"Duckworth" (stylized as "DUCKWORTH.") 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 ...
, taken from his fourth studio album '' Damn'', released on April 14, 2017. The fourteenth and final track on the album (first on the ''Collector's Edition'' of ''Damn''), the lyrics were written by Lamar while the music was written by
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Patrick Douthit, known professionally as
9th Wonder
Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975), better known as 9th Wonder, is a Hip hop production, production by Bēkon.
The song's title is Lamar's actual last name, Lamar being his middle name. The song tells the true story of Lamar's father meeting Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, years prior to Lamar getting signed to his record label.
Lyrics
The song uses storytelling to tell the connection of Lamar with his father, Kenny "Ducky" Duckworth, and his TDE label-boss, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Specifically, the song tells the story about Top Dawg's previous encounters with Ducky, many years prior to Top Dawg signing Lamar to his label.
More specifically, it tells the story of how Top Dawg and Ducky were gangbangers. When he was younger, Top Dawg frequented the KFC where Ducky worked; this is the same KFC that Top Dawg had stuck up a few years prior, where he killed a manager, and maybe even a few customers. Ducky found out about this, and made sure he stood on Top Dawg's good side: giving him free chicken, extra biscuits, etc. When Top Dawg did eventually hold up the restaurant again, he and his cohorts made sure not to kill Ducky. If it weren't for these events and circumstances, Kendrick Lamar states he would have died in a gunfight without the positive influence of his father.
The song, like "
Fear
Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
", another track from ''Damn'', incorporates "backwards vocals", also known as
backmasking
Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional.
Artists have ...
.
Critical reception
Teddy Craven of ''The Daily Campus'' described "Duckworth" as ''Damn'''s "strongest song" and "ends the album with a fantastic philosophical mic-drop." Craven compared the track to " Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" from Lamar's second studio album ''
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (stylized as ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'') is the second studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Record ...
'', a song that also tells personal stories about the unexpected consequences of Lamar's music.
The song attracted attention of media in the
former Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
due to its sample of "Ostavi trag" ("Leave a Mark") by Yugoslav
jazz-rock
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyb ...
band
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 ...
.
Samples
The song contains samples of "Atari" 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 ...
, "Ostavi trag" by September, "Let the Drums Speak" by
Fatback Band
The Fatback Band (later, simply Fatback) is an American funk and disco band that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The Fatback Band is most known for their R&B hits, "(Do the) Spanish Hustle", "I Like Girls", "Gotta Get My Hands on Some (Mone ...
9th Wonder
Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975), better known as 9th Wonder, is a Climax Blues Band
Climax Blues Band (originally known as The Climax Chicago Blues Band) is a British blues rock band. The band was formed in Stafford, England, in 1967 by vocalist and harmonica player Colin Cooper (1939–2008), guitarist and vocalist Pete Hayco ...
for the track's drums.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the official ''Damn'' digital booklet.
*Kendrick Duckworth – songwriter
* Patrick Douthit – songwriter, producer, mixing
*Bēkon – additional production, additional 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 ...