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PAGE 6
MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY BABY GANSAN
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arts & features
HOROSCOPES
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Today is an 8
Allow yourself more quiet time. Discipline is required. Don't gossip or get stopped by past failures. Imagine the right circumstances. Maintain balance amid upheaval. Postpone expansion over the next few weeks with Venus in Pisces.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Today is an 8
Imagine a delicious future. Don't inaugurate a new trick or fall for a tall tale. Complete a project that's been slow. You're especially powerful this next month with Venus in Pisces. Group and public activities boost your career.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) Today is a 7
Follow an expert's plans. Increase your area of influence this week. Take on more responsibility over the next month with Venus in Pisces. Watch for career opportunities. Assume authority.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Today is an 8
Today is an 8
Stand up for what you love. Financially it could get tense. No need to overdo. Create a detailed budget. Travel, explore and study this next month with Venus in Pisces. Set goals, and plan your next adventure.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Today is an 8
Review shared finances this month with Venus in Pisces, and discover ways to save. Increase your assets.
Re-affirm a commitment. There may be a conflict anyway. Take calm authority, and persuade co-workers.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Today is an 8
Partnerships flow with greater ease this next month with Venus in Pisces.
Collaborate on creative projects.
Nobody understands your work better than you. Fix something before it breaks. Persuade loved ones to defer gratification, too.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Today is a 7
Everything seems possible. There's more work coming in over the next month with Venus in Pisces, and it's the kind you like. Keep costs down anyway. What you learn benefits many. Get into a fun work phase. Provide exceptional results.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Today is an 8
today is an 8
Do something nice for your partner
(or someone you'd like to know
better). You're luckier in love this
month with Venus in Pisces. Explore
new ways to create beauty. Play
and practice hobbies, passions and
talents. Share love.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Today is an 8
Be patient ad evaluate the situation. Your place can become a love nest. You're more domestic over the next month with Venus in Pisces. Focus on home and family. Increase the comfort level. Learn from a child.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Today is an 8
Trust your own heart to lead you. You love learning this month with Venus in Pisces. Students get fun. You're even smarter than usual. Words flow with ease, so take advantage to write and issue communications. Play with it.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Today is an 8
Gather new income. The next month with Venus in Pisces can get quite profitable. Discover your peak professional performance zone. Prove your latest hypothesis. Don't believe everything you hear. Expand your influence.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Today is an B
You feel especially beloved for the next month with Venus in your sign. Add some glamour to your personal presentation, with a new style or look. You're irresistible. Pretend you are who you want to be.
KENDRICK LAMAR
New album makes bold statement with social commentary
LILY GRANT
@lilygrant_UDK
"To Pimp a Butterfly" (Aftermath/ Interscope) is rapper Kendrick Lamar's third studio album. The original release date was March 23, but the album surprisingly dropped a week in advance. The album artwork features Lamar and several of his peers in front of the White House with stacks of money and bottles of champagne, suggesting an antigovernment, pro-black culture theme.
FAVORITE TRACKS
U
Kendrick Lamar fans patiently waited for two and a half years after the release of "good kid, m.A.A.d city" for the man some call the greatest rapper of our generation to release another album. Expectations were at an all-time high and Lamar did not let us down. "Butterfly" is not just an album; it's a genius compilation of jazzy, funky rap songs that incorporate spoken word and samples of music and interviews to ruthlessly call out our flawed social system that oppresses black people.
Racism is very much alive today, and Lamar boldly and rampantly calls for immediate change, using the album as a channel for his emotions.
In an industry flooded with artists who choose to rap about fame, women and money, Lamar uses his talent and status as a platform to make everyone who hears his music aware of the problems faced by black people. The album has themes of anti-consumerism and antimaterialism, self-reflection and self-criticism, racism and violence.
