Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is the second studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar.
The album was released on October 22, 2012, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment,
and was distributed by Interscope Records.
The album serves as Lamar's major label debut, after his signing to Aftermath and Interscope
in early 2012.
It was preceded by the release of Kendrick's debut studio album Section.80, released exclusively
through the iTunes Store independently.
The album was recorded mostly at several studios in California with producers such as Dr. Dre,
Just Blaze, Pharrell Williams, Hit-Boy, Scoop DeVille, Jack Splash and T-Minus, among others.
Billed as a "short film by Kendrick Lamar" on the album cover, the concept album follows
the story of Lamar's teenage experiences in the drug-infested streets and gang lifestyle
of his native Compton, California.
Upon its release, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City received rave reviews from music critics, who praised
its thematic scope and Lamar's lyrics.
Good Kid M.A.A.D City earned Lamar four Grammy Award nominations at the 56th Grammy Awards
including Album of The Year.
The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 242,000 copies in its first
week – earning the highest first-week hip hop album sales of 2012 from a male artist,
along with the best-selling debut from a male artist of the year.
It became Lamar's first album to enter the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 16, and
entering the UK R&B Albums Chart at number two.
The album was also met with rave reviews from music critics, being named to many end-of-the-year
lists.
It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and, by March
30, 2014, had sold 1,226,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The album's release was supported by five singles – "The Recipe" featuring Dr. Dre,
"Swimming Pools", "Backseat Freestyle", "Poetic Justice" featuring Drake, and the remix of
"Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" featuring Jay-Z.
All five singles received varied chart success.
Lamar also went on a world tour between May and August 2013, featuring the other members
of the hip hop collective Black Hippy.
Background
After the release and success of his 2011 studio album Section.80, Lamar signed a major
label record deal with Interscope and Dr. Dre's Aftermath.
He told HipHopDX he did not want to work with high-profile producers, but with those he
had established himself with, mainly producers from Top Dawg's in-house production team Digi+Phonics.
In an interview for XXL, Lamar said that the album would not sound like Section.80, but
will return to his Compton, California roots: "I couldn’t tell you what type of sound
or where I’ma be in the next five years as far as music ... Going back to the neighborhood
and going to different spots, chilling with my homeboys, put me back in that same space
where we used to be, bringing back them thoughts, reminiscing how I was feeling.
I got myself right back in that mode and I got inspired by that.
So this album won’t sound like Section.80.
Completely nothing like it.”
Lamar also said that the album will showcase the influence of his hometown: "The kid that’s
trying to escape that influence, trying his best to escape that influence, has always
been pulled back in because of circumstances that be".
Before the album's title was officially revealed, fans had already been calling Lamar's major
label debut Good Kid, Mad City or Good Kid in a Mad City, as it was a nickname of some
sort that Lamar had given himself.
The album's title mainly refers to Lamar's childhood innocence and how the notorious
city of Compton, California affected that and his life.
After keeping the album title's acronym concealed, Lamar later revealed M.A.A.D is an acronym
with two meanings: "My Angry Adolescence Divided" and more importantly "My Angels on Angel Dust",
with Lamar stating: "That was me.
I got laced.
The reason why I don't smoke, and it's in the album.
It's in the story.
It was just me getting my hands on the wrong thing at the wrong time, being oblivious to
it."
The cover artwork for Good Kid, M.A.A.D City fits to the concept of the album.
The album cover features Kendrick Lamar, two of his uncles, and his grandfather, with the
elders' eyes censored.
Though there is no confirmed explanation for why Kendrick chose to do this, he explained
that the reason why he had not censored his own eyes was that the story was told through
his eyes, and the story is based around his experiences.
The uncle who is holding Lamar also is displaying the Crips gang sign with his hand, which also
fits the story of the album, and how Kendrick was stuck in a lifestyle of gangs and drugs.
The poster above the head of Kendrick features him and his father.
Recording and production
Recording sessions for the album took place at PatchWerk Recording Studios in Atlanta,
Encore Studios in Burbank, TDE Red Room in Carson, and "At [Kendrick Lamar's] Mama's
Studio" in Los Angeles.
Lamar stated Good Kid, M.A.A.D City would sound “nothing” like Section.80, his previous
album: “I couldn't tell you what type of sound or where I’ma be in the next five
years as far as music,” he said.
“It’s a big difference from the next project compared to the last.
And that’s what happened with this album.
Going back to the neighborhood and going to different spots, chilling with my homeboys,
put me back in that same space where we used to be, bringing back them thoughts, reminiscing
how I was feeling.
I got myself right back in that mode and I got inspired by that.
