''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (stylized as ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'') is the second studio album by the American rapper

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

. It was released on October 22, 2012, by

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief exec ...

and

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre in 1996. It operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed through Interscope Records. The label's roster includes artists ...

. The album features guest appearances from

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

, Dr. Dre,

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Rock signed with local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major lab ...

, Anna Wise and

MC Eiht Aaron Bernard Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced "MC Eight"), is an American rapper. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's nam ...

. It is Lamar's first

major label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

album, after his independently released debut album '' Section.80'' in 2011 and his signing to Aftermath and Interscope the following year. ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' was recorded mostly at several studios in California, with producers such as Dr. Dre,

Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Smith attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue a career in mus ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), known professionally as Hit-Boy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first signed with fellow producer Polow da Don in 2007 as in-house production staff for his l ...

Scoop DeVille Elijah Blue Molina (born October 15, 1987), better known by his stage name Scoop DeVille, is an American record producer, rapper and DJ. DeVille has produced singles and albums for hip hop artists including Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, N ...

Jack Splash Jack Splash is an American recording artist, musician, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California. Splash's works have won multiple Grammy's and include writing and production on singles for artists such as Alicia Keys, Kendrick ...

, and T-Minus, among others, contributing to the album. Billed as a "short film by Kendrick Lamar" on the album cover, the

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

tells a coming-of-age story about Lamar's adolescence surrounded by the drug-infested streets and

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

lifestyle of his native Compton. ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its thematic scope and Lamar's lyrics. The album debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 242,000 copies in its first week – earning the highest first-week hip-hop album sales of 2012 from a male artist. It also became Lamar's first album to enter the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, peaking at number 16, and entering the UK R&B Albums Chart at number two. The album was supported by five singles – " The Recipe", "

Swimming Pools (Drank) "Swimming Pools (Drank)" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 31, 2012, as the lead single (second overall) from his major-label debut studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012), by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) ...

", " Backseat Freestyle", "

Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, h ...

", and " Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". All five singles achieved chart success of varying degrees. Lamar also went on a world tour between May and August 2013, featuring the other members of the hip-hop collective,

Black Hippy Black Hippy was an American hip hop supergroupGrammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album was also named to many end-of-the-year lists, often topping them. It was later certified

triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). In 2020 and 2023, the album was ranked 115th on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s updated list of "

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...

" and in 2022, the publication named it the greatest concept album of all time.

Background

After the release and success of his debut studio album '' Section.80'' (2011),

signed a major label record deal with

and

. He told ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...

'' that 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 CelcomDigi Berhad (Trade name, d.b.a. CelcomDigi), formerly known as Digi.Com Berhad (Trade name, d.b.a. Digi), is a communications conglomerate and mobile service provider in Malaysia. Its largest shareholders are Axiata and Norwegian-based Te ...

. In an interview for '' XXL'', Lamar said that the album would not sound like ''Section.80'', but will return to his Compton roots: "I couldn't tell you what type of sound or where I

ill ILL, or Ill, or ill may refer to: Places * Ill (France), a river in Alsace, France, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Vorarlberg), a river in Vorarlberg, Austria, tributary of the Rhine * Ill (Saarland), a river of Saarland, Germany, tributary o ...

be in the next five years as far as music... Back to the neighborhood and oingback in that same space where we used to be, got einspired. So this album won't sound like ''Section.80''." 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."

Recording and production

Recording sessions for the album took place at PatchWerk Recording Studios in Atlanta, Encore Studios in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

, TDE Red Room in Carson, and "At My Mama's Studio" in Los Angeles. The first song that Lamar recorded for the album was " Compton", which featured Dr. Dre. The track serves as the twelfth track on the album, and acts as the standard edition's closing track. On August 15, 2012,

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

announced via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, that she had collaborated with Lamar on a song called "Partynauseous", for the album, and would be released on September 6. However, on August 23, 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, Gaga released the version she was featured on, which had her singing the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

and a verse. Lamar stated he was surprised and happy that Gaga released her version of the song, as it displayed 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 Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

tastes and generally features tight bass measures, subtle background vocals, and light piano. Writers draw comparisons of the music to

Outkast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...

's 1998 album ''

Aquemini ''Aquemini'' () is the third studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast, released on September 29, 1998, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The title is a portmanteau of the two performers' Zodiac signs: Aquarius (Big Boi) and Gemini ...

''. Andrew Nosnitsky of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' cites the music's "closest point of reference" as "the cold spaciousness of ''

ATLiens ''ATLiens'' is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast. It was released on August 27, 1996, by Arista Records and LaFace Records. From 1995 to 1996, Outkast recorded ''ATLiens'' in sessions at several Atlanta studios—Bosstow ...

