''Damn'' (stylized as ''DAMN.'') is the fourth 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 April 14, 2017, 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. Lamar assembled numerous artists and producers to produce the album, including executive producer and Top Dawg Entertainment label-head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith,

Sounwave Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American hip-hop producer and songwriter from Compton, California, and an original member of the Californian hip-hop label Top Dawg Entertainment. Sounwave has worked on every Kendric ...

, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It, and Ricci Riera, as well as further production contributions from James Blake, Steve Lacy,

BadBadNotGood BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they w ...

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

, The Alchemist, and 9th Wonder, among others. The album features guest vocals from singers Rihanna and Top Dawg singer

Zacari Zacari Moses Pacaldo I, known mononymously as Zacari, is an American singer and songwriter. He is signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and released his EP ''Run Wild Run Free'' on March 15, 2019. Early life Zacari Moses Pacaldo was raised by a hig ...

, along with Irish rock band U2. The album has been categorized as conscious hip hop, a genre Lamar incorporated on his previous studio album, ''

To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the U ...

''. The album also incorporates elements of

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhy ...

, and pop. Prior to the album's release, Lamar released a promotional single, " The Heart Part 4". In the months that followed, Lamar released three singles from the album; " Humble" was released in March 2017, " Loyalty" in June 2017, and "

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

" in October 2017, the first of which became Lamar's first number-one single on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a lead artist. ''Damn'' received widespread critical acclaim, with many naming the album one of the best albums of 2017 and the decade. The album became the first non-jazz or classical work to earn a

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted ...

and won

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 ...

at the

2018 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 Pyeongc ...

, as well receiving a nomination for Album of the Year at the ceremony. The album topped the US ''Billboard'' 200 with 603,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...

s earned in its first week and topped the chart of Canada while reaching number two in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It has since been 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 May 2018 and was the ''Billboard'' Year-End number one album of 2017. In 2020, the album was ranked 175th 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.

Recording and production

The beat for " Humble" was developed by Mike Will with the intention of recording with

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

, but later showed it to

. After recording, it was initially agreed upon that it would be released on Mike Will's debut album '' Ransom 2'', but others convinced Lamar to keep it for his own next album. " DNA" was the second song from the album to be recorded by Lamar and Mike Will, after "Humble". After the first verse of "DNA" was recorded with the beat that Mike Will had already prepared, Lamar started rapping the second verse a cappella, 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". Lamar has said in interviews that the ability to play the album in reverse tracklist order was "premeditated ... in the studio": "It plays as a full story and even a better rhythm. It's one of my favorite rhythms and tempos within the album".

Musical style

''Damn'' has been characterized as

conscious rap Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning hip hop into a call for political and/or social action and a form of social and/or political activism. Inspired by 1970s political artists su ...

with elements of

, R&B and pop.

Artwork and title

On April 11, 2017, Lamar revealed the cover artwork for ''Damn''. The album cover was designed by Vlad Sepetov, who created the album covers for Lamar's last two projects – ''

'' and ''

Untitled Unmastered ''Untitled Unmastered'' (stylized as ''untitled unmastered.'') is a compilation album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 4, 2016, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. It consists ...

''. Sepetov described ''Damn''s cover as "loud and abrasive" and "not uber political like ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' but it has energy". Sepetov goes on to say the decision to put the

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

sticker in its unconventional position was so it could be a part of the design instead of an "afterthought". '' Billboard'' listed the cover as one of the best of 2017, dubbing it "both meme-able and memorable". In a radio interview on June 29, 2017, Lamar revealed the original title for the album was going to be ''What Happens on Earth Stays on Earth'', but eventually settled on ''Damn''. He stated the working title "didn't read right". Lamar went on to say about its final title, "There was so many different ways you could put it in my head. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. The loudness of the record. When I think about "DNA", when I think of "Humble", when I think these records, it just felt like that."

Release and promotion

On March 23, 2017, Lamar released a promotional single, " The Heart Part 4", which contained lyrics hinting at a possible April 7 release date for his fourth studio album. On April 7, 2017, the album was made available for pre-order and confirmed to be released on April 14. On April 11, Lamar revealed the track listing for ''Damn''. On December 8, 2017, Lamar released the ''Collectors Edition'' of the album. The album is the same musically, but has a reversed track order and new artwork.

