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Joshua Yi
Professor Furrow
Philosophy 230
13 May, 2015
Avenues of Influence
What makes a piece of art worthy of exceptional praise? What is it about art as a whole
that is seemingly essential to human society? What or when is art? Such questions are asked
daily and are passionately discussed in both professional/academic and casual/social
environments. The recent album release of rapper and hip-hop artist, Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp
a Butterfly, manifests such questions. Both critics and fans praise the album as being the rap
album of the decade and of true artistic quality, but again, the question arises: what makes a
piece of art worthy of exceptional praise? More specifically, what makes Lamars album worthy
of such praise? With this question, I will introduce an ideal way for one to engage and place
judgments on both art and music. This new ideal relationship will (hopefully) show and validate
why Lamars album is worthy of exceptional praise. The achievement of this will come not
merely by dissecting the particulars of this record, nor will it arrive by simply acknowledging the
mass appeal and commercial success of it; rather, it will be achieved by observing how the
particulars of the album work together with what I refer to as our avenues of influence and how
one can begin to regard Lamars album as worthy of exceptional praise by becoming aware of
the multitude of avenues that contributes to its immense success.

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As mentioned previously, the immense success of this album is not solely subject to its mass
appeal or commercial success (I identify them more as byproducts). Its success its drawn from
the plethora of individual qualities that one finds appeal in. This is not to imply that its appeal is
drawn from a reductionist perspective in which ones evaluation is halted at the analytical
deconstruction of the album; it is instead drawn from the way the deconstructed qualities of the
album come together to express the intents of Lamar his personal life dilemmas (depression,
suicide, romantic, community, family and fan relations, fame, wealth, ego, institutionalization,
social responsibility, drugs, demonic temptations) and current social/cultural/political issues
(black pride, racism/racial profiling, gender roles, sex) - and furthermore, how all of these
aspects of the album are able to connect to individual listeners. I will point to the last track on
To Pimp a Butterfly, Mortal Man.
There is much value to draw from the formal properties of Mortal Man. Formal properties are
identified as anything regarding form, harmonic structure, rhythmic structure, melodic structure,
production, sound design, orchestration, etc. Mortal Man is introduced with dreamy, phased,
harmonized vocals that is accompanied by rhythmically obscure piano (Robert Glasper)
arpeggiations that resemble the sound of wind chimes in a soft breeze. An alto saxophone
(Terrace Martin) playing trills with a soft getzy (Stan Getz) tone is also introduced. All of these
instruments work together to set the mellow and relaxed tone for the song. After an eight bar
intro, the bass (Thundercat) is introduced with a pickup line that establishes the beat (this does
not refer to the pulse necessarily, but rather the framework and undercurrent laid out by the
rhythm section piano, drums, bass, guitar) of the song.

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There are many subtleties to make note of in the beat which is largely due to Lamars decision to
use live musicians instead of electronically produced instruments. The drums establishes a
groove that is crisp to the pulse, but yet sensitive to the relaxed sentiment of the song. Crispness
is accomplished by the high pitched anvil sound effect added by the production team on the
second beat of the measure and by the rimshot played by the drummer on the fourth beat of the
measure. Sensitivity is accomplished by the producers decision to cut the high end of the
drums, the producers decision to utilize analog recording, the echoing of the backbeat on the
second beat of the measure, the reverb added to the anvil sound effect, and by placing the notes
played just slightly behind the pulse. Thundercats decision to use a six stringed bass allows him
to achieve round and fat pitches in low registers that a standard four string bass would fail to
achieve. By constructing a bass line that sways side to side on the first and third beats of the
measure, the bassist makes great use of space that adds to the relaxed sentiment of the piece.
Once the beat is dropped or established, there are multiple instruments who help aid in
propelling the song to new heights. The guitarist (Marlon Williams) aids in this by adding in fills
that alludes to new sections of the song and by doubling the rhythmic pattern of the bass line at
times. Glasper aids by adding in lush chords and playful ostinatos sporadically. The addition of
layering string, horn, and vocal sections are the key difference makers in propelling the song to
new aesthetic heights. It is worth taking note exactly when and how each section is introduced.
The horns are introduced first in the second bridge. The rich harmonization and lavish
synchronized swelling of the horns adds to the propulsion and keeps the song interesting. Soon
after, the vocals and strings are introduced together in the second half of the first verse, adding
more propulsion. The lush orchestration of these two sections overwhelms the song at times and
picks at the emotions of its listeners. As Mortal Man climaxes, the strings, horns and vocal