''-era Outkast, but as the record progresses, that sound sinks slowly into the fusionist mud of those sprawling and solemn mid-2000s

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

albums."

Sasha Frere-Jones Alexander Roger Wallace "Sasha" Frere-Jones ( né Jones; born 1967) is an American writer, music critic, and musician. Frere-Jones was pop critic of the ''New Yorker'' from 2004 to 2015. In January 2015, he left the ''New Yorker'' to work for ' ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' finds its use of "smooth" music as a backdrop for "rough" scenarios to be analogous to Dr. Dre's

G-funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, (or funk rap) is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the early 1990s. The genre is heavily influenced by the synthesizer-heavy 1970s funk sound of Parliament-Funkadelic (aka P-F ...

during the early 1990s, but adds that "Lamar often sounds like

... whose various dreamy styles have very little to do with the legacy of the West."

Okayplayer Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

's Marcus Moore writes that its "expansive and brooding" instrumentals eschew "California's glossy West Coast funk" for a "

Dungeon Family The Dungeon Family were a musical collective based in Atlanta that specialized in Southern hip hop with heavy funk and soul music, soul influences. Members of this collective recorded music, and had their career emerge, from Rico Wade's basement ...

aesthetic." Lyrically, the album chronicles Lamar's experiences in his native Compton and its harsh realities, in a

nonlinear narrative Nonlinear narrative, disjointed narrative, or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique where events are portrayed, for example, out of chronological order or in other ways where the narrative does not follow the direct causality pattern of the ...

. The songs address issues such as economic disenfranchisement, retributive

gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collecti ...

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! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' 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 ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

''s Mark Collett writes that Lamar executes the character's transition by "tempering the hedonistic urges of

West Coast hip-hop West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...

with the self-reflective impulses of the East Coast." David Amidon of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' views that the album provides a "sort of semi-autobiographical

character arc A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character over the course of a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different sort of person in response to c ...

", while ''

MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History ...

''s

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

writes that Lamar "softspokenly" enacts a "rap-versus-real

dichotomy A dichotomy () is a partition of a set, partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothi ...

". The album features several naturalistic

skits Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

that portray a range of characters.

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''s

Jayson Greene Jayson Greene (born ) is an American author, music critic and editor. He has served as a senior editor of online music magazine ''Pitchfork'' and is the author of ''Once More We Saw Stars'', a memoir about the death of his two-year-old daughter, i ...

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 In poetry, internal rhyme, or middle rhyme, is rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse, or between internal phrases across multiple lines. By contrast, rhyme between line endings is known as end rhyme. Internal rhyme schemes can be denote ...

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

and

triple time Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 ( compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , a ...

flow and multiple voices for different characters. Music journalist

Jody Rosen Jody Rosen (born June 21, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Career Journalism Rosen served as critic-at-large for '' T: The New York Times Style Magaz ...

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 Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

." The song "Now or Never" was also chosen by

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

to be featured in the '' NBA 2K14'' soundtrack.

Title and packaging

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 Lamar had given himself. He had used the phrase in his lyrics as early as the 2009 ''

'' EP. When he announced the album's title and release date, Lamar indicated that the "correct" rendering of the title is lowercase except for the two vowels in "''m.A.A.d''". The album's title mainly refers to Lamar's childhood innocence and how Compton affected 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 "''My Angel's on Angel Dust''", with Lamar stating: "That was me, nd it'sthe reason why I don't smoke. It was just me getting my hands on the wrong thing at the wrong time ndbeing oblivious to it." The title has been interpreted as a reference to WC and the Maad Circle, a Los Angeles-based hip-hop group active in the 1990s. The cover artwork for ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' features a child Lamar, two of his uncles, and his grandfather, with the adults' eyes censored, possibly for privacy reasons. He explained that the reason why he had not censored his own eyes was that the album's story was told through his eyes, and is based around his experiences. The uncle who is holding Lamar also is displaying the

Crips The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips ...

gang sign with his hand, and the poster above the head of the uncle features Lamar and his father.

