If you own a physical copy of Kendrick Lamar‘s lauded new album To Pimp A Butterfly, and can read braille, then you’re amongst those who might have discovered the album’s actual full title.
According to Lamar, the already highly symbolic title has another layer of meaning, which he hid in plain sight 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 told Mass Appeal.
“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 Complex, the message roughly translates to “A Blank Letter by Kendrick Lamar”, following a similar pattern established on good kid, m.A.A.d city which was called “a short film by Kendrick Lamar” on its album cover.
Interestingly there’s been a handful of releases this year that have utilised braille on their physical artwork. Stereogum point out that both Rihanna’s artwork for Bitch Better Have My Money and her Kanye West and Paul McCartney collaboration FourFiveSeconds also featured braille.
In a previous interview Lamar revealed the album’s title was originally going to be To Pimp A Caterpillar, making its acronym 2.P.A.C., but he later decided to change it. “I just liked the contrast. These are things that I think a long time about. Everything is intricate,” he explained to Mass Appeal.
“It was something about ‘butterfly’, how soft it sounds, and how hard ‘pimp’ sounds. It was just the contrast. That’s how my music is. It’s a roller coaster. It’s cohesive enough, but it’s up and down. You’re going through these different emotions, and I wanted [the title] to reflect that.”