So this album won’t sound like Section.80.
Completely nothing like it,” he told XXL magazine.
The first song Lamar and Dr. Dre ever worked on together was "Compton", the twelfth track
on the album, which serves as the standard edition's closing track.
On August 15, 2012, Lady Gaga announced via Twitter, that she had collaborated with Lamar
on a song entitled "Partynauseous", for good kid, m.A.A.d city, and that it would be released
on September 6, 2012.
However, on August 23, 2012, Gaga announced that the song was no longer being released
on that date and apologized to fans for the delay.
Eventually, it was confirmed that Lady Gaga would not be featured on the album due to
timing issues and creative differences.
The song was later revealed to be re-titled "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe".
On November 8, 2012 Gaga released the version she was featured on, which had her singing
the chorus and a verse.
Lamar expressed he was surprised and happy that Gaga released her version of the song,
as it showed confidence in their work together.
Music and lyrics
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City has a low-key, downbeat production, with atmospheric beats and subtle,
indistinct hooks.
It eschews contemporary hip hop tastes, and generally features tight bass measures, subtle
background vocals, and light piano.
Writers draw comparisons of the music to OutKast's 1998 album Aquemini.
Andrew Nosnitsky of Spin cites the music's "closest point of reference" as "the cold
spaciousness of ATLiens-era OutKast, but as the record progresses, that sound sinks slowly
into the fusionist mud of those sprawling and solemn mid-2000s Roots albums."
Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker finds its use of "smooth" music as a backdrop for
"rough" scenarios to be analogous to Dr. Dre's G-funk during the early 1990s, but adds that
"Lamar often sounds like Drake ... whose various dreamy styles have very little to do with
the legacy of the West."
Okayplayer's Marcus Moore writes that its "expansive and brooding" instrumentals eschew
"California's glossy West Coast funk" for a "Dungeon Family aesthetic."
Lyrically, the album chronicles Lamar's experiences in his native Compton, California and its
harsh realities, in a nonlinear narrative.
The songs address issues such as economic disenfranchisement, retributive gang violence,
and downtrodden women, while analyzing their residual effects on individuals and families.
Lamar introduces various characters and internal conflicts, including the contrast of his homesickness
and love for Compton with the city's plagued condition.
Del F. Cowie of Exclaim!
observes a "transformation" by Lamar's character "from a boisterous, impressionable, girl-craving
teenager to more spiritual, hard-fought adulthood, irrevocably shaped by the neighbourhood and
familial bonds of his precarious environment."
Slant Magazine's Mark Collett writes that Lamar executes the character's transition
by "tempering the hedonistic urges of West Coast hip-hop with the self-reflective impulses
of the East Coast."
David Amidon of PopMatters views that the album provides a "sort of semi-autobiographical
character arc", while MSN Music's Robert Christgau writes that Lamar "softspokenly" enacts a
"rap-versus-real dichotomy".
The album features naturalistic, vérité-like skits that dramatize the characters' limitations.
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times finds them to be a part of the album's "narrative
strategy", with "prayers and conversations and different voices and recollections and
interludes, all in service of one overarching story: Mr. Lamar's tale of ducking Compton's
rougher corners to find himself artistically."
Pitchfork Media's Jayson Greene feels that they reinforce the album's theme of "the grounding
power of family", interpreting "family and faith" to be "the fraying tethers holding
Lamar back from the chasm of gang violence that threatens to consume him."
Lamar exhibits a tempered delivery on the album, and raps with dense narratives, internal
rhyme, double and triple time flow, and multiple voices for different characters.
Music journalist Jody Rosen characterizes him as "a storyteller, not a braggart or punch-line
rapper, setting spiritual yearnings and moral dilemmas against a backdrop of gang violence
and police brutality."
Singles The album's first single, "The Recipe", was
released on April 3, 2012.
The song features his mentor, record producer and fellow rapper Dr. Dre and was produced
by Scoop DeVille.
It peaked at number 38 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at number 3 on Bubbling Under Hot
100 Singles.
Kendrick shot a video for it featuring Dr. Dre at a mansion in Los Angeles in May 2012.
He also claimed the video will have a feel of 2Pac's California Love clip.
The album's second single "Swimming Pools" was released on July 31, 2012, as a digital
download, while the music video premiered on August 3, 2012.
The song became a hit, peaking at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Swimming Pools" was also certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA.
The week of the album's release, "Backseat Freestyle" debuted on the Billboard Bubbling
Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 106.
It was later revealed to be released as the third single in the United Kingdom on January
7, 2013.
The music video was released on January 2, 2013.
Lamar's father appears in the video.
