Ending of Kendrick Lamar's Song "Mortal Man", during an "interview" with Tupac Amaru Shakur.
The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it
Its only job is to eat or consume everything around it in order to protect itself from this mad city
While consuming it's environment, the caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive.
One thing it noticed is how much the world shuns him, but praises the butterfly
The butterfly represents the talent, the thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the caterpillar
But having a harsh outlook on life the caterpillar sees the butterfly as weak and figures out a way to pimp it to his own benefits
Already surrounded by this mad city, the caterpillar goes to work on the cocoon which institutionalizes him, he can no longer see past his own thoughts
Hes Trapped
When trapped inside these walls certain ideas take roots, such as going home and bringing back new concepts to this mad city.
The result?
Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant
Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the internal struggle,
Although the butterfly and caterpillar are completely different
They are one and the same
My Interpretation
At first whilst listening, you would think that the butterfly and caterpillar being the same represents how no matter your ethnicity, you are a human. I do not think Kendrick was aiming for that lesson. The caterpillar and butterfly represent the same individual, not the same humanity. The caterpillar has yet to transform and realize its potential in life. In order to survive, it has to destroy everything around it.
The user "Pink Cookies" on the genius website describes it quite perfectly :
Following the interpretation that:
Butterfly = Rappers (Those successful)
Caterpillar = The People (Hood/Consumers)
The Cocoon would be the rap genre, the cocoon would be the media, the government, school, whatever contains the people, marginalizes and institutionalizes the people is the cocoon.
When you pimp a butterfly, you’re exploiting those that have reached their potential. Monetizing (pimping) their success by making their image a commodity. That commodity is packaged as a symbol that demands adoration and emulation even though it is out of reach to those who seek it, that’s the pimpin. The music industry has accrued millions with this formula. Honestly that is how marketing works. So its bigger than music, its one of the pillars of capitalism.
So when the caterpillar is trapped in the cocoon, it is basically the common man being trapped within the "system", which limits their abilities.
However, Kendrick makes it clear that whilst trapped in the cocoon, new ideas can form on how to fight oppression, social inequality, brutality, etc. He is essentially stating that without the struggles, there would be no Tupac, thus no Kendrick.
Here is a video about Plato's "The allegory of the Cave"
Those who stay chained, represent the caterpillar, mocking the butterfly and finding him to be inferior because he could not adjust to their lifestyle, even though he is the one who is enlightened. The caterpillar believes the butterfly to be inferior for not being able to live properly within his lifestyle/cocoon, but the butterfly is just, to put it in crude terms, too good for that.
I'd like to also add, that without having been in the cave, the "enlightened" wouldn't have realized how "chained" he used to be and how much he should appreciate the new life that has been given to him. Which corellates with :
When trapped inside these walls certain ideas take roots, such as going home and bringing back new concepts to this mad city.
The result?
Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant
Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that the caterpillar never considered, ending the internal struggle,
Your Post Has Been Featured on @Resteemable!
Feature any Steemit post using resteemit.com!
How It Works:
1. Take Any Steemit URL
2. Erase
https://3. Type
reGet Featured Instantly � Featured Posts are voted every 2.4hrs
Join the Curation Team Here | Vote Resteemable for Witness