5 Things We Know About Kendrick Lamar’s New Album

By Jamilah King Mar 12, 2015

Kendrick Lamar released the cover art and album title for his new project, due out March 24. Here’s what we know about it so far:

1. It’s called "To Pimp a Butterfly. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he stopped short of explaining the meaning, but did say this: "That will be taught in college courses someday."

2. It’s "unapologetically black," according to Pharrell, who listened to the track "King Kunta."

3. He’s angry. In the interview with Rolling Stone (due out on newstands this Friday), the rapper opened up about grappling with depression and self-doubt after the success of 2012’s smash hit "good kid, m.A.A.d city." Those emotions are a driving force behind the new album. "It’s just him expressing how he’s feeling at the moment," producer Mark "Sounwave" Spears told Rolling Stone. "And right now, he’s mad."

4. He gave his sound engineers really emotive directions. "He would say, ‘I want it to sound eerie,’ or ‘I want it to sound like you’re driving past something.’ Or he talks in colors: ‘Make it sound purple. Make it sound light green,’" Derek "MixedByAli" Ali told the magazine.

5. The song "u" was the hardest one to write. Lamar describes the track as a counterpoint to the self-love anthem "i," and details how the song tackles his struggle with depression.

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