Following up the impeccably acclaimed “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City,” Kendrick Lamar’s newest release is, quite simply, an artwork of honesty and insight into the rapper’s life and society itself.

Lamar does it again, proving this time that the lack of a radio hit does not relegate an album to second-tier status.

“To Pimp a Butterfly” is nearly 80 minutes of unapologetic freestyle, with lyrics discussing current events and culture to the MC’s violent upbringing in Compton, California.

With lines like “So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street?”, the rapper spares no political correctness as he provides auditory sagaciousness to the current racial issues facing the United States.

“i”, the album’s first single, weaves and flows in a sunny manner before the somber undertones are evident. Lightweight at a glance, the song underscores Kendrick’s polarizing audacity as he combines hard beats with free-flowing soul while discussing the adversity he has dealt with, and often the country as a whole.

Although Lamar makes no effort to hide his powerful messages, undercutting them are challenges to himself and his listeners.

Most present in “Institutionalized”, the lyrics certainly recognize a variety of issues shaping society, but also daring listeners to do something, with lines like “S*** don’t change unless you get up.”

Acoustically, “To Pimp A Butterfly” is different from Drake’s “If you’re reading this it’s too late” and other recent releases in the genre.

Complex at heart, the LP combines big-band style jazz sound in the background on multiple tracks, and Lamar himself switches often between an acidic, hardcore freestyle and a sobby, nearly poetic dialogue, especially on “u” and “You Ain’t Gonna Lie (Momma Said).”

“To Pimp A Butterfly” offers up a period of deep reflection after going through the album. One feels a connection with the rapper, just as in “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City.” Lamar’s follow-up is certainly just as good, and remains significantly different from the rest of the genre.

Lamar’s latest record is stunning, introspective, bold, and overall, a masterpiece. It’s stuff we haven’t seen since Kanye’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”

Available for $14.99 on iTunes and $14.49 on Google Play.