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''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (stylized as ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'') is the second studio album by American rapper
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
. It was released on October 22, 2012, through
Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's f ...
,
Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records. Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, ...
and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
, Dr. Dre, Jay Rock, Anna Wise, and
MC Eiht Aaron Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced MC eight), is an American rapper and actor. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's nam ...
. It is Lamar's major label debut, after his independently released first album '' Section.80'' in 2011 and his signing to Aftermath and Interscope the following year. ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' was recorded mostly at several studios in California, with producers such as Dr. Dre,
Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his mu ...
, Pharrell Williams,
Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), better known by his stage name Hit-Boy, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. In May 2011, he had signed a two-year deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music production branch. ...
, Scoop DeVille, Jack Splash, and
T-Minus A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
, among others, contributing to the album. Billed as a "short film by Kendrick Lamar" on the album cover, the concept album follows the story of Lamar's teenage experiences in the drug-infested streets and
gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
lifestyle of his native Compton. The album earned Lamar four
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album was supported by five singles – " The Recipe", "
Swimming Pools (Drank) "Swimming Pools (Drank)" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 31, 2012 as the lead single (second overall) from his major-label debut studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012), by Top Dawg, Aftermath and Inter ...
", "
Backseat Freestyle "Backseat Freestyle" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It debuted on October 15, 2012 in the United Kingdom as the third single from Lamar's second studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012). It was released in the United States wit ...
", "
Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...
", and "
Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" ( edited for radio as "Trick, Don't Kill My Vibe" or simply "Don't Kill My Vibe"), is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his major-label debut studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012). The song, pr ...
". All five singles achieved chart success of varying degrees. Lamar also went on a world tour between May and August 2013, featuring the other members of the hip hop collective, Black Hippy. ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its thematic scope and Lamar's lyrics. The album debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 242,000 copies in its first week – earning the highest first-week hip hop album sales of 2012 from a male artist. It became Lamar's first album to enter the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
, peaking at number 16, and entering the UK R&B Albums Chart at number two. The album was also named to many end-of-the-year lists, often topping them. It was later certified
triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2020, the album was ranked 115th on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''s updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and in 2022, the publication named it the greatest concept album of all time.


Background

After the release and success of his debut studio album '' Section.80'' (2011),
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
signed a major label record deal with Interscope Records and Dr. Dre's
Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records. Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, ...
. He told ''
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...
'' that he did not want to work with high-profile producers, but with those he had established himself with, mainly producers from Top Dawg's in-house production team,
Digi+Phonics Digi may refer to: * Short for "digital" as in digicam, digiscale, digiscrap, digibee * Digi Communications, a Romanian telecommunications company in Romania, Hungary, Spain and Italy *Digi International, an American electronics manufacturer *Digi- ...
. In an interview for '' XXL'', Lamar said that the album would not sound like ''Section.80'', but will return to his Compton roots: "I couldn't tell you what type of sound or where I illbe in the next five years as far as music... Back to the neighborhood and oingback in that same space where we used to be, got einspired. So this album won't sound like ''Section.80''." Lamar also said that the album will showcase the influence of his hometown: "The kid that's trying to escape that influence, trying his best to escape that influence, has always been pulled back in because of circumstances that be."


Recording and production

Recording sessions for the album took place at PatchWerk Recording Studios in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Encore Studios in Burbank, TDE Red Room in Carson, and "At My Mama's Studio" in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. The first song that Lamar recorded for the album was "Compton", which featured Dr. Dre. The track serves as the twelfth track on the album, and acts as the standard edition's closing track. On August 15, 2012,
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
announced via
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, that she had collaborated with Lamar on a song called "Partynauseous", for the album, and would be released on September 6. However, on August 23, Gaga announced that the song was no longer being released on that date and apologized to fans for the delay. Eventually, it was confirmed that Lady Gaga would not be featured on the album due to timing issues and creative differences. The song was later revealed to be re-titled "
Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" ( edited for radio as "Trick, Don't Kill My Vibe" or simply "Don't Kill My Vibe"), is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his major-label debut studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012). The song, pr ...
". On November 8, Gaga released the version she was featured on, which had her singing the chorus and a verse. Lamar expressed he was surprised and happy that Gaga released her version of the song, as it displayed confidence in their work together.


