"Loyalty" (stylized as "LOYALTY.") 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 ...

featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna from the former's fourth studio album '' Damn'', released on April 14, 2017. The song was later sent to urban and rhythmic radio June 20, 2017, as the second single from the album. The sixth track on the album (ninth on the ''Collector's Edition'' of ''Damn''), The song was written by the artists alongside producers

DJ Dahi Dacoury Dahi Natche (born March 10, 1983), professionally known as DJ Dahi, is an American DJ, songwriter, record producer and singer from Inglewood, California. Dahi is perhaps best known for producing " Money Trees" by American rapper Kendri ...

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 ...

Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...

, and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. The song won the

Grammy Award for 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 ...

Composition

The song contains samples of " 24K Magic" produced by Shampoo Press & Curl and

The Stereotypes The Stereotypes are a production team created in 2003, comprising Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves and Ray Charles McCullough II. In June 2010, they were listed among the "Top 10 Songwriters and Producers to Watch" in '' Billboard'' magaz ...

, and performed by American singer

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 ...

Critical reception

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 ...

'' calls it a "standout track" and one of ''Damn''s most "radio-friendly cuts". ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' writer Jason Parham calls "Loyalty", "anxious, berserk, and beautifully intransigent in tsown right" and "equal parts pop, funk, and brooding rap hymnal". Frank Guan of ''Vulture'' enjoyed the song, especially Rihanna's part, saying "though only eight bars, Rihanna's sung rap is as fluent as it is brief, a swift and casual tour of her accomplishments." '' Rap-Up'' called the song a "standout track that allows Kung Fu Kenny and Bad Gal RiRi to address allegiance from a variety of angles."

Awards and nominations

Music video

The music video for the song was released to Lamar's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

channel on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

on July 28, 2017. It was directed by Dave Meyers and The Little Homies and includes an appearance from featured artist Rihanna. Jordan Darville of ''

'' gave the music video a positive review, praising the visuals and called Lamar and Rihanna's adventure together "carefully crafted ndsuitably amorous."

Live performances

Lamar has performed "Loyalty" 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 ...

Credits and personnel

Rihanna - Concert for Valor in Washington, D

*Kendrick Duckworth – songwriter * Rihanna – vocals, songwriter * Dacoury Natche – songwriter, producer, additional vocals *Byron "Mr. Talkbox" Chambers – additional vocals * Mark Spears – songwriter, producer *

– songwriter, producer *Anthony "Topdawg" Tiffith – songwriter, producer *

– songwriter * Philip Lawrence – songwriter * Christopher Brody Brown – songwriter *

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 ...

– songwriter * RZA – songwriter * Jay-Z – songwriter *

Memphis Bleek Malik Deshawn Cox (born June 23, 1978), known by his stage name Memphis Bleek, is an American rapper who was a protégé of fellow New York rapper Jay-Z. Cox started his own labels: Get Low Records in 1998, and Warehouse Music Group in 2016. He ...

– songwriter * Snoop Dogg – songwriter *

Rick Rock Ricardo Thomas, also known as Rick Rock, is an American record producer originally from Montgomery, Alabama and based in Fairfield, California. He is a founding member of the former rap group Cosmic Slop Shop and the Federation with fellow ...

– songwriter *Bēkon – additional production and vocals *

Kid Capri David Anthony Love Jr. (born February 7, 1967) is an American DJ and rapper better known by his stage name Kid Capri. Early life Kid Capri's humble roots can be traced back to his parents' home in the Bronx, where ten year old David Antho ...

– additional vocals *Derek Ali – mixing *Tyler Page – mix assistant *Jamal Owens - Master mixer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 songs Kendrick Lamar songs Rihanna songs Songs written by Kendrick Lamar Songs written by Terrace Martin Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) 2017 singles Songs written by DJ Dahi Songs written by Sounwave Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Interscope Records singles Songs about loyalty