Singles

The album's first single, " The Recipe", was released on April 3, 2012. The song featured Lamar's mentor, Dr. Dre, and was produced by

. It peaked at number 38 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. Lamar and Dr. Dre shot a video for the song at a mansion in Los Angeles in May, although it was never released. The album's second single, "

", was released on July 31, 2012, while the music video premiered on August 3, 2012. The song became a hit, peaking at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" was also certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the United States by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The music video for the song, " Backseat Freestyle", was released on January 2, 2013, which included Lamar's father in a cameo appearance. It was later revealed to be released as the third single in the United Kingdom on January 7. The song peaked at number 29 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. "

" was released as the third single in North America, and the fourth single overall, featuring Drake. The song was serviced to American

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

radio on January 15, 2013, and peaked at number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was also soon certified gold in the United States by the RIAA. On March 9, 2013, Kendrick told ''

Rap-Up ''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...

'' that his next single off the album would be "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". On March 13,

Young Guru Gimel Androus Keaton (born February 27, 1974), professionally better known by his pseudonym Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy ...

premiered a snippet of the song's official remix, which featured

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

. Lamar would later describe the remix as an "accomplishment to have orkedwith Jay-Z". Shortly after the remix premiered, Lamar confirmed "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" would be the next single from the album. The full version of the remix was premiered by

Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1967), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Ho ...

on March 18. The remix was released as the album's fourth single to rhythmic contemporary radio on April 9. 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, with comedian

Mike Epps Michael Elliot Epps (born November 18, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Day-Day Jones in '' Next Friday'' and its sequel, '' Friday After Next'', and also appeared in ''The Hangover'' and '' The Hangover Part III'' as ...

making a cameo appearance. The same day, an extended version of the music video was released. It featured a cameo from

Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...

, and a bonus clip of a new song by

Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...

from his own respective major label debut album, ''

Oxymoron An oxymoron (plurals: oxymorons and oxymora) is a figure of speech that Juxtaposition, juxtaposes concepts with opposite meanings within a word or in a phrase that is a self-contradiction (disambiguation), self-contradiction. As a rhetorical de ...

'' (2014). On March 10, 2015, Lamar unexpectedly released the song "County Building Blues" to

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

as a promotional single.

Marketing and sales

Before and after the album's October 2012 release, Lamar toured as a supporting act alongside Drake and

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki ( , ; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours. In 2024, Gold House recognized him as ...

. On May 5, 2013, he began his first headlining tour with the ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' World Tour, in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

. The tour consisted of 23 headlining shows, 22 international music festivals, and 15 United States music festivals. The tour ran through August 24, and featured other members of

Black Hippy Black Hippy was an American hip hop supergroupGQ'' that "he plans on doing a short film to bring his story to life." He also expressed interest in directing the short film, as well as suggesting that

Tristan Wilds Tristan Paul Mack Wilds (born July 15, 1989) is an American actor, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his roles as Michael Lee on the HBO original drama series, ''The Wire'', and as Dixon Wilson on the CW teen drama series ...

Taraji P. Henson Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2016 and 2024, ''Time'' named Henson one of ...

and

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

as potential names he'd want to cast in the film. On December 23, 2013, the music video for "Sing About Me", was released, and was directed by Darren Romanelli. One week before the standard edition's release (October 22, 2012), snippets of the album leaked online. In the album's first week of release, it debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold 242,000 copies in the United States. The album also entered the

at number 16 on October 28, 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 copies in the US, and 176,000 more copies over the next four weeks, bringing its total sales to 481,000 by November 25. By April 2018, the album had sold 1,720,000 copies. It was certified

by the

(RIAA) in June; for combined sales, streaming and track-sale equivalents of three million units in the US. On the week ending October 29, 2022, the album had spent a total of 10 years (520 weeks) on the ''Billboard'' 200, making ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' the first hip-hop studio album to do so.

Critical reception

''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 91, based on 36 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. It was widely praised by reviewers for Lamar's lyrical ability and narratives. Reviewing the album for ''

'', Jody Rosen said it "warrants a place in that storied lineage" of "Seventies

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

soundtracks and Nineties

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

blaxploitation revivals". In the ''

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'',

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

applauded Lamar for giving "gangsta tropes ... a twist, or sometimes upend ngthem completely" on a record that "brims with comedy, complexity and the many voices in Kendrick Lamar's head." ''Pitchfork''s Jayson Greene wrote that "the miracle of this album is how it ties straightforward rap thrills" to its "weighty material" and narrative, while David Amidon from ''PopMatters'' believed the album was simultaneously accessible and substantial, capable of appealing to both underground and mainstream hip-hop listeners. ''

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'' journalist Joseph Morpurgo called it an autobiographical "triumph of breadth" and a "wide-ranging, far-reaching success". Jaeki Cho of ''XXL'' hailed ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' as "one of the most cohesive bodies of work in recent rap memory" and wrote that each song sounded "both complexly arranged and sonically fitting, foregrounding Kendrick's vivid lyricism and amazing control of cadence". In ''

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'', Jim Carroll viewed it as an entertaining and forward-thinking that nonetheless echoed the past era of West Coast hip-hop. In the opinion of

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editor David Jeffries, the album was "some kind of elevated gangsta rap"; he wrote of its subject matter: Some reviewers were less enthusiastic. Hazel Sheffield of ''

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'' believed the album "might lack the raw appeal of" ''Section.80'', while Alex Macpherson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' found "Lamar's depiction of downtrodden women" to be "unnecessarily prurient and unconvincing". Robert Christgau from ''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

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, ''

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 ...