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sections are reintroduced triumphantly in unison, providing a fitting resolving to the first half of
the piece.
There is much value to draw from the formal properties of Mortal Man alone. However, one
ought not to limit themselves solely to these properties. To do such a thing would ignore the
intended messages Lamar has for his audience. The title Mortal Man alludes to multiple
figures. The most obvious figure alluded to is Lamar himself. Other figures he alludes to are
prominent figures who contributed and fought for the equal rights of blacks and minorities
Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, John F. Kennedy, and even the biblical
figure Moses. Lamars reasoning for calling these figures and himself mortal is to bring to light
the fact that he is subject to the same human flaws as anyone else. He makes a request to his
fans not to judge and criticize so harshly. He raps, As I lead this army make room for mistakes
and depression, and with that being said my nigga, let me ask the question: When shit hit the fan,
is you still a fan?. With all the hype that surrounded the release of To Pimp a Butterfly Lamar
anticipated that its release would put him at the height of his career and popularity. The decision
to put Lamars name next to such prominent black figures was not made without reason. Much
like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Nelson Mandela, Lamar is interested in using his
popularity and commercial success as a tool for social equality and betterment. In pursuit of his
mission of social betterment, he foresees a concern that could interfere with his mission: the
halting of social concerns once his popularity and commercial success diminishes. He raps ,
How many leaders you said you needed then left em for dead? Is it Moses, is it Huey Nelson or
Detroit Red? he asks, Is it Martin Luther [King Jr.], JFK [John F. Kennedy], shoot or you
assassin. He then asks his fans again, When shit hit the fan, is you still a fan? .

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In hopes to look for explanations of what makes a piece of art worthy of exceptional
praise, it would be of good use to browse ideas concerned with aesthetics and art. When
evaluating a piece of art, the judgments made are always based upon certain standard(s)
(standard of judgment). For instance, if a formalist were to evaluate Lamars album, her
evaluation would be rooted in how well the formal properties form, harmonic structure,
rhythmic structure, melodic structure, production, sound design, orchestration, etc. are
displayed. A representationalist would measure its success upon how accurately the piece
imitates reality (mimesis). An aesthetic cognitivists standard of judgment would be based upon
how successfully the album can improve our understanding of ourselves and human potential.
For expressionists, the success of the album would lie in how accurately it represent the
emotions of Lamar and/or if he achieves emotional movement his audience. Cultural materialists
would determine the pieces success by how well it encompasses the social and economic
influences that surrounds it. The standard of judgment that one is subscribed to will dictate
whether or not his album (or any work of art) is worthy of praise.
With further inquiry, we can recognize potential problems that may arise when people
with different standards of judgment are engaged in evaluation of the same piece. For example,
if a formalist and cultural materialist were to evaluate Lamars album and they were both to
reach a mutual approval and liking of it, their reasons of why they approve of the album would
be drastically different due to them being limited to their own standard of judgment. An even
deeper conflict arises if the formalist were to approve of the album and the cultural materialist
were to disapprove of it (or vice-versa). The formalist might criticize the cultural materialist of
assigning value to the album from the social and economic forces that underlie it rather than
focusing on the album and its formal properties alone; conversely, the cultural materialist might