The song peaked at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"Poetic Justice" was released third single in North America, featuring Drake and production
from Scoop DeVille.
The song began to impact American rhythmic contemporary radio on January 15, 2013.
The song has since peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Poetic Justice" was also certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA.
On March 9, 2013, Kendrick told Rap-Up that his next single off the album would probably
be "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe".
On March 13, 2013, Jay-Z's engineer Young Guru premiered a snippet of the song's official
remix, featuring rapper Jay-Z.
Lamar called it an accomplishment to have a song with Jay-Z featured on it.
Shortly after the remix premiered he would confirm that, "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe"
would be the next single.
The full version of the remix was premiered by Funkmaster Flex on March 17, 2013.
The remix was released as the album's fourth single to rhythmic contemporary radio on April
9, 2013.
The song has since peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The music video for the original version of the single was released on May 13, 2013.
Comedian Mike Epps makes a cameo appearance in the video.
The same day an extended version of the music video was released featuring a cameo from
Juicy J, and a bonus clip of a new song by Schoolboy Q from his own respective major
label debut album, Oxymoron.
Promotion Before and after the album's release, Kendrick
toured as a supporting act with other various artists such as Drake and Steve Aoki.
On May 5, 2013, he begun his first headlining tour with the good kid, m.A.A.d city World
Tour, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The tour consisted of 23 headlining shows, 22 international music festivals, and 15 United
States music festivals.
The tour ran through August 24 and also featured the other members of Black Hippy on all the
US dates.
After titling the album "a short film" by Kendrick Lamar, in an interview with GQ he
said "he plans on doing a short film to bring his story to life."
He also expressed interest in directing this short film too.
Lamar also threw out names like Tristan Wilds to portray him, Taraji P. Henson and Rihanna
as potential names he'd want to have if he could choose anybody to work with.
On December 23, 2013, the music video for the song "Sing About Me", was released.
The video was directed by Darren Romanelli.
Critical reception Good Kid, M.A.A.D City received rave reviews
from contemporary music critics.
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream
critics, the album received an average score of 91, which indicates "universal acclaim",
based on 36 reviews.
Pitchfork Media's Jayson Greene felt that "the miracle of this album is how it ties
straightforward rap thrills" to its "weighty material" and narrative.
David Amidon of PopMatters felt that the album is simultaneously accessible and substantial,
as it can appeal to both underground and mainstream hip hop listeners.
Fact magazine's Joseph Morpurgo called it an autobiographical "triumph of breadth" and
a "wide-ranging, far-reaching success".
Sputnikmusic found its reach comparable to Kanye West's 2010 album My Beautiful Dark
Twisted Fantasy, "but with much subtler shades".
Jaeki Cho of XXL called it "one of the most cohesive bodies of work in recent rap memory"
and wrote that each song is "both complexly arranged and sonically fitting, foregrounding
Kendrick’s vivid lyricism and amazing control of cadence."
Jim Carroll of The Irish Times viewed it as an important and entertaining that is forward
thinking, even though it echoes the past era of West Coast hip hop.
AllMusic editor David Jeffries characterized the album as "some kind of elevated gangsta
rap" and wrote of its subject matter:
Besides all the great ideas and life, this journey through the concrete jungle of Compton
is worth taking because of the artistic richness, plus the attraction of a whip-smart rapper
flying high during his rookie season.
Any hesitation about the horror of it all is quickly wiped away by Kendrick's mix of
true talk, open heart, open mind, and extended hand.
Add it all up and subtract the hype, and this one is still potent enough to rise to the
top of the pile.
In a mixed review, Hazel Sheffield of NME asserted that the album "might lack the raw
appeal of" Section.80, "but it's a big-budget reminder that [Lamar] hasn't forgotten his
roots."
Alex Macpherson of The Guardian criticized "Lamar's depiction of downtrodden women" as
"unnecessarily prurient and unconvincing", but praised his "ability to pull the listener
inside the action while retaining an alienated detachment".
Although he observed "some degree of self-indulgence", Andrew Nosnitsky of Spin found the album's
production "surprisingly cohesive" and commented that Lamar "manages to hold everything together
in the midst of such chaos through sheer craftsmanship."
Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone felt that the album "warrants a place in that storied lineage"
of "Seventies blaxploitation soundtracks and Nineties gangsta-rap blaxploitation revivals".
Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune commended Lamar for giving "gangsta tropes ... a twist,
or sometimes upend[ing] them completely", and wrote that the album "brims with comedy,
complexity and the many voices in Kendrick Lamar's head."
