I think I'd agree with 8/10 or so being appropriate - I really enjoy it but it's sort of messy and it goes on too long.

But who knows? After all, we need to accept the possibility of a record so excellent we don’t understand it yet.

ETA: Uh, that last sentence was a joke. Or a reference. Or something.

I'd go 7/10

is TPAB the album the world deserves or the album the world needs?

It's the album people are settling for.

It's an album that exists in the world.

deep shit

so heres my opinion on the album because everyones been asking what I rate it:

I really like it. King Kunta, These Walls, Blacker the Berry, etc are bangers. but im also pretty indifferent so some songs like u, Alright, Momma. so its like damn some of this is killer and I am on board on the hype train but other times its meh I don't care really. I think I can see myself liking the "lesser" songs more as I listen to it more so I don't really care that its going to be unanimously rated as the best music to ever come out in the history of the world. better than some actual garbage like vampire weekend or something getting that title. i like it more than anything else he's done (tho I think this is the problem I have with him where I enjoy individual tracks more than the album itself). I dig the production here, and I think the parts that I like best are the "grittier" parts for lack of a better term. so yes it is a very good hip hop album and very topical and I like it lots. glad to be a part of this zeitgeist thanks for listening.

I think Kendrick Lamar might be rap's Vampire Weekend if you ask me. Pretty good sound, you can pick him out, fairly solid on technical/production grounds, but overall just really boring and uninspired, relying way too much on safe or already worn ground.

I wouldn't call him boring, but the overwhelming mass jerk off that his last two albums have produced really sour me against him because I know I've heard better albums that don't get anywhere near the same recognition.

And I know that the same people listened to these other albums and don't rate them as highly because it wasn't released by "King Kendrick praise the Lord".

Kendrick's overrated for sure, but it's unfair to call him boring and uninspired imo. Even if you don't like it, To Pimp A Butterfly is an unconventional album for a rapper at his level of fame to release. Even GKMC is pretty different, it's his most commercial album so far but it's still a concept album.
Kanye's even more overrated, but I still love him to. Radiohead are another example. Got to ignore the fanboys.

I appreciate what he was going for. But when the execution doesn't do much for me I can't co-sign it.