“u” is a direct juxtaposition to the positive, upbeat song about self-love, “i,” which was released as a single in September 2014. Lamar pours his heart and soul into “u,” where he raywals about his battle with depression and alcoholism. He criticizes himself as a failure, repeatedly condemning himself saying, “loving you is complicated.” In an interview with Rolling Stone, Lamar said, “Anybody reading or listening who may be asking these questions of themselves, just remember, from u’ you will eventually reach ‘i.’ With
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@HardyNFL
Kendrick Lamar is here to start a new era in rap, or at least he's going to try. On Lamar's new album "To Pimp A Butterfly," (Aftermath/Interscope) Lamar says, "I can just alleviate the rap industry politics," a claim so many artists have made in the past without prevail. But here, for once, that line is believable.
Atter Ferguson, Trayvon Martin and other recent instances of violence against the black community, Lamar couldn't have picked a more perfect time to release this album. He's not afraid to speak up, which he made clear when he told The New York Times, "I want you to feel uncomfortable."
INTERSCOPE RECORDS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
This image released by Interscope Records shows the CD cover for "To Pimp a Butterfly," the latest release by Kendrick Lamar.
benevolent.
The groovy, jazz-infused and smooth, dreamy neo-soul sounds throughout the album might be a new sound to many listeners, but Lamar's
"To Pimp a Butterfly" is a legendary piece of literature, and everyone, young people especially, should listen and pay attention. This album does not have radio hits. This album has a story to tell and should be listened to from start to finish to fully appreciate Lamar's intent.
The album takes us on Lamar's journey as he opens by rapping about social injustice, takes us into the darkest parts of his mind, and finally realizes his worth and potential and evolves into a butterfly. Lamar uses his brilliant lyricism to make this the most important album of our time and one of history's greatest musical contributions.
this album, Lamar communicates that from a dark place of depression and self-hatred, one can emerge in a place of self-love.
Favorite Line: "Loving you is complicated."
message and ideas reign supreme on the Compton product's third LP. Unlike "good kid, m.A.A.d. city" (GKMC), which told a story of Lamar as a teen in his home, Lamar gives out the aesthetic of a television show on this album, with characters, voice actors (mostly played by Lamar) and sound effects to play along with it.
MORTAL MAN
But this was no surprise; Lamar has never lacked creativity or personality. He has always had plenty to say and he has managed to create catch hip-hop hits while remaining socially aware.
This mantra is echoed in a metaphorical poem at the end of the album's final track, "Mortal Man," which encompasses all of the themes expressed throughout the album and brings it
GKMC was widely considered his best performance yet, and the hiphop community was left wondering where he would go next. With his late-2014 single "i," it felt as if he may go for a more pop-infused, mainstream record. Then he went and did the exact opposite. He made music that was nothing like we've ever heard before.
Lamar constantly changes his flow, voice and rhythm, and the instrumentation on his new album, which can be attributed to a wide variety of producers from Flying Lotus to George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic. We get hardcore hip-hop with a touch of '90s inspiration in the background on "Blacker the Berry" but smooth funk on "These Walls."
But this record is much more than music; it's a clear and blanketing message that intends to influence race relations and the world as a whole. Although Lamar puts his effort and focus into those changes, he is conscious that, in the end, these efforts could be fruitless. But, regardless, it's worth his effort, if only to shift the scale on the issues he raps about by just an inch.
While Lamar has established his claim to the throne, he has an unwarranted amount of self-awareness, especially on this record. In Lamar, we see a rapper who has transformed himself, going through a metamorphosis in a matter of years in attempts to reinvigorate hip-hop.
Finally, the industry has a face that can lead it as it turns its back on the "bling" era and moves into the next stage of its relatively short existence. That face is Kendrick Lamar.
FAVORITE TRACKS
INSTITUTIONALIZED (FT. ANNA WISE,
BILAL, SNOOP DOGG)
This is a hard-hitting track where Lamar uses one of his friends, who he took to an awards show, as a double entendre to condemn the institutions of money, gang violence and envy. The metaphor of institutionalization also extends to Lamar, who can't ever take the hood out of his blood, no matter how successful he becomes. It's a multi-dimensional track with a hoist of beat shifts, including one that's helped along by Snoop Dogg. It's a perfect representation of Lamar's varying flows and tones throughout the album, which are drastically different from the first half to the
Local concerts to check out this spring
SEE LAMAR PAGE 7
MATT MCREYNOLDS
@UDKMatt
WEDNESDAY. MARCH 25
**WHO:** Earl Sweatshirt w/ Vince Staples, Remy Banks
**WHAT:** A member of Odd Future, Earl Sweatshirt combines old school hip-hop beats with loud outlandish and intense lyrical flow. Earl Sweatshirt is touring his new album "Grief"
WHERE: The Granada
WHEN: Doors 7 p.m./Show 8 p.m.