Robert Christgau of MSN Music felt that its "commitment to drama has musical drawbacks",
but stated, "the atmospheric beats Dr. Dre and his hirelings lay under the raps and choruses
establish a musical continuity that shores up a nervous flow that's just what Lamar's
rhymes need."
Accolades Good Kid, M.A.A.D City appeared on several
year-end top albums lists by music critics.
It was named the best album of 2012 by BBC, Complex, Fact, New York, and Pitchfork Media.
The album was also ranked number two by Billboard, the Chicago Tribune, MTV, Spin, and Time,
number four by Filter, Jon Pareles of The New York Times, and Ann Powers of NPR, number
five by The Guardian, number six by Rolling Stone, and number eight by Entertainment Weekly.
In December 2012, Complex also named Good Kid, M.A.A.D City one of the 25 classic hip
hop albums of the previous 10 years.
Complex also ranked its album cover as the best of 2012 while Pitchfork Media included
it on its list of the 20 best album covers of the year.
In April 2013, Vibe placed the album at number 19 on its "The Greatest 50 Albums Since '93"
list.
The album was nominated for Top Rap Album at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards and the
2013 American Music Awards.
In October 2013, Complex named it the second best hip hop album of the last five years.
It also won the award for Album of the Year at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards.
Good Kid M.A.A.D City earned Lamar five Grammy Award nominations at the 56th Grammy Awards,
for Album of The Year, Best Rap Album, Best New Artist, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for
Now Or Never with Mary J. Blige and Best Rap Performance for Swimming Pools.
Commercial performance The album debuted at number two on the US
Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 242,000 copies.
The album also entered the UK Albums Chart at number 16 on October 28, 2012, as well
as entering at number two on the UK R&B Albums Chart.
The album also peaked in the top ten of the album sales charts in Canada, New Zealand
and the Netherlands.
In its second week it sold 63,000 more copies in the United States.
Then over the following four weeks it sold 176,000 more copies bringing its total sales
to 481,000 in the United States.
On June 29, 2013, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association
of America, having shipped and sold one million copies in the United States.
As of April 16, 2014, the album had sold 1,234,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Controversy On October 23, 2012, after receiving much
critical acclaim from the hip hop community, outspoken rapper Shyne took to Twitter to
run down on the album, calling it "trash" and the production horrible.
West Coast rappers Nipsey Hussle, Schoolboy Q and Game quickly took offense to this, with
Game calling Kendrick non-confrontational in that he wouldn't respond to Shyne.
Kendrick responded to Shyne's comments on October 26, saying that he is not a sensitive
person and was unfazed by his comments.
In addition he said Good Kid, M.A.A.D City was not necessarily a "classic" as some have
called it, but "classic worthy" if enough time passed.
Kendrick also referred to Shyne in his song "The Jig Is Up" saying, "I pray to God this
beat good enough for Shyne".
After this Shyne stood by his comments and called Game his "little son".
Game responded with a freestyle calling out Shyne, titled "Cough Up a Lung".
Shyne then responded with his own diss track, towards Game named "Psalms 68."
Track listing • Additional production •
Co-producer Notes
"The Art of Peer Pressure" features uncredited vocals from JMSN.
"m.A.A.d city" features uncredited vocals from Schoolboy Q.
Sample credits "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" contains a sample
of "Tiden Flyver" as performed by Boom Clap Bachelors.
"The Art of Peer Pressure" contains a sample of "Helt Alene" as performed by Suspekt.
"Money Trees" contains a sample of "Silver Soul" as performed by Beach House.
"Poetic Justice" contains a sample of "Any Time, Any Place" as performed by Janet Jackson.
"m.A.A.d city" contains a sample of "Don't Change Your Love" as performed by The Five
Stairsteps, "Funky Worm" by Ohio Players, and "A Bird In The Hand" by Ice Cube.
"Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" contains a sample of "Maybe Tomorrow" as performed
by Grant Green and "I'm Glad You're Mine" by Al Green.
"Compton" contains a sample of "What's This World Coming To" as performed by Formula IV.
"The Recipe" contains a sample of "Meet the Frownies" as performed by Twin Sister.
Personnel Credits for Good Kid, M.A.A.D City adapted
from Allmusic.
Charts Certifications
Release history See also
List of number-one R&B albums of 2012 List of number-one rap albums of 2012
References
Further reading Robert Christgau.
"Respect yourself: Kendrick Lamar's standing-room only Roseland show".
MSN Music.
Jeff Weiss.
"Pazz & Jop: Kendrick Lamar, Finally Compton's Most Wanted".
The Village Voice.
External links Good Kid, M.A.A.D City at Discogs
good kid, m.A.A.d city at AnyDecentMusic?