Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly,” showcases cool retro beats over Lamar’s classic hard-hitting lyrics for another powerful album by the rapper.

Lamar dropped the album late Sunday evening, a week before its expected March 23 release date. Lamar’s first album “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” was praised for its first-person perspective of a black man living the life of a gangbanger’s son. In “To Pimp a Butterfly,” Lamar continues his raw and honest lyrical style. The album lyrics focus on Lamar’s life after being baptized and saved by God.

The album’s first released single, “The Blacker the Berry,” focuses on the negative stereotypes faced by black people and systematic oppression they experience. Lamar uses lyrics like, “You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture,” and “You sabotage my community, makin’ a killin’, you made me a killer.” The lyrics speak to a broad range of young adults that have experienced or witnessed the devastating effects of deeply-rooted racism in the United States.

Other songs on the album address similar issues. The song “Institutionalized” features artists Bilal, Anna Wise and Snoop Dogg. The track sends a message about not being a passive bystander and encourages people to take a stand against problems in the world.

The album’s closing 12-minute song “Mortal Man” describes many of the topics mentioned above, but it also touches on Lamar’s recently discovered Christianity. The lyrics mention popular black leaders like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., and their fights for freedom and educational rights. The end of the song ties the album title into the overall theme by saying a caterpillar becomes a strong butterfly by breaking the cycle. Lamar raps, “The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness and the beauty within the caterpillar.”

The albums speaks thoughtfully about race issues and is accompanied by a mix of jazz and punk rock style background music, and it is sure to please any rap music lover.