COST: Tickets: $22 in advance, $25 day of show
THURSDAY, MARCH 26
WHO: Walk the Moon w/ The
GRIwolds
WHAT: Touring its new album "Talking is Hard," Ohio-based Walk the Moon plays eccentric indie-pop and is receiving immense public popularity.
WHERE: The Granada
WHEN: Doors 7 p.m./Show
8 p.m.
COST Sold out
FRIDAY. MARCH 27
COST: Sold out
WHAT: A Lawrence-native band, Paper Buffalo crafts a math-rock style with a layered and melodically complex sound.
WHO: Paper Buffalo w/ Westerners
RICH FURY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Earl Sweatshirt performs at the Spin Magazine Day Party at Stubb's during South By Southwest on Friday in Austin, Texas. He will be performing at the Granada on Wednesday. Tickets are $22 in advance and $25 the day of the show.
WHERE: The Bottleneck
SATURDAY, MARCH 28
WHO: Psychic Heat w/ Arc
Flash, Dirty Stomp with
Hector the Selector
WHEN: Doors 8 p.m./Show
9 p.m.
WHAT: Psychic Heat, a Lawrence-based psychic, fuzz-like garage rock band recently toured at SXSW, a music festival based in Austin, Texas.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1
WHO: Of Montreal w/ Yip
Deceiver
WHERE: The Replay Lounge WHEN: Show 10 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1
WHAT: Of Montreal, a Georgia-based band brings psychedelic indie-pop with sessionable and art-pop-style lyrics to the stage. Of Montreal is touring its new album "Aureate Gloo."
WHERE: The Granada
WHEN: Doors 8 p.m./Show 9 p.m.
COST: Tickets: $16 in advance,$20 day of show
NEDNESDAY APRIL 8
WHO: Dr. Dog w/ mewithoutYou
WHEN: Doors 7 p.m./Show 8 p.m.
COST: Tickets: $27
THURSDAY, APRIL 16
THURSDAY, APRIL 16
WHO: Twin Shadow w/ Erik Hassle
WHAT: Dr. Dog, based in Philadelphia; creates a current relaxed indie-folk sound with musical ties to oldie-style music. The band recently released a live album entitled "Live At A Flamingo Hotel."
WHAT: Twin Shadow is a solo electro-indie artist with roots in R&B. He recently released his album "Eclipse."
WHEN: Doors 7 p.m./Show
8 p.m
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
WHO: Farmer's Ball hosted by KJHK
WHAT: Farmer's Ball, hosted by student-run KJHK, is an annual battle of the band-style show consisting of eight local music artists.
WHERE: The Bottleneck
COSI: Tickets: $16 in advance, $18 day of show
WHERE: The Bottlecies WHEN: Doors 8 p.m./Show 9 p.m.
**COST:** Tickets: $36 general admission in advance, $40 day of show/reserved balcony
WHEN: Doors 7 p.m./ Show 8 p.m.
WHN: Neutral Milk Hotel
WHAT: A fuzz-folk band hailing from Ruston, La., Neutral Milk Hotel hasn't released a full length album since 1998, yet the band still boasts a massive following for its iconic sound.
TUESDAY, APRIL 28
WHERE: Liberty Hall
TUESDAY, MAY 5
TUESDAY, MAY
WHO: Kaiser Chiefs
WHAT: Kaiser, Chie
WHAT: Kaiser Chiefs rock a British-indie sound with catchy melodies and memorable lyrics. The band released a new full-length album on March 17 titled "Falling Awake," which the band will be playing at its upcoming show.
WHERE: Liberty Hall
WHEN: Doors 7 p.m./Show 8 p.m.
8 p.m.
COST: Tickets: $25.75
COST: Tickets: $25.75
— Edited by Lane Cofas
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