it was considered the most anticipated album of 2015. In the short time since its release the hype has all but completely faded. For as many “experimental” tracks that appear on this album none have been released as singles. Instead he picks the most formulaic songs to give the impression the CD is more hip hop than it is. The numbers certainly matter. Kendrick is supposedly the pinnacle of rap right now. the fact is the album is under performing and people are disappointed. It’s not what we wanted and it’s not what he thought it was. This is what happens when people around you don’t have the balls to say “im not feeling it”. I applaud the man for trying something new but this flew into the recycling bin almost as fast as yeezus. He isnt delivering any new content that mos def, common and talib kweli haven’t been pushing for decades. I understand you may have gotten something out of the CD and that’s good to hear, but there are plenty of reasons to move on to something else pretty quick.
Kendrick put out the best body of work by any artist this year. That is my opinion, yes…But it’s also the opinion of accredited individuals & publications through my industry.
Do your google search and find out. Are you equated record sales to impact?
How is the album underperforming when he just sold 500k+ copies in 4 weeks?? I GUARANTEE Interscope is beyond elated with how this album has performed considering they didn’t have to spend no real money on the marketing rollout. Nor do they have to spend on radio spins…so the album is selling based on fans & word of mouth. “I” came out 6 months ago, so you can’t say that was the lead up to the album. And he STILL debut at #1 with 300K+ plus sales first week. So you can’t say it’s not what the people wanted…his fans did and that’s why it’s selling, it might not be what YOU wanted.
Also, his last project “GKMC”…he had album cuts that went mainstream “BDKMV”, “Maad City” which he performed at the Grammys with Imagine Dragons AND he had the single with Drake…those are all songs that pulled in the “casual” listener…which resulted in inflated sales.
Also, it took his last album over a year to sell 1m+ copies…he did similar numbers first week on GKMC…like 287k. He’s consistent…you can google RIAA this info.
This album is pro-Blackness…so either you’re white and don’t understand it’s approach, to which I say, there is nothing wrong with that…everything ain’t for everybody. OR you’re not seeing the big picture to the fact the the second most popular rapper from the new school purposely just set himself apart from the pack with a project that will stand the test of time.
And in regards to Mos, Common, Kweli, etc…those are MY generation of rappers…so their msg doesn’t resonate to the new school. It took someone from their generation to feed them the real, so they can respect it. Kendrick ain’t backpack…he’s real…and he’s giving the people the real.
Megamind
Trendy rap lovers respond this way, Young Thug albums have good beats… go listen to that trash then.
Instrumentals are much better than beats. And who’s the majority? You? How was this album a flop? It sold more in it’s first week than GKMC, went Gold faster than GKMC, and is on pace to reach platinum status faster than GKMC…foh.
j cole not platinum in sales yet. hes at 800k
RIAA says he is Platinum so be it, stop hating.
including streams. im being factual
Chill homie he went plat already.
In 10 years
its had good success but i feel an album like this deserves even more . its a shame that some people complain about lack of bangers and hits if they want that then they should go listen to drake album
Drizzy did this first week
Let the angry responses begin
drake doesnt have a classic album tho lmaooooo let alone 2
Let the angry say Take Care is classic lmao foh
Neither does kendrick.
Whatever you say dog
Come on bruhhhh be logical for a moment.
you played yourself
Why do you say I played my self?
Take that gun in your avi, aim it to right and pull the trigger
Why? For an album to be deemed a classic it has to stand the test of time which none of kendrics albums have. If you are a regular on here then you have seen my past post when ive given him his props for being nice. So please explain why you feel what you do.
People still play Section 80 and GKMC and this album gets consistent play. Its a matter of opinion with you. Just because you don’t like his albums doesn’t mean they don’t stand the test of time to others.
Hey im not saying they arent good albums, all im saying is that they are not classics. Out of kendrics albums if any of them are going to be considered classic its only going to be gkmc.
So Far Gone is a classic mixtape and Take Care is classic
pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Classic trash!!!!
Birdman ain’t cutting those checks tho!!!!!
Drops his worst album yet and his stans call it a instant classic HAH. Glad all the false twitter hype failed to coincide with his actual album sales, guy is hilariously overrated. Kendrick drops to #3 of the new school and Cole moves up to #2. Good year so far in hip hop.
Have you never listened to a hip hop album that was made before 2010? Like pharcyde? Or tribe? Or the chronic? Or aquemini? Or dilla? And do you realize that neither drake nor cole (especially cole) have an album that has come close to being aaa critically acclaimed as any of Kendrick’s albums? And are you aware that this is his highest rated album of any of the ones he’s put out (even higher than GKMC)? And are you aware he essentially made an underground album for the mainstream, and it has still already gone gold? So who is “third in the new school” again?
stop trying so hard. he doesnt know you exist
I think U skim through the album, it was very well executed and delivered a masterpiece, and lets be serious Kendrick is not as big as twitter make him out to be, so the sales are very accurate.
congrats to the little alien
great album over all. subject matter was insightful but the beats got boring to me.
finally.
Really good album congrats to lil homie
How about you school the grammy winning, platinum certified, critically acclaimed, millionaire homie then….
How about you stop caping for another man…….
AINT NO DOUBT BOUT IT MY BOI KENDICK RUNNIN DIS GAYME U FAGGTZ!! WESTSIDE STORY UP IN DIS BITCH MEATFLAPS!!! AINT NO DOUBT BRING IT 2 MY BOIZ N DA HOOD ASAP BUTERFLI PIMPIN AINT NO THANG YOMEEEZZ
Such a great , spiritually nurturing album. Can you Imagine the impact , generations to come ?
Is Kendrick Lamar a man of peace?
The media, record producers..aka..modern-day-slvve-masters are hyping Kendrick as a man of peace. Though looking past the for-profit-hype Kendrick does not act like a mature, sensible man who respects his peaceful neighbors.
During a Kendrick Lamar Interview at The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 (4/3/2015) posted on YT I watched Kendrick applaud/adulate a rapper named Johnny ‘Jay Rock’ Reed McKinzie, Jr. (born March 31, 1986).
After reading his lyrics I learned Jay Rock is a damaged human being who writes about committing harmful anti-social acts against his peaceful neighbors.
Begin by reading JAY ROCK LYRICS “Diary Of A Broke Nivva” (feat. Kendrick Lamar & Giddy) to learn about their life experiences and decide for yourself the impact their activities had/have on peaceful people.
Don’t stop with this Jay Rock Rap performance, read more to learn about how victims of child abuse mature into teens and young men sharing their depression, anger and frustrations with peaceful people in communities throughout our country.
In his 2015 Grammy award winning Rap Performance titled “I”, Kendrick Lamar writes, “I’ve been dealing with depression ever since an adolescent.”
During this interview the topic of the childhood depression Kendrick writes about in “I” is brought up for discussion, and Kendrick is quick to blow off the topic.
Depression is a symptom of child abuse.
So what is the cure for a victim of childhood depression who matures into an adult victim of depression…aligning one’s self with depressed rappers who write about harming our peaceful neighbors?
#protect-kids-from-irresponsible-caregivers
…
@ B.Dot
Congrats to the entire TDE camp. See you at the platinum party.
^
THAT’S IF YOU CAN SNEAK IN WITH YOUR BUS PASS!!!! YOU FUCKIN’ BUM!!!!
………HA!!!! YA’LL GON’ LEARN TODAY!!!!
#KINGKENDRICK
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
This album will stand throught the test of time. I listened to this album like i was reading a book. excellent