DAMN.

Alternate covers

Clean
Collector's Edition
Collector's Edition, Clean

Album by Kendrick Lamar

Released

April 14, 2017

Genre

Hip Hop

Length

54:54

Kendrick Lamar chronology
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Untitled Unmastered.	Black Panther: The Album

Damn. is the fourth studio album by Kendrick Lamar. It was released on April 14, 2017 by Top Dawg, Aftermath, and Interscope Records. The album features production from various record producers such as Sounwave, Bekon, Mike Will Made It, DJ Dahi, and Ricci Ricera. The album also features guest vocals from artists Rihanna, Zacari, and U2. The album was certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA and has received numerous accolades such as Best Rap Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, and become the first non-jazz or classical album to receive a Pulitzer Award for Music. In June 2018, the rest of the tracks from the album were officially certified Gold by the RIAA.

Descriptions[]

Explicit

In the two years since To Pimp a Butterfly, we’ve hung on Kendrick Lamar's every word—whether he’s destroying rivals on a cameo, performing the #blacklivesmatter anthem on top of a police car at the BET Awards, or hanging out with Obama. So when DAMN. opens with a seemingly innocuous line—"So I was taking a walk the other day…”—we're all ears. The gunshot that abruptly ends the track is a signal: DAMN. is a grab-you-by-the-throat declaration that’s as blunt, complex, and unflinching as the name suggests. If Butterfly was jazz-inflected, soul-funk vibrance, DAMN. is visceral, spare, and straight to the point, whether he’s boasting about "royalty inside my DNA” on the trunk-rattling "DNA." or lamenting an anonymous, violent death on the soul-infused “FEAR.” No topic is too big to tackle, and the songs are as bold as their all-caps names: “PRIDE.” “LOYALTY.” “LOVE.” "LUST.” “GOD.” When he repeats the opening line to close the album, that simple walk has become a profound journey—further proof that no one commands the conversation like Kendrick Lamar. ^{– Apple Music}

Clean

Lamar's fourth LP is a brilliant, brutally honest masterpiece

Collector's Edition

A masterwork—made new with a tracklist reversal.

Track listing[]

"BLOOD." ^1:58
"DNA." ^3:05
"YAH." ^2:40
"ELEMENT." ^3:28
"FEEL." ^3:34
"LOYALTY." (featuring Rihanna) ^3:47
"PRIDE." ^4:35
"HUMBLE." ^2:57
"LUST." ^5:07
"LOVE." (featuring Zacari) ^3:33
"XXX." (featuring U2) ^4:14
"FEAR." ^7:40
"GOD." ^4:08
"DUCKWORTH.4:08"

Notes

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 commentators Eric Bolling, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Geraldo Rivera criticizing Lamar's 2015 BET Awards performance.
"Feel" contains a sample of "Stormy", written and performed by O. C. Smith; and an interpolation from "Don't Let Me Down", written and performed by Fleurie.
"Loyalty" contains samples of "24K Magic", written by Bruno Mars, Christopher Brody Brown and Philip Lawrence, as performed by Bruno Mars; "Shimmy Shimmy Ya", written by Russell Jones and Robert Diggs, as performed by Ol' Dirty Bastard; 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.
"XXX" contains samples of "America", written by Daniel Tannenbaum, Tyler Reese, Sergiu Gherman, Richard Michael McRae, Kendrick Duckworth, Daniel Krieger, Craig Balmoris and Alexander Botwin, and performed by Bekon; and "American Soul", written and performed by U2, featuring Lamar himself.
"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; "Be Ever Wonderful", written by Don Robey and Joe Scott, as performed by Ted Taylor; "Ostavi Trag", written by September; and "Let the Drums Speak", written by Bill Curtis and performed by the Fatback Band.

Personnel[]

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 – 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 – additional vocals ("Lust")
Steve Lacy – background vocals, production ("Pride")
Thundercat – bass ("Feel")