King Kunta
Kendrick Lamar | Artist Essentials
First released: 2015 (year verified)
Original 2015 To Pimp a Butterfly studio recording
MusicAtlas editorial note: The springy bass line gives the restless vocal a firm place to push from.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 2015 (year verified)
The original album recording was released in 2015. The selected track is the studio release rather than a subsequent live performance.
Recording: Original 2015 To Pimp a Butterfly studio recording
Credit: Kendrick Lamar
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original album: To Pimp a Butterfly
Apple Music: King Kunta
The original To Pimp a Butterfly recording carries a March 2015 release date. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
In the yearly lists
These are listening-list appearances, separate from the first-release date.
The retained 2015 title and solo credit correspond to the reviewed original To Pimp a Butterfly studio track. The selected recording does not include later live performances.
Apple Music: King Kunta
The original To Pimp a Butterfly recording carries a March 2015 release date. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
About Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar is a rapper from Compton whose 2012 album good kid, m.A.A.d city brought his work to a broad audience. His recordings place detailed vocal storytelling within changing musical settings. To Pimp a Butterfly drew on jazz, funk, soul and spoken-word traditions as well as hip-hop, with collaborators including Terrace Martin and Thundercat contributing to its sound. His solo album identity remains distinct from jointly credited recordings and from the individual work of the musicians around him.
Artist background sources
Kendrick Lamar - Recording Academy artist biography
Compton origin and 2012 good kid, m.A.A.d city breakthrough. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
To Pimp a Butterfly - Recording Academy oral history
Firsthand artist and collaborator accounts of jazz, funk, soul, spoken word and hip-hop in the album's production; Terrace Martin and Thundercat contributions. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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