One has to imagine that after an artist achieves commercial and popular acclaim, he faces all sorts of pressure, both internally and externally, to not upset the apple cart. Of course, some artists tend to buck away from that either as a sense of rebelling against expectations or as a way to cash in the carte blanche they feel as a result of their success. Other times, it’s just a manifestation of a natural progression. Only Kendrick Lamar can speak to the why and how, but the follow-up to Good Kid, Maad City was seemingly always going to differ from his previous work. The first indication was his collaboration with Imagine Dragons, which he followed by forming his own live band. Then there were the instantly buzzy performances on The Colbert Report and Saturday Night Live. All of this pointed to Lamar being sonically on another planet, but no one really would know for sure until the album dropped. Well, by design or by iTunes accident the answer has come quicker than expected.

First things first, Kendrick has created an album possibly designed to shake off fair-weather fans. Opening with a chorus sample of Boris Gardiner’s “Every Nigger Is a Star,” he seems to be trying to wean out those who are looking for another “Swimming Pools (Drank).” But if they make it past the first track, then they better strap in because it’s quite a ride. To Pimp a Butterfly (Interscope Records), the title a flip inspired by “To Kill a Mockingbird,” seems less about getting radio spins and more about actually saying something. If Lamar had sold less records, he’d be straddled with the “conscious rapper” label. But since he’s a Grammy-winning, wildly popular artist, he can just be a guy with something to say. And Kendrick has a lot to say. Between his changing life, Ferguson, and Michael Brown and the resulting aftermath, Lamar has plenty on his mind, and he appears comfortable with taking on the roles of prophet, preacher, and agitator.

If the previous record invoked a classic West Coast hip-hop vibe, To Pimp a Butterfly feels like an underground East Coast album. There’s some undeniable West Coast funk on the record, including guest spots by George Clinton on “Wesley’s Theory” and Snoop on “Institutionalized,” but the album just feels different. This is partially a result of the construction and sequencing, which is strung together with spoken word interludes and outros, and the fact that it plays like a spiritual cousin to the Jungle Brothers’ J Beez Wit the Remedy with a sprinkling of the DNA of Divine Styler. The phrase, “I remember you was conflicted, misusing your influence. Sometimes I did the same,” is an Easter egg that slowly unfurls through the run of the album, finally paying off on the album closer “Mortal Man.” The fact that the track is also a beyond the grave interview with 2Pac is a bonkers move that shouldn’t work but instead plays out like the last scene of The Usual Suspects.

But with all of the heavy talk and mood on the album, Lamar doesn’t neglect to write songs, though there’s nothing as instantly catchy as “Swimming Pools” or “Kill My Vibe.” In fact, with the first couple of plays it’s hard to even imagine a single, despite the fact that “I” and “The Blacker the Berry” have been released as such. It’s a record that plays as a complete piece of work, and at a time when so many hip-hop albums seem to be padded vehicles for a handful of singles, it’s refreshing to see care paid to the whole package. There’s no telling what Lamar’s next move will be, but until then, the dense, confrontational album that is To Pimp a Butterfly will provide a lot to chew on.