Kendrick Lamar Visits High Schoolers Studying To Pimp a Butterfly

Image Courtesy Mark Davis/NBCKendrick Lamar visited students at High Tech High School in North Bergen, New Jersey on Monday after learning that they were analyzing the lyrics to his recent album To Pimp a Butterfly, according to Rolling Stone.

The rapper caught wind of teacher Brian Mooney‘s viral lesson plan and student essays on the subject of the widely discussed album, which was dissected and compared to Toni Morrison‘s novel The Bluest Eye.

“I was intrigued that somebody other than myself can articulate and break down the concepts of To Pimp a Butterfly almost better than I can,” Lamar explained, referring to Mooney’s original blog post. “That let me know he’s a true lover of music.”

The rapper adds that he was shocked by the students’ ability to understand his profound messaging throughout the album.

“I didn’t think I made [To Pimp a Butterfly] for 16-year-olds,” he continued. “I always get, like, my parents or an adult saying, ‘This is great, you have a message, you have themes, you have different genres of music.’ But to get a kid actually telling me this, it’s a different type of feeling, ’cause it lets me know that their thought process is just as advanced as mine, even if I’m 10, 15 years older.”