Music and lyrics

''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' has a low-key, downbeat production, with atmospheric beats and subtle, indistinct hooks. It eschews contemporary hip hop tastes and generally features tight bass
measures Measure may refer to: * Measurement, the assignment of a number to a characteristic of an object or event Law * Ballot measure, proposed legislation in the United States * Church of England Measure, legislation of the Church of England * Measu ...
, subtle background vocals, and light piano. Writers draw comparisons of the music to Outkast's 1998 album ''
Aquemini ''Aquemini'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on September 29, 1998, by LaFace Records. The title is a portmanteau of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius (Big Boi) and Gemini (André 3000), whic ...
''. Andrew Nosnitsky of '' Spin'' cites the music's "closest point of reference" as "the cold spaciousness of ''
ATLiens ''ATLiens'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on August 27, 1996, by Arista Records and LaFace Records. From 1995 to 1996, Outkast recorded ''ATLiens'' in sessions at several Atlanta studios—Bosstown R ...
''-era Outkast, but as the record progresses, that sound sinks slowly into the fusionist mud of those sprawling and solemn mid-2000s Roots albums."
Sasha Frere-Jones Alexander Roger Wallace "Sasha" Frere-Jones (né Jones; born 1967) is an American writer, music critic, and musician. He has written for ''Pretty Decorating'', '' ego trip'', ''Hit It And Quit It'', ''Mean'', '' Slant'', ''The New York Post'', '' ...
of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' finds its use of "smooth" music as a backdrop for "rough" scenarios to be analogous to Dr. Dre's
G-funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Charac ...
during the early 1990s, but adds that "Lamar often sounds like
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
... whose various dreamy styles have very little to do with the legacy of the West." Okayplayer's Marcus Moore writes that its "expansive and brooding" instrumentals eschew "California's glossy West Coast funk" for a "
Dungeon Family The Dungeon Family is a musical collective, based in Atlanta, Georgia that specializes in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul influences. The group derives its name from "The Dungeon", the name given to record producer Rico Wade's studio, ...
aesthetic." Lyrically, the album chronicles Lamar's experiences in his native Compton and its harsh realities, in a nonlinear narrative. The songs address issues such as economic disenfranchisement, retributive gang violence and downtrodden women, while analyzing their residual effects on individuals and families. Lamar introduces various characters and internal conflicts, including the contrast of his homesickness and love for Compton with the city's plagued condition. Del F. Cowie of '' Exclaim!'' observes a "transformation" by Lamar's character "from a boisterous, impressionable, girl-craving teenager to more spiritual, hard-fought adulthood, irrevocably shaped by the neighbourhood and familial bonds of his precarious environment." '' Slant Magazine''s Mark Collett writes that Lamar executes the character's transition by "tempering the hedonistic urges of
West Coast hip hop West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the e ...
with the self-reflective impulses of the East Coast." David Amidon of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' views that the album provides a "sort of semi-autobiographical character arc", while ''
MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History I ...
''s Robert Christgau writes that Lamar "softspokenly" enacts a "rap-versus-real dichotomy". The album features naturalistic, vérité-like skits that dramatize the characters' limitations. Jon Caramanica of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' finds them to be a part of the album's "narrative strategy", with "prayers and conversations and different voices and recollections and interludes, all in service of one overarching story: Mr. Lamar's tale of ducking Compton's rougher corners to find himself artistically." ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
''s Jayson Greene feels that they reinforce the album's theme of "the grounding power of family", interpreting "family and faith" to be "the fraying tethers holding Lamar back from the chasm of gang violence that threatens to consume him." Lamar exhibits a tempered delivery on the album and raps with dense narratives,
internal rhyme In poetry, internal rhyme, or middle rhyme, is rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse, or between internal phrases across multiple lines. By contrast, rhyme between line endings is known as end rhyme. Internal rhyme schemes can be denoted ...
, double and
triple time Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 ( compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...
flow and multiple voices for different characters. Music journalist
Jody Rosen Jody Rosen (born June 21, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Career Journalism Rosen served as critic-at-large for '' T: The New York Times Style Magaz ...
characterizes him as "a storyteller, not a braggart or punch-line rapper, setting spiritual yearnings and moral dilemmas against a backdrop of gang violence and police brutality." The song "Now or Never" was also chosen by
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...
to be featured in the ''
NBA 2K14 ''NBA 2K14'' is a 2013 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports. The fifteenth installment in the series, it was released on October 1, 2013, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and the PlaySta ...
'' soundtrack.


