"Lust" (stylized as "LUST.") 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 ...

, from his fourth studio album '' Damn'', released on April 14, 2017. The ninth track on the album (sixth on the ''Collector's Edition'' of ''Damn''), the song was written by Lamar,

DJ Dahi Dacoury Dahi Natche (born March 10, 1983), professionally known as DJ Dahi, is an American DJ, songwriter, record producer and singer from Inglewood, California. Dahi is perhaps best known for producing " Money Trees" by American rapper Kendri ...

, Mark Spears

Sounwave Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American hip-hop producer and songwriter from Compton, California, and an original member of the Californian hip-hop label Top Dawg Entertainment. Sounwave has worked on every Kendric ...

, and

BadBadNotGood BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they w ...

, and was produced by DJ Dahi, Sounwave, and BadBadNotGood. The song features uncredited guest vocals from record producer

Kaytranada Louis Kevin Celestin (born August 25, 1992), known professionally as Kaytranada (stylized as KAYTRANADA, shortened as KAYTRA), is a Haitian-Canadian record producer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of mixtapes, remixes, ...

. Although not released as a single, the song charted in multiple countries in 2017.

Production

The song is about routine; the things we allow to interrupt them, along with romantic lust and material desire. The song's lyrics also reflect Lamar's reaction to the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

, specifically the anger and confusion some of

the nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

felt in the wake of it. Specifically, Lamar speaks about the protests against

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, including the struggle to keep the energy up and sustain the protests long-term, without getting fatigued. By the end of the song, the theme of acceptance comes into play. The song is built off an original composition by BadBadNotGood which features guest vocals from electronic musician

. Lamar first met the band at

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

in 2016, immediately asking the band to collaborate. With Lamar, producers DJ Dahi and Sounwave flipped the track, with additional string arrangements made by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

Kamasi Washington Kamasi Washington (born February 18, 1981) is an American jazz saxophonist, usually playing tenor saxophone. Archived July 9, 2015. Career Washington was born in 1981 and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of the Academy of ...

, who played on Lamar's third studio album, ''

To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the U ...

''. The song contains a sample of

Rat Boy Jordan Cardy (born 21 February 1996), known by his stage name Rat Boy, is an English musician from Chelmsford, Essex. Early life Cardy was born in Chelmsford, England on 21 February 1996. He studied at Chelmer Valley High School in Chelmsford a ...

's 2015 song "Knock Knock Knock", sampled by former collaborator Dahi. When he found out about the sample, Rat Boy tweeted his appreciation.

Critical reception and tributes

Kathleen Johnston of '' GQ'' described "Lust" as the best song on ''Damn''. Months after the release of "Lust" and ''Damn'', creative collective Combined Culture released a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

inspired by the track on June 17, 2017, in celebration of Lamar's 30th birthday earlier in June.

Live performances

Lamar performed "Lust" live at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 23, 2017. He performed the song seated in a cage accentuated by strings of

LED lights An LED lamp or LED light bulb is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LED lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps and can be significantly more efficient than mos ...

. Lamar has performed "Lust" on

the Damn tour The Damn Tour (stylized as The DAMN. Tour) was a concert tour by American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, in support of his fourth studio album, '' Damn'' (2017). The tour's North American leg began on July 12, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona ...

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the official ''Damn'' digital booklet. Production and songwriting *Kendrick Duckworth – songwriter * Dacoury Natche – songwriter, producer * Mark Spears – songwriter, producer, strings * Chester Hansen – songwriter, producer (as part of BADBADNOTGOOD) * Alexander Sowinski – songwriter, producer (as part of BADBADNOTGOOD) *

Matthew Tavares Matthew Adam Tavares (born September 15, 1990), also known as Matty, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and music producer. He is best known as a founder of the instrumental group BADBADNOTGOOD, with whom he released five studio albums and prod ...

– songwriter, producer (as part of BADBADNOTGOOD) * Leland Whitty – songwriter, producer (as part of BADBADNOTGOOD) *

– strings *

– additional vocals *

– additional vocals (sample) Technical *Derek Ali – mixing *Tyler Page – mix assistant *Cyrus Taghipour – mix assistant

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2017 songs Kendrick Lamar songs Songs written by Kendrick Lamar Songs written by DJ Dahi Songs written by Sounwave Songs written by Matthew Tavares Songs written by Chester Hansen