Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly has gained a lot of attention and praise. Proven to have international success, Lamar has now scored his first No. 1 spot on the U.K. and Australian charts. According to Billboard, To Pimp a Butterfly finished just ahead of Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour on the U.K. charts, selling 572 more copies than Smith's. The "King Kunta" rapper's previous album Good Kid M.A.A.D City reached No. 16 in 2012.
Lamar also broke his previous chart record down under. To Pimp a Butterfly's Australian success is reflected in its No. 1 spot on the latest ARIA Albums Chart. Good Kid M.A.A.D City reached No. 23 in 2012.
With apparent approval around the world, Lamar's racially charged, socio-political album, which was released unexpectedly, revealed a lot of the rapper's inner thoughts. In January, Lamar shared part of his process in creating the album and working with his crew of musicians in an interview with Billboard.
"My enjoyment is creating the music," the rapper told Billboard. "Once it gets pressed up, with bar codes on it, then it's not really fun anymore. These are guys [the musicians] I've been around for years, in the L.A. music circuit. This wasn't a situation where somebody put us together. When you're playing instruments, all that stuff comes from the soul. It's real individuals pushing these sounds out. I get that same impact when I push the words out behind it."
He also shared how finding music helped him define his purpose.
"Before finding music, I didn't have too many aspirations," he said. "I wanted to hang out, make a little money from whatever I had to do. Because that's all you see in the four-block radius."
Lamar has certainly used music as a global platform to spread thought-provoking ideas.
Billboard reported that the new Billboard 200 top 10 will be revealed Wednesday, March 25. To Pimp a Butterfly is expected to give the rapper his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
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