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criticize the formalist as being rigid or purist for assigning value from the albums formal
properties alone. It is with this illustration where I would like to make my first concrete point:
the flaw shared by the formalist and cultural materialist is not necessarily in their standard of
judgment; rather it is found in the fact that their standard of judgment is limited to only one
standard. Why is it not possible to draw value from both the formal properties and
cultural/economic undertones? Why limit our judgments to only one standard, or two standards?
Is it possible to find value in a work of art with multiple standards of judgment? Yes! Not only
is it possible to find value in art from multiple standards of judgment, it is required of us to draw
from a multitude of standards, or avenues of influence, in order to achieve a fuller understanding
and fair judgment of the evaluated piece.
Multiple standards of judgment are needed in order to gain a full understanding of what
we are evaluating. As previously mentioned, a formalist will have a limited understanding of a
piece of art if she were not to consider factors other than the formal properties. It is granted that
everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions; if formalist were to disapprove and find
no value in a piece of art due to the lack of appeal in its formal properties, then she is entitled to
her disapproval. However, a formalists goes too far if she were to claim the piece as being bad
or garbage; by making such a claim, the formalist makes a false imposition that the universal
and objective standard of judgment for music ought to be based soley upon the formalists
standard of judgment.
The tendency to impose ones universal standard of judgment is regretfully all too
prevalent amongst us. I myself have employed this tendency in the past due to the biases that
have been constructed from my personal experience as a drummer and musician. As a drummer

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(drum set), I tend to find appeal and gravitate towards things that have drumming and/or
percussive elements in them. This has shaped my listening habits and tendencies to focus on the
drums. Because of this listening habit, my standard of judgment is largely limited to the
influence of the drums. As an overly-passionate high schooler, this appeal pushed certain
thoughts to an excess; any piece of music that did not include drums/percussion in them was
instantly rejected and regarded as bad or illegitimate music and thus not worth taking seriously.
My standard of judgment only had one avenue of influence: the drums. Because my listening
habits were largely restricted to the drums, the initial judgments I made on a piece were
incomplete and founded upon a limited understanding. It was unfair and unwise of me to
evaluate a piece of music because I was ignorant to the other aspects that characterize and
influence it.
To evaluate a piece fairly and thoroughly, there is a requirement to have a multitude of
avenues of influence. What are the steps that are needed to be taken in order to acquire more
avenues of influence? Self-awareness. One is required to be aware of the avenues of influence
that set the standard she uses to judge a piece of art. After a certain level of self-awareness is
achieved, what logically follows is the realization of one's listening habits. Because I am a
drummer and musician, my ears instinctively focus on the drums and the rhythm section
whenever a piece of music is presented. Once I realized how limited my listening was, I made a
conscious effort to break away from my listening habits. This was achieved by listening to
unfamiliar music that was absent of drums, focusing on the lyrical content of vocalists and
lyricists, diving into the stylistic, historical, cultural, social, and political influences of the piece,
and considering a wider range of formal properties in music composition, orchestration,
production, etc.

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So, to answer the question: what makes Lamars album worthy of exceptional praise? As
previously discussed, there is much praise to be found in the formal properties alone. Additional
things to consider are the social, political, economic, and historical influences of the record
(cultural materialism), and how Lamars album expresses and encapsulates the our society's
current conditions. The way in which Lamar arouses ones emotions through his emotion filled
rap style and hard hitting beats ought to be considered as well. Despite the heavy and serious
listening experience of the album, there are hints of positivity and optimism. Throughout the
record Lamar shares the struggles of his personal life, as well as the struggles of his community.
Despite the struggles of both his personal life and community, he discusses the need to move
past them and the necessity to implement positive social change. This implies that both
individuals and society as a collective whole has the means to move past them. Such
implications realizes the capacity for humanity to reach their fullest potential (aesthetic
cognitivism). The way in which all of these properties come together to produce the masterpiece
that is To Pimp a Butterfly is why this record is worthy of exceptional praise. Such a realization
cannot be been made if ones standard of judgement is dictated by limited avenues of influence.