Kendrick Lamar unleashed added another critical flashpoint to his discography earlier this year with the release of the universally acclaimed, poignant and cerebral epic To Pimp A Butterfly.
The follow-up to 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, Lamar’s third album has had much written about, with some of the most surprising revelations coming out after the album saw release.
For example, as CoS notes, we’ve learnt that Lamar almost did a song with Prince, that he considered numerous alternative titles for the LP, and that he struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts whilst writing and recording.
Now, in a new interview with Mass Appeal, Lamar has revealed that To Pimp A Butterfly is not technically the full title of his third album – the rest is hidden in braille inside the album’s booklet.
“[There]’s actually a sketch of braille that’s added to the title hidden inside the [CD] booklet that I don’t think nobody has caught yet,” he said.
“You can actually feel the bump lines. But if you can see it, which is the irony of it, you can break down the actual full title of the album.”
According to CoS, a teacher well-versed in reading braille has translated the bumps into “A Blank Letter by Kendrick Lamar”, in a similar vein to the rapper’s previous album, which was billed “a short film by Kendrick Lamar”.
As Stereogum points out, this doesn’t mark the first time a musician has used braille for a project title. Rihanna’s artwork for ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ and her Kanye West and Paul McCartney collaboration, ‘FourFiveSeconds’, both featured raised dots.