Singles

On March 30, 2017, Lamar released the album's lead single, "Humble", accompanied by a music video. It reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. " Loyalty" featuring Rihanna, was released as the album's second single on June 20, 2017, to

rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

and

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

radio. The song peaked at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "

" featuring

, was released as the album's third single on October 2, 2017, to rhythmic contemporary radio. It was released to contemporary hit radio on November 21, 2017. The song peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Other songs

The music video for the song, "DNA", was released on April 18, 2017. The song entered at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Lamar's second highest-charting song as a solo artist after "Humble". The music video for the song, " Element", was released on June 27, 2017. The song peaked at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Critical reception

''Damn'' 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 95, based on 39 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 9.1 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Andy Kellman 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 ...

stated that "it contains some of Lamar's best writing and performances, revealing his evolving complexity and versatility as a soul-baring lyricist and dynamic rapper". Christopher R. Weingarten, an author for ''

'', said, "Much like the recent A Tribe Called Quest record, ''Damn''. is a brilliant combination of the timeless and the modern, the old school and the next-level. The most gifted rapper of a generation stomps into the Nineties and continues to blaze a trail forward". In his review,

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 ...

of 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 ...

'' states, "''Damn.'' strips down the rhythms to their essence, flavored with the occasional cameo (notably Rihanna and U2). Lamar's voice does most of the heavy lifting, playing multiple roles and characters. His supple singing complements a variety of rap tones and textures". 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 ...

'' gave a positive review, stating "Tart and punchy. ... Sometimes boisterous, sometimes swampy, rarely fanciful album—it's Mr. Lamar's version of the creeping paranoia that has become de rigueur for midcareer

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 * ...

. And yet this is likely Mr. Lamar's most jubilant album, the one in which his rhymes are the least tangled". Eric Renner Brown of ''

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 ...

'' said, "After delving into the personal on 2012's '' Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' and going broader on ''

Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

'', Lamar has found a middle ground on ''Damn.'' that yields some of his most emotionally resonant music yet". Alexis Petridis 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 ...

'' wrote: "If it seems a more straightforward listen than ''To Pimp a Butterfly'', there's a cheering sense that this doesn't equate to a lessening of musical ambition. There's none of that album's wilfully jarring quality – its sudden, anxious musical lurches and abrupt, short-circuiting leaps between genres – but the tracks on ''Damn'' still feel episodic and expansive. Whether ''Damn'' will have the same epochal impact as ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' remains to be seen, but either way it sounds like the work of a supremely confident artist at the top of his game." Neil McCormick of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' stating that ''Damn'' "is the work of a future all-time great in full command of his powers". Leonie Cooper 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 ...

'' said, "''Damn.'' is by far his shortest release to date – but the ideas, thoughts and feelings it contains are massive, weighty things, from sexual tension to deep, dark depression". In ''

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 review of ''Damn'', Matthew Trammell writes ''Damn'' "is a widescreen masterpiece of rap, full of expensive beats, furious rhymes, and peerless storytelling about Kendrick's destiny in America". Writing for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'', Evan Rytlewski concluded, "Lamar trusts every idea to stand on its own. When you're making art this substantial, vital, and virtuosic, there's no need to wrap a tidy bow around it". In a mixed review, A. Harmony of '' Exclaim!'' wrote that ''Damn'' "is the first time in Lamar's career that he hasn't broken new ground, explored old themes in new ways or exhibited sonic growth".

Rankings

Industry awards

Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Damn'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 603,000

s in its first week of release, becoming his third consecutive album after ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' (2015) and ''Untitled Unmastered'' (2016) to reach the nation's summit. It sold 353,000 copies in its first week and accumulated over 340 million streams. In its second week, the album remained at the top of the US charts with 238,000 album-equivalent units of which 87,000 were traditional album sales, bringing the sales to a total of 841,000 units. In its third week, the album continued to top the charts with 173,000 album-equivalent units of which 57,000 were traditional album sales, bringing the sales to a total of 1.014 million units. As of April 2018, ''Damn'' had sold 1,002,000 copies and earned 3,137,000 album-equivalent units in the US. On May 10, 2018, the album was certified

by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of three million units. The album also opened atop the Canadian Albums Chart with 35,000 consumption units and 25.4 million streams, becoming the rapper's third consecutive album to arrive at number one. In the United Kingdom, ''Damn'' sold 30,000 units in its first week and entered at number two on 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 ...

. According to

IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

, it was the seventh best selling album of 2017, with 1.3 million copies shipped globally. ''Damn'' was ranked as the number one album of the year on the ''Billboard'' 200 in 2017. In 2018, ''Damn'' was ranked as the thirteenth most popular album of the year on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer * signifies an uncredited co-producer * signifies a vocal producer * Every song is stylized in all capital letters, with a period at the end of their titles, including featured artist credits. For example, "Loyalty" is stylized as "LOYALTY. FEAT. RIHANNA." * Some CD pressings of the album have slight differences: "Pride" runs for 4 minutes and 31 seconds (4:31), "Love" runs for 3 minutes and 31 seconds (3:31), and "Fear" runs for 6 minutes and 54 seconds (6:54), bringing the total album length to 54 minutes and 2 seconds (54:02). This version of the album also features slightly different mixing. Sample credits * "Blood" and "DNA" contain elements of

