" DNA" was the second song from the album to be recorded by Lamar and Mike Will, after " Humble". 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. The beat for "Humble" was developed by Mike Will with the intention of recording with Gucci Mane, but later showed it to Lamar. In 2020, the album was ranked 175th on Rolling Stone 's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It became the first non-jazz or classical work to earn a Pulitzer Prize for Music and won Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards, as well receiving a nomination for Album of the Year at the ceremony. Damn was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in May 2018 and was also the Billboard Year-End number one album of 2017.ĭamn topped The Village Voice 's Pazz & Jop critics poll and was named one of the best albums of 2017 and the decade by several other publications. It was supported by three official singles: " Humble", " Loyalty", and " Love", the first of which became Lamar's first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist. It also topped the chart of Canada while reaching number two in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Damn features appearances from singers Rihanna and Top Dawg singer Zacari, along with Irish rock band U2.ĭamn received widespread critical acclaim and topped the US Billboard 200 with 603,000 album-equivalent units earned in its first week.
The album features production from a variety of record producers, including executive producer and Top Dawg Entertainment label-head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It, and Ricci Riera as well as further production contributions from James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, Greg Kurstin, The Alchemist, and 9th Wonder, among others. It was released on April 14, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Here are 22 things you didn't know about Kendrick Lamar, including what he considers to be his worst song and that time he was signed to Def Jam.Damn (stylized as DAMN.) is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. But even though he’s given so much of himself in the booth, there are still some facts about him that may surprise even the most astute follower. Hip-hop heads are continuing to look forward to how he’ll top DAMN, the first hip-hop album ever to earn a Pulitzer Prize. Lamar’s current mainstream dominance has been built upon over a decade of hard work: He’s been releasing mixtapes since he was 16 years old, years before he became the potential top-five-dead-or-alive he is today. The biggest example of that ability is his most recent album DAMN, which combined stadium-filling mainstream ambition with intense introspection and some evergreen catchphrases (“What happens on Earth stays on Earth!” is tattoo-able). Kendrick Lamar is perhaps most significant because he’s one of the few rappers who’s consistently shown that commercial success and traditional lyrical ability don’t have to be mutually exclusive. His major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d city is considered a classic, and his multiple RIAA plaques, Grammy wins, top slots on album of the year lists, and Pulitzer Prize since then demonstrate that he’s yet to fall off. But like a teenage LeBron James, Kendrick Lamar is one of the first MCs of his age cohort who actually exceeded the expectations that had been building since his breakthrough, 2010’s Overly Dedicated. This still-young millennium has featured plenty of rappers who couldn’t quite meet the commercial and critical hype.
Few things are undebatable when it comes to discussing hip-hop, but one of the genre’s absolute certainties is that Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest rappers working today.