"DNA" (stylized as "DNA.") is a song 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 ...

from his fourth studio album '' Damn''. Despite not being released as a single, the song received support at rhythmic radio after its official music video was released. The second track on the album (thirteenth on the ''Collector's Edition'' of ''Damn'')'','' it was written by Lamar, while the production was handled by Mike Will Made It. The song's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was released on April 18, 2017, and features American actor

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned nom ...

Recording and production

"DNA" was the second song from ''Damn'' to be recorded by Lamar and Mike Will, after " Humble". After the first verse was recorded with the beat that Mike Will had already prepared, Lamar started rapping the second verse

a capella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, requesting that Mike Will build the beat around the rap. Lamar proposed that it sound like "chaos", and Mike Will put together the second half of the song with the intention to make it "sound like he's battling the beat". The song samples a bit of " Mary Jane" by

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

Critical reception

The song has been described as "the most virtuosic display" on ''Damn'' by ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

''. ''

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 ...

'' praised the song as "technically peerless" and Lamar's "astonishing flow". Music critic Neil McCormick, for ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

,'' called "DNA" a "punchy electro mantra about identity". '' Billboard'' named "DNA" as the thirty-first best song of the year in their list of the 100 best songs of the year.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by

Nabil Elderkin Nabil Elderkin is an American-born Australian film and music video director and photographer, who is of Iranian and American descent. He is mononymously credited as Nabil in his videos. Elderkin has directed videos for musical artists such as: ...

and released on April 18, 2017, features American actor

. The video, directed by Nabil and The Little Homies, begins with Cheadle entering an interrogation room, where Lamar is being held captive and attached to a

lie detector A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked an ...

machine. After Cheadle mocks Lamar, he turns the machine on where he's shocked with Lamar's life force and begins rapping the track. From here, Cheadle and Lamar switch back and forth from rapping the song, mirroring each other's movements along the way until Cheadle finally succumbs to Lamar and lets him go. Afterwards, scenes of Lamar rapping alone along with some of his friends, including American rapper

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 ...

, follow. The video ends with an extended outro for the song, as Schoolboy Q approaches and punches the camera in slow motion. The video features the use of Chinese in the second half, with Kendrick subtitled "功夫肯尼" ("Kung Fu Kenny", an alternate name used throughout the ''Damn'' album) and Kendrick's crew being given "的家庭" (''De jiātíng''; "the family"). The

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 ...

logo is presented alongside "顶级狗娱乐" (''Dǐngjí gǒu yúlè'', literally "top level dog entertainment"). Upon release, the music video received positive reviews from critics.

Live performances

Lamar performed "DNA" at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 23, 2017. Lamar also performed "DNA" on

The Damn Tour The Damn Tour (stylized as The DAMN. Tour) was a concert tour by American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, in support of his fourth studio album, '' Damn'' (2017). The tour's North American leg began on July 12, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona ...

. He also performed the song at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong ...

Usage in media

An unreleased version of the song, with a new verse, was used during ESPN's coverage of the

2017 NBA Finals The 2017 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2016–17 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeated the defending NBA champio ...

, and Lamar also appeared in accompanying promos. It was also used to introduce

NBA Live 18 ''NBA Live 18'' is a basketball simulation video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports, featuring James Harden of the Houston Rockets as its cover athlete. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 15, 2017. ...

in promotional material. The song was also used as a part of

Madden NFL 18 ''Madden NFL 18'' is an American football sports video game based on the National Football League, developed and published by EA Sports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The 29th installment of the '' Madden NFL series'', the game features New En ...

’s soundtrack, along with

. The song was featured in a Beats headphones commercial starring New England Patriots quarterback

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

. The song was also featured in a Beats X commercial featuring

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...

. The song was also featured on

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

’s

HomePod The HomePod is a smart speaker developed by Apple Inc. The HomePod was designed to work with the Apple Music subscription service. The HomePod was announced on June 5, 2017, at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Its launch was later d ...

smart speaker advertisement named "Beat". The song is featured in the first trailer for ''

Creed II ''Creed II'' is a 2018 American sports drama film directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Juel Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. The sequel to '' Creed'' (2015) and the eighth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise, the film stars Mich ...

''. On October 12, 2018, the soundtrack for the film ''The Hate U Give'' featured the song. The song was played to close Dave Chappelle's 2019 stand-up special '' Sticks & Stones''. The song was also featured in the launch trailer of ''

Mortal Kombat 11 ''Mortal Kombat 11'' is a 2019 fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the eleventh main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 2015's '' Mortal ...

: Aftermath'' expansion.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the official ''Damn'' digital booklet. *Kendrick Lamar – vocals, songwriter * Mike Will Made It – songwriter, producer *Matt Schaeffer – additional

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

*Derek Ali – mixing *Tyler Page – mix assistant *Cyrus Taghipour – mix assistant

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2017 songs Kendrick Lamar songs Songs written by Kendrick Lamar Songs written by Mike Will Made It Song recordings produced by Mike Will Made It Music videos directed by Nabil Elderkin 2017 singles Interscope Records singles Aftermath Entertainment singles Top Dawg Entertainment singles Trap music songs Hardcore hip hop songs