Higher Ground Productions, founded by former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, and in conjunction with Spotify, kick off episode #3 of The Big Hit Show’s second chapter, unpacking the mastermind of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.
During the episode entitled Mr. Andrew’s Mercury, Kendrick erases the line between hip-hop and jazz with help from an all-star band of L.A. musicians who’ve been playing together since high school, talks about working with record producer Terrace Martin, the impact of Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues film on Kendrick and Terrace, experimenting and the improvisational full-band collaboration on To Pimp a Butterfly, and key lessons they learned from Snoop Dogg and the Snoopadelics.
The episode features key interviews with: Kendrick Lamar, record producer Terrace Martin, business partner Dave Free, Mark “Sounwave” Spears, jazz pianist Robert Glasper, Thundercat, TDE record label president Punch, and trumpeter & hip-hop producer Josef Leimberg.
The Big Hit Show is a series of documentaries on the pieces of popular culture that have defined the Internet era and changed American culture. Journalist Alex Pappademas takes us on an epic journey that spans genres, mediums, and generations to explore what happens when a wildly successful piece of pop culture gets so big that it changes the world. This current chapter analyzes the context and impact Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy award-winning album To Pimp A Butterfly had on society, by dissecting Kendrick’s thought process and experiences that led to this pivotal moment in his career. Throughout this experience, he emerges as a cultural leader, superstar, and black man above everything else.
Check out The Big Hit Show episode below: