"Money Trees" 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 rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

, taken from his major label debut 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 ...

'' (2012). The song, which appears as the fifth track on the album, features a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

from his

Black Hippy Black Hippy is an American hip hop supergroupJay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...

. The song, produced by

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 Kendric ...

, entered the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart at number 19 due to high downloads, following the album's release. The song, mixed by

Top Dawg Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's f ...

engineer Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, features background vocals from American singer

Anna Wise Anna Wise (born February 16, 1991) is an American singer, who has independently released music as a member of bands Sonnymoon and Built to Fade. She became more widely known for her collaborations with rapper Kendrick Lamar and hip hop group Cunn ...

of Sonnymoon. ''Money Trees'' samples the

Beach House Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals). Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 to ...

song "Silver Soul," from their 2010 album ''

Teen Dream Adolescence () is a transitional stage of Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majo ...

'', as well as vocals from Kendrick’s "

Cartoon and Cereal "Cartoon & Cereal" is a song by American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, released for digital download on February 14, 2012. Collaborating with Florida-based rapper Gunplay, Lamar originally intended to include the song on his major-label ...

" and interpolates lyrics from E-40’s " Big Ballin’ With My Homies". On June 2, 2015,

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...

released the sequel "

Money Trees Deuce "Money Trees Deuce" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Jay Rock, released as the first single from his second studio album, ''90059'' (2015). The song, produced by Flippa and J Proof, is a follow-up to Kendrick Lamar's 2012 song, " ...

" as a solo record with no feature from Kendrick Lamar.

Background

"Money Trees" follows the storyline of ''

'', as Kendrick Lamar reassesses what happened so far in the story. He talks about having sex with his love interest Sherane and going to tell his friends about it. He also assesses his current situation in his hometown

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

and reflecting on the immortalization of his uncle after he was shot. At the end of the track Lamar's mom calls him again and asks him to bring her car back, a recurring theme of the story. His dad has forgotten about the

Domino's pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor ...

he wanted by now, suggesting that Lamar "has been out of the house for a while, driving around and trying to figure his life out, having just been attacked outside Sherane’s house."

Music video

On August 28, 2013,

Taj Stansberry Taj Stansberry (born in Oakland, California, United States) is an American director and photographer, known for his music videos with artists such as Rihanna, J Lo, Usher, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Keyshia Cole, Swizz Beatz, Eve, W ...

revealed that he had begun to shoot a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

with Lamar and Jay Rock for "Money Trees". Stansberry, who called the song his favorite song on the album, said upon getting the job to come up with a treatment for the video that was due in a day, he dropped everything right then, and created a website for the idea to present to Lamar. He added: "I started literally at 9 in the morning and finished at 9 at night."

Live performances

Lamar performed "Money Trees", alongside Jay Rock at the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

Experience concert at the

Staples Center Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The duo also frequently performed the track on Lamar's ''Good Kid