'', ''Fact'', ''

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'' and ''Pitchfork''. The album was also ranked number two by ''

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'', the ''Chicago Tribune'',

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, ''Spin'' and ''

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'', number four by '' Filter'',

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.Ann Powers Ann K. Powers (born February 4, 1964) is an American writer and popular music critic. She is a music critic for NPR and a contributor at the ''Los Angeles Times'', where she was previously chief pop critic. She has also written for other publicat ...

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, number five by ''The Guardian'', number six by ''Rolling Stone'' and number eight by ''

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''. 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'' included it on its list of the 20 best album covers of the year. In April 2013, ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' placed the album at number 19 on its "The Greatest 50 Albums Since '93" list. The album was also included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...

''. In October 2013, ''Complex'' named it the second best hip-hop album of the last five years. Also in 2013, ''Rolling Stone'' placed the album at 86 on its "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time" list. The album was ranked number two of "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014)", a list published by ''Pitchfork'' in August 2014 and number five of "The 20 Best Albums of the 2010s (so far)", a list published by ''Billboard'' in January 2015. In 2020 and 2023, the album was ranked at 115 on ''Rolling Stone''s "

500 Greatest Albums of All Time 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

" list. In 2022, it was ranked number one on ''Rolling Stone''s "50 Greatest Concept Albums of All Time" list. In 2024, '' Paste'' ranked ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' number 72 on its list of "The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2025, the album was ranked at six on ''Rolling Stone''s "Best Albums of the 21st Century So Far" list. The album was nominated for Top Rap Album at the 2013 ''Billboard'' Music Awards and the 2013

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

, and won the award for Album of the Year at the 2013

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and was first ...

. ''Good Kid M.A.A.D City'' earned Lamar four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations at the

56th Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid compe ...

, for Album of The Year,

Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

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 ...

for "Now or Never" with

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

, and Best Rap Performance for "Swimming Pools (Drank)". Its loss of the Best Rap Album award to

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo from Seattle, Seattle, Washington, formed in 2009 by rapper MacklemoreTrust, Gary (2013)Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'Can't Hold Us' Makes Hot 100 History, ''Billboard (magazine), B ...

' '' The Heist'' was dubbed an "infamous snub" by ''Rolling Stone''s Andre Gee.

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper. A native of Seattle, Washington, he started his career in 2000 as an independent artist rele ...

himself deemed the loss a robbery and apologized to Lamar via

iMessage iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. and launched in 2011. iMessage functions exclusively on Apple platforms – including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS – as part of Apple ecosystem, Apple's approach t ...

Response from Shyne

On October 23, 2012, after ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' received much critical acclaim from the hip-hop community, rapper

Shyne Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow; November 8, 1978), best known by his stage name Shyne, is a Belizean politician and former rapper. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the lead ...

took to Twitter to disparage the album, calling it "trash" and in particular disparaged its production. West Coast rappers

Nipsey Hussle Ermias Joseph Asghedom (born Airmiess Joseph Asghedom; August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle, was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-20 ...

, Schoolboy Q and the Game quickly took offense to this, with the Game defending Lamar due to his "non-confrontational nature". Lamar would later respond 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 would pass. He would later reference Shyne on the song "The Jig Is Up", stating: "I pray to God this beat good enough for Shyne". After Shyne stood by his comments, the Game responded with a freestyle calling out Shyne, entitled "Cough Up a Lung". Shyne would later respond with his own

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...

in retaliation, titled "Psalms 68 (Guns & Moses)".

Academic reception

In 2014, it was reported that ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' was being studied as a text in the freshman composition class of

Georgia Regents University Augusta University (AU) is a public research university and academic medical center in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite medical campuses in Savannah, Albany, Rome, and Athens, Ge ...

professor Adam Diehl, alongside other

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

works such as the

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

novel ''

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' is the second book and first novel of Irish writer James Joyce, published in 1916. A ''Künstlerroman'' written in a modernist style, it traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young Ste ...

'',

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poet ...