Title and packaging

Before the album's title was officially revealed, fans had already been calling Lamar's major label debut ''Good Kid, Mad City'' or ''Good Kid in a Mad City'', as it was a nickname Lamar had given himself. He had used the phrase in his lyrics as early as the 2009 ''
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
'' EP. When he announced the album's title and release date, Lamar indicated that the "correct" rendering of the title is lowercase except for the two vowels in "''m.A.A.d''". The album's title mainly refers to Lamar's childhood innocence and how Compton affected his life. After keeping the album title's acronym concealed, Lamar later revealed ''M.A.A.D'' is an acronym with two meanings: "''My Angry Adolescence Divided''" and "''My Angels on Angel Dust''", with Lamar stating: "That was me, nd it'sthe reason why I don't smoke. It was just me getting my hands on the wrong thing at the wrong time ndbeing oblivious to it." The title has been interpreted as a reference to
WC and the Maad Circle WC and the Maad Circle was an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California that consisted of WC, Big Gee, Coolio and DJ Crazy Toones. History MAAD stands for ''Minority Alliance of Anti-Discrimination''. Following the dissolution of Low ...
, a Los Angeles-based hip hop group active in the 1990s. The cover artwork for ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' features a baby Lamar, two of his uncles, and his grandfather, with the adults' eyes censored, possibly for privacy reasons. He explained that the reason why he had not censored his own eyes was that the album's story was told through his eyes, and is based around his experiences. The uncle who is holding Lamar also is displaying the
Crips The Crips is an alliance of street gangs that is based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips were initially a single alliance ...
gang sign with his hand, and the poster above the head of the uncle features Lamar and his father.


Singles

The album's first single, " The Recipe", was released on April 3, 2012. The song featured Lamar's mentor, Dr. Dre, and was produced by Scoop DeVille. It peaked at number 38 on the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
. Lamar and Dr. Dre shot a video for the song at a mansion in Los Angeles in May, although it was never released. The album's second single, "
Swimming Pools (Drank) "Swimming Pools (Drank)" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 31, 2012 as the lead single (second overall) from his major-label debut studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012), by Top Dawg, Aftermath and Inter ...
", was released on July 31, 2012, while the music video premiered on August 3, 2012. The song became a hit, peaking at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" was also certified
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
in the United States by the RIAA. The music video for the song, "
Backseat Freestyle "Backseat Freestyle" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It debuted on October 15, 2012 in the United Kingdom as the third single from Lamar's second studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012). It was released in the United States wit ...
", was released on January 2, 2013, which included Lamar's father in a cameo appearance. It was later revealed to be released as the third single in the United Kingdom on January 7. The song peaked at number 29 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. "
Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...
" was released as the third single in North America, and the fourth single overall, featuring Drake. The song was serviced to American rhythmic contemporary radio on January 15, 2013, and peaked at number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was also soon certified gold in the United States by the RIAA. On March 9, 2013, Kendrick told '' Rap-Up'' that his next single off the album would be "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". On March 13,
Young Guru Gimel Androus Keaton (born February 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy Award for Bes ...
premiered a snippet of the song's official remix, which featured Jay-Z. Lamar would later describe the remix as an "accomplishment to have orkedwith Jay-Z". Shortly after the remix premiered, Lamar confirmed "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" would be the next single from the album. The full version of the remix was premiered by
Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1968), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Hot 9 ...
on March 18. The remix was released as the album's fourth single to rhythmic contemporary radio on April 9. The song has since peaked at number 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The music video for the original version of the single was released on May 13, with comedian Mike Epps making a cameo appearance. The same day, an extended version of the music video was released. It featured a cameo from
Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established i ...
, and a bonus clip of a new song by
Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
from his own respective major label debut album, '' Oxymoron'' (2014). On March 10, 2015, Lamar unexpectedly released the song "County Building Blues" to iTunes as a promotional single.


Marketing and sales

Before and after the album's October 2012 release, Lamar toured as a supporting act alongside Drake and Steve Aoki. On May 5, 2013, he began his first headlining tour with the ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' World Tour, in
West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
. The tour consisted of 23 headlining shows, 22 international music festivals, and 15 United States music festivals. The tour ran through August 24, and featured other members of Black Hippy on all US dates. After subtitling the album "a short film by Kendrick Lamar", Lamar would state in an interview with '' GQ'' that "he plans on doing a short film to bring his story to life." He also expressed interest in directing the short film, as well as suggesting that Tristan Wilds, Taraji P. Henson and Rihanna as potential names he'd want to cast in the film. On December 23, 2013, the music video for "Sing About Me", was released, and was directed by Darren Romanelli. One week before the standard edition's release (October 22, 2012), snippets of the album leaked online. In the album's first week of release, it debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold 242,000 copies in the United States. The album also entered the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
at number 16 on October 28, as well as entering at number two on the UK R&B Albums Chart. The album also peaked in the top ten of the album sales charts in Canada, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. In its second week, it sold 63,000 copies in the US, and 176,000 more copies over the next four weeks, bringing its total sales to 481,000 by November 25. By April 2018, the album had sold 1,720,000 copies. It was certified
triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June; for combined sales, streaming and track-sale equivalents of three million units in the US. On the week ending October 29, 2022, the album had spent a total of 10 years (520 weeks) on the ''Billboard'' 200, making ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' the first hip hop studio album to do so.


Critical reception

''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...
score of 91, based on 36 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. It was widely praised by reviewers for Lamar's lyrical ability and narratives. Reviewing the album for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', Jody Rosen said it "warrants a place in that storied lineage" of "Seventies blaxploitation soundtracks and Nineties gangsta rap blaxploitation revivals". In the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'',
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
applauded Lamar for giving "gangsta tropes ... a twist, or sometimes upend ngthem completely" on a record that "brims with comedy, complexity and the many voices in Kendrick Lamar's head." ''Pitchfork''s Jayson Greene wrote that "the miracle of this album is how it ties straightforward rap thrills" to its "weighty material" and narrative, while David Amidon from ''PopMatters'' believed the album was simultaneously accessible and substantial, capable of appealing to both underground and mainstream hip hop listeners. '' Fact'' journalist Joseph Morpurgo called it an autobiographical "triumph of breadth" and a "wide-ranging, far-reaching success". Jaeki Cho of ''XXL'' hailed ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' as "one of the most cohesive bodies of work in recent rap memory" and wrote that each song sounded "both complexly arranged and sonically fitting, foregrounding Kendrick's vivid lyricism and amazing control of cadence". In ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'',
Jim Carroll James Dennis Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an American author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work '' The Basketball Diaries'', which inspired a 1995 film of ...
viewed it as an entertaining and forward-thinking that nonetheless echoed the past era of West Coast hip hop. In the opinion of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
editor David Jeffries, the album was "some kind of elevated gangsta rap"; he wrote of its subject matter: Some reviewers were less enthusiastic. Hazel Sheffield of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' believed the album "might lack the raw appeal of" ''Section.80'', while Alex Macpherson of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' found "Lamar's depiction of downtrodden women" to be "unnecessarily prurient and unconvincing". Robert Christgau from ''MSN Music'' felt that its "commitment to drama has musical drawbacks", but stated, "the atmospheric beats Dr. Dre and his hirelings lay under the raps and choruses establish a musical continuity that shores up a nervous flow that's just what Lamar's rhymes need."


Accolades

''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' appeared on several year-end top albums lists by music critics. It was named the best album of 2012 by
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'', ''Fact'', '' New York'' and ''Pitchfork''. The album was also ranked number two by '' Billboard'', the ''Chicago Tribune'', MTV, ''Spin'' and ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', number four by ''
Filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...
'',
Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.Ann Powers Ann K. Powers (born February 4, 1964) is an American writer and pop music critic. She is a music critic for NPR and a contributor at the ''Los Angeles Times'', where she was previously chief pop critic. She has also served as pop critic at ''The ...
of
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, number five by ''The Guardian'', number six by ''Rolling Stone'' and number eight by ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
''. In December 2012, ''Complex'' also named ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' one of the 25 classic hip hop albums of the previous 10 years. ''Complex'' also ranked its album cover as the best of 2012, while ''Pitchfork'' included it on its list of the 20 best album covers of the year. In April 2013, ''
Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'' placed the album at number 19 on its "The Greatest 50 Albums Since '93" list. The album was also included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''. In October 2013, ''Complex'' named it the second best hip hop album of the last five years. Also in 2013, ''Rolling Stone'' placed the album at 86 on its "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time" list. The album was ranked number two of "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014)", a list published by ''Pitchfork'' in August 2014 and number five of "The 20 Best Albums of the 2010s (so far)", a list published by ''Billboard'' in January 2015. According to Acclaimed Music, a site which aggregates hundreds of critics' lists from around the world into all-time rankings, the album is the second-most acclaimed of 2012, the ninth-most acclaimed of the 2010s, and the 128th most acclaimed album of all time. In 2020, the album was ranked at 115 on ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. In 2022, it was ranked number one on ''Rolling Stone''s "50 Greatest Concept Albums of All Time" list. The album was nominated for Top Rap Album at the 2013 ''Billboard'' Music Awards and the 2013
American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...
, and won the award for Album of the Year at the 2013
BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and w ...
. ''Good Kid M.A.A.D City'' earned Lamar five
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
nominations at the
56th Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid compe ...
, for Album of The Year,
Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...
,
Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...
,
Best Rap/Sung Performance The Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance (awarded as Best Rap/Sung Collaboration until 2017, and Best Rap/Sung Performance from 2018 to 2020) is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and original ...
for "Now or Never" with Mary J. Blige, and Best Rap Performance for "Swimming Pools (Drank)". Its loss of the Best Rap Album award to
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are an American hip hop duo from Seattle, Washington, formed in 2008 by Macklemore, a rapper,Trust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard'', May 8, 2013. Retrieved January ...
' '' The Heist'' and was dubbed an "infamous snub" by ''Rolling Stone''s Andre Gee.
Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...
himself deemed the loss a robbery and apologized to Lamar via
iMessage iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. and launched in 2011. iMessage functions exclusively on Apple platforms: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. Core features of iMessage, available on all supported platforms, in ...
.


Response from Shyne

On October 23, 2012, after ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' received much critical acclaim from the hip hop community, rapper Shyne took to Twitter to disparage the album, calling it "trash" and the production horrible. West Coast rappers Nipsey Hussle, Schoolboy Q and The Game quickly took offense to this, with The Game defending Lamar due to his "non-confrontational nature". Lamar would later respond to Shyne's comments on October 26, saying that he is not a sensitive person and was unfazed by his comments. In addition he said ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' was not necessarily a "classic" as some have called it, but "classic worthy" if enough time would pass. He would later reference Shyne on the song "The Jig Is Up", stating: "I pray to God this beat good enough for Shyne". After Shyne stood by his comments, The Game responded with a freestyle calling out Shyne, entitled "Cough Up a Lung". Shyne would later respond with his own diss track in retaliation, titled "Psalms 68 (Guns & Moses)".


Academic reception

In 2014, it was reported that ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' was being studied as a text in the freshman composition class of
Georgia Regents University Augusta University (AU) is a public research university and academic medical center in Augusta, Georgia. It is a part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite medical campuses in Savannah, Albany, Rome, and Athens. It employs over ...
professor Adam Diehl, alongside other coming of age works such as the
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
novel ''
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' is the first novel of Irish writer James Joyce. A ''Künstlerroman'' written in a modernist style, it traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young Stephen Dedalus, Joyce's fictional al ...
'', Gwendolyn Brooks' ''Selected Poems'', James Baldwin's short story " Going to Meet the Man", and the John Singleton film '' Boyz n the Hood''. The theme of the class was meant to "inspire students to find an outlet to bring some sanity to our own mad city–Augusta", Diehl told ''HipHopDX''. "Lamar is the James Joyce of hip-hop", he said, "in the complexity of his storytelling, in his knowledge of the canon, and in his continuing focus on the city of his upbringing—Compton."


Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer * "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" features background vocals by Anna Wise and additional vocals by
JMSN Christian Berishaj, better known by his stage name JMSN (pronounced Jameson), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, music engineer and mixer. His debut album, ''Priscilla'', was released in 2012; he wrote and ...
* "Money Trees" features background vocals by Anna Wise * "Good Kid" is stylized as "good kid" and features additional vocals by
Chad Hugo Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has prod ...
* "M.A.A.D City" is stylized as "m.A.A.d city" and features uncredited vocals by
Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
* "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" features additional vocals by JMSN, Anna Wise and Camille "ill Camille" Davis * "Real" features background vocals by JMSN Sample credits * "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" contains portions of "Tiden Flyver", written by
Robin Braun Robin Rumble Braun (born 1958) is a retired vice admiral of the United States Navy. Her last assignment was as Chief of Navy Reserve and Commander, Navy Reserve Force. She assumed that assignment on 13 August 2012. She was the first female comm ...
, Vindahl Friis and Lykke Schmidt, as performed by Boom Clap Bachelors; and contains elements of the master recording "Tiden Flyver", as performed by Boom Clap Bachelors. * "Backseat Freestyle" contains an uncredited sample of "Yo Soy Cubano", as performed by The Chakachas; and an uncredited sample from the '' Powerpuff Girls'' episode "Beat Your Greens". * "The Art of Peer Pressure" contains a sample of "Helt Alene", written by
Rune Rask Suspekt is a Danish hip hop group. They are known for their dark, intense style, which has sometimes been described as horrorcore. The group consists of rappers Bai-D (Andreas Bai Duelund) and Orgi-E (Emil Simonsen), as well as producer Rune Ras ...
, as performed by Suspekt. * "Money Trees" contains elements and a sample of "Silver Soul", written by Victoria Garance Alixe Legrand and Alex Scally, as performed by
Beach House Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals). Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 t ...
. * "Poetic Justice" contains excerpts from " Any Time, Any Place", written by James Harris, Janet Jackson and Terry Lewis, as performed by Janet Jackson. * "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" contains elements of "Maybe Tomorrow", written by
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
, Alan Bergman and
Marilyn Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...
, as performed by
Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Recording prolifically for Blue Note Records as both leader and sideman, Green performed in the hard bop, soul jazz, bebop, and Latin-tinged idioms ...
; and an uncredited sample of " Use Me", as performed by
Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...
. * "Compton" contains excerpts from "What's This World Coming To", written by Charles Richard Cason, as performed by Formula IV. * "The Recipe" contains elements of "Meet the Frownies", written by Eric Cardona, Gabe D'Amico, Dev Gupta, Andrea Hernandez and Bryan Ujueta; and a sample of "Meet the Frownies", as performed by Twin Sister.


Personnel

Credits for ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' adapted from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
. *
Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...
– art direction, primary artist * Dr. Dre – executive producer, featured artist, mixing * Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith – executive producer * Derek "MixedByAli" Ali – engineer, mixing * Dave Free – associate producer, co-ordination * Larry Chatman – production co-ordination * Andrew Van Meter – production co-ordination * Ashley Palmer – co-ordination * Mike Bozzi – mastering * Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering * Dee Brown – engineer * Mike Larson – engineer * James Hunt – engineer * Mauricio Iragorri – engineer * Jared Scott – engineer, mixing * Jack Splash – producer * Hit-Boy – producer * Scoop DeVille – producer * DJ Dahi – producer * Skhye Hutch – producer * Just Blaze – producer * Tha Bizness – producer * T-Minus – producer * Pharrell Williams – producer * Terrace Martin – additional production * Sounwave – additional production * Kirdis Postelle – associate producer * Terrence Henderson – associate producer *
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
– featured artist *
MC Eiht Aaron Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced MC eight), is an American rapper and actor. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's nam ...
– featured artist * Jay Rock – featured artist * Kent Jamz – featured artist * Anna Wise – featured artist, background vocals * Camille "Ill Camille" Davis – vocals *
Chad Hugo Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. With close friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has prod ...
– vocals *
JMSN Christian Berishaj, better known by his stage name JMSN (pronounced Jameson), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, music engineer and mixer. His debut album, ''Priscilla'', was released in 2012; he wrote and ...
– background vocals * Amari Parnell – hooks and samples singer * Mary Keating – violin * Marlon Williams – guitar, bass guitar * Charly & Margaux – violin, viola * Gabriel Stevenson – piano * Willie Long – grooming * Kitti Fontaine – stylist * Dan Monick – photography * Paula Oliver – photo courtesy * Dwane LaFleur – photo courtesy * Danny Smith – photo courtesy *
Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
– handwriting on cover, background vocals


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

* List of ''Billboard'' number-one R&B albums of 2012 * List of number-one rap albums of 2012 (U.S.)


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* * at AnyDecentMusic? {{Authority control 2012 albums Aftermath Entertainment albums Albums produced by DJ Khalil Albums produced by Dr. Dre Albums produced by Hit-Boy Albums produced by Jack Splash Albums produced by Just Blaze Albums produced by Pharrell Williams Albums produced by Scoop DeVille Albums produced by Tha Bizness Albums produced by Terrace Martin Albums produced by T-Minus (record producer) Albums produced by DJ Dahi Albums produced by Sounwave Concept albums Interscope Records albums Interscope Geffen A&M Records albums Kendrick Lamar albums Top Dawg Entertainment albums Gangsta rap albums by American artists