HIP-HOP Update: Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Gets Surprise Digital Release

Kendrick Lamar performs as part of the iTunes Festival at the Moody Theater on March 12, 2014 in Austin, Texas.

Update, 11:00 a.m. ET: To Pimp A Butterfuly now appears in iTunes as a pre-order, with only first single "The Blacker the Berry" being available for download. The album is available in full if you search for it on Spotify. You can also listen at bop.fm. The album is scheduled for release March 23.





Original post: Kendrick Lamar has released the "clean" and "explicit" versions of his eagerly anticipated sophomore album, To Pimp a Butterfly.

The follow-up to the rapper's critically-acclaimed 2012 effort good kid, m.A.A.d city was due out on March 23 via Aftermath/Interscope, though the clean take hit iTunes overnight...well ahead of schedule.

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Seems the early release also came as a surprise for some of Lamar's inner sanctum. Anthony Tiffith, the CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment, which represents Lamar, was less than impressed. He tweeted. "I WOULD LIKE 2 PERSONALLY THANK @Interscope FOR FUCKING UP OUR RELEASE... SOMEBODY GOTS 2 PAY 4 THIS MISTAKE !!!! #TOP"

I WOULD LIKE 2 PERSONALLY THANK @Interscope FOR FUCKING UP OUR RELEASE... SOMEBODY GOTS 2 PAY 4 THIS MISTAKE !!!! #TOP -- dangeroo kipawaa TDE (@dangerookipawaa) March 16, 2015

this is the kraziest shit ever -- dangeroo kipawaa TDE (@dangerookipawaa) March 16, 2015

The "explicit" version of the album dropped soon after. A subsequent tweet suggested Tiffith had calmed down, but his anger at Interscope was still palpable.

i will deal with bs later.... lets focus on the album.....TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY. http://t.co/R6tttlOmMV … (explicit version) -- dangeroo kipawaa TDE (@dangerookipawaa) March 16, 2015

The 16-track album opens with "Wesley's Theory," featuring George Clinton and Thundercat, and there's collabs with the likes of Bilal, Anna Wise, Snoop Dogg, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley and Rapsody. Lamar had already shared two new songs, "The Blacker the Berry" and "King Kunta," both of which appear on the album.

Kendrick Lamar's Funky 'King Kunta' Song Leaks Online

Butterfly, which Lamar announced just a week ago, is available for streaming on Spotify and can be downloaded here at iTunes.

"To Pimp a Butterfly" tracklist

1. Wesley's Theory (feat. George Clinton & Thundercat)

2. For Free? (Interlude)

3. King Kunta

4. Institutionalized (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Snoop Dogg)

5. These Walls (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise & Thundercat)

6. U

7. Alright

8. For Sale? (Interlude)

9. Momma

10. Hood Politics

11. How Much a Dollar Cost (feat. James Fauntleroy & Ronald Isley)

12. Complexion (A Zulu Love) [feat. Rapsody]

13. The Blacker the Berry

14. You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said)

15. i

16. Mortal Man