' ''Selected Poems'',

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

's short story "

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", and the

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

film ''

Boyz n the Hood ''Boyz n the Hood'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age hood crime drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his feature directorial debut. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube (in his film debut), Morris Chestnut, and Laurence Fis ...

''. The theme of the class was meant to "inspire students to find an outlet to bring some sanity to our own mad city–Augusta", Diehl told ''HipHopDX''. "Lamar is the James Joyce of hip-hop", he said, "in the complexity of his storytelling, in his knowledge of the canon, and in his continuing focus on the city of his upbringing—Compton."

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer * "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" features background vocals by Anna Wise and additional vocals by JMSN * "Money Trees" features background vocals by Anna Wise * "Good Kid" is stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing systems ...

and features additional vocals by

Chad Hugo Charles Edward Hugo (born February 24, 1974) is an American musician and record producer. Alongside childhood friend Pharrell Williams, he formed the production duo the Neptunes in 1992, with whom he has produced numerous hit records for variou ...

* "M.A.A.D City" is stylized in all lowercase and features uncredited vocals by

* "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" features additional vocals by JMSN, Anna Wise and Camille "ill Camille" Davis * "Real" features background vocals by JMSN Sample credits * "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" contains portions of "Tiden Flyver", written by Robin Braun, Vindahl Friis and Lykke Schmidt, as performed by Boom Clap Bachelors; and contains elements of the master recording "Tiden Flyver", as performed by Boom Clap Bachelors. * "Backseat Freestyle" contains an uncredited sample of "Yo Soy Cubano", as performed by The Chakachas; and an uncredited sample from the '' Powerpuff Girls'' episode "Beat Your Greens". * "The Art of Peer Pressure" contains a sample of "Helt Alene", written by Rune Rask, as performed by Suspekt. * "Money Trees" contains elements and a reversed sample of "Silver Soul", written by Victoria Garance Alixe Legrand and Alex Scally, as performed by

Beach House Beach House is an American indie music, indie band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore in 2004 by current members Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals, drum programming). Their work is char ...

, and an uncredited interpolation of "Big Ballin' with My Homies", as performed by

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click (band), The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 stud ...

. * "Poetic Justice" contains excerpts from " Any Time, Any Place", written by James Harris,

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

and Terry Lewis, as performed by Janet Jackson. * "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" contains elements of "Maybe Tomorrow", written by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

Alan Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (née Katz; November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celeb ...

and

Marilyn Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (née Katz; November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celeb ...

, as performed by

Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...

; and an uncredited sample of " Use Me", as performed by

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

. * "Compton" contains excerpts from "What's This World Coming To", written by Charles Richard Cason, as performed by Formula IV. * "The Recipe" contains elements of "Meet the Frownies", written by Eric Cardona, Gabe D'Amico, Dev Gupta, Andrea Hernandez and Bryan Ujueta; and a sample of "Meet the Frownies", as performed by Twin Sister.

Personnel

Credits for ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' adapted from

. *

– art direction, primary artist *

– executive producer, featured artist, mixing * Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith – executive producer * Derek "MixedByAli" Ali – engineer, mixing *

Dave Free David Isaac Friley (born November 13, 1986), known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker and record producer. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, he is best known as the manager and creative partner of fellow California ...

– associate producer, co-ordination * Larry Chatman – production co-ordination * Andrew Van Meter – production co-ordination * Ashley Palmer – co-ordination * Mike Bozzi – mastering * Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering * Dee Brown – engineer * Mike Larson – engineer * James Hunt – engineer * Mauricio Iragorri – engineer * Jared Scott – engineer, mixing * Jack Splash – producer * Hit-Boy – producer * Scoop DeVille – producer * DJ Dahi – producer * Skhye Hutch – producer * Just Blaze – producer * Tha Bizness – producer * T-Minus – producer * Pharrell Williams – producer * Terrace Martin – additional production * Sounwave – additional production * Kirdis Postelle – associate producer * Terrence Henderson – associate producer *

– featured artist *

– featured artist * Kent Jamz – featured artist * Anna Wise – featured artist, vocals, background vocals * Camille "Ill Camille" Davis – vocals *

– vocals * JMSN – vocals, background vocals * Amari Parnell – hooks and samples singer * Mary Keating – violin * Marlon Williams – guitar, bass guitar * Charly & Margaux – violin, viola * Gabriel Stevenson – piano * Willie Long – grooming * Kitti Fontaine – stylist * Dan Monick – photography * Paula Oliver – photo courtesy * Dwayne LaFleur – photo courtesy * Danny Smith – photo courtesy *

– handwriting on cover, background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links