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

commentators Eric Bolling,

Kimberly Guilfoyle Kimberly Ann Guilfoyle ( ; born March 9, 1969) is an American television news personality and former prosecuting attorney in San Francisco. A Republican, she became an advisor to the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Guilfoyle ...

and Geraldo Rivera criticizing Lamar's 2015 BET Awards performance. * "Feel" contains a sample of "Stormy", written and performed by

O. C. Smith Ocie Lee Smith (June 21, 1932 – November 23, 2001), known professionally as O. C. Smith, was an American singer. His recording of " Little Green Apples" went to number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1968 and sold over one million rec ...

; and an interpolation from "Don't Let Me Down", written and performed by Fleurie. * "Loyalty" contains samples of " 24K Magic", written by

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

, Christopher Brody Brown and Philip Lawrence, as performed by Bruno Mars; "

Shimmy Shimmy Ya "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" is the second single by Ol' Dirty Bastard, from the album '' Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version'' (1995). It was produced by fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA. The song was ranked number 59 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of ...

", written by Russell Jones and Robert Diggs, as performed by

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...

; and "Get Your Mind Right Mami", written by Shawn Carter, Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr., Malik Cox and Ricardo Thomas, as performed by Jay-Z featuring Snoop Dogg and Memphis Bleek. * "Fear" contains a sample of "Poverty's Paradise", written by Dale Warren and performed by 24-Carat Black. * "God" contains a sample of "End of the World", written and performed by Illmind. * "Duckworth" contains samples of "Atari", written by Nai Palm and performed by

Hiatus Kaiyote Hiatus Kaiyote () is an Australian jazz/funk band formed in Melbourne in 2011, made up of singer/guitarist Nai Palm, bassist Paul Bender, keyboardist Simon Mavin, and drummer Perrin Moss. History 2011–2013: Formation and ''Tawk Tomahawk'' I ...

; "Be Ever Wonderful", written by Don Robey and Joe Scott, as performed by Ted Taylor; "Ostavi Trag", written by

September September is the ninth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the fourth of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. September in the Northern H ...

; and "Let the Drums Speak", written by Bill Curtis and performed by the Fatback Band.

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes and

. Production and music * 9th Wonder – production ("Duckworth") * Anna Wise – additional vocals ("Pride") * Alan "The Alchemist" Maman – producer ("Fear") * Bekon – additional vocals ("Blood", "Yah", "Pride", "XXX", "Fear", "God", "Duckworth") * Carl Duckworth – additional vocals ("Fear") * Charles Edward Sydney Isom Jr. – additional vocals ("Fear") * Chelsea Blythe – additional vocals ("Feel") * DJ Dahi – additional vocals ("Loyalty") * Dave Free – associate producer * Dr. Dre – executive producer * Kam Sangha – production *

Kamasi Washington Kamasi Washington (born February 18, 1981) is an American jazz saxophonist, usually playing tenor saxophone. Archived July 9, 2015. Career Washington was born in 1981 and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of the Academy of ...

– strings ("Lust") * Kaytranada – additional vocals ("Lust") * Kendrick Lamar – vocals; additional keys ("XXX") * Kid Capri – additional vocals ("Element", "Love", "XXX", "Duckworth") * Kuk Harrell – vocal production for Rihanna * Matt Schaeffer – guitar ("Humble"); additional guitar ("DNA", "Feel") * Mike Hector – additional drums ("God") *

Rat Boy Jordan Cardy (born 21 February 1996), known by his stage name Rat Boy, is an English musician from Chelmsford, Essex. Early life Cardy was born in Chelmsford, England on 21 February 1996. He studied at Chelmer Valley High School in Chelmsford a ...

– additional vocals ("Lust") * Steve Lacy – background vocals, production ("Pride") * Thundercat – bass ("Feel") Technical * Blake Harden – recording ("Lust", "Duckworth") at Windmark Studios * Brendan Silas Perry – additional recording ("Element", "Love", "Duckworth") * Cyrus Taghipour – mix assistant * Derek "MixedByAli" Ali – mixing * James Hunt – engineer, mixing ("Element") * Marcos Tovar – vocal recording for Rihanna (at Windmark Studios) * Matt Schaeffer – engineer ("Humble"); mixing ("Element") * Mike Bozzi – mastering at Bernie Grundman in Hollywood, California *

– mixing ("Feel") * Tyler Page – mix assistant * Zeke Mishanec – additional recording ("Element", "Love", "Duckworth") Art * Dave Free – creative direction, photography * Kendrick Lamar – creative direction * Roberto Reyes – photography * Vladimir Sepetov – creative direction

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References