The Epic

The EpicThe EpicKamasi Washington · 2015 (2015) was a three-disc statement. That same year Washington contributed saxophone and string arrangements to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, creating a new path for listeners to reach jazz through hip-hop.

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) was built on jazz musicians: Robert GlasperRobert Glasperロバート・グラスパー, Terrace MartinTerrace Martinテラス・マーティン, Kamasi WashingtonKamasi Washingtonカマシ・ワシントン, and ThundercatThundercatサンダーキャット. Glasper was supposed to play on one track, but Kendrick kept queuing up songs — he ended up recording nine in a single sitting with no sheet music. The piano solo on "These Walls" was actually his warmup, secretly recorded by Terrace Martin.

In 2015, Kamasi Washington emerged as a new voice in jazz with his triple album The Epic — but that same year he was also arranging strings on To Pimp a Butterfly, a landmark hip-hop record. He'd already left a mark outside jazz before the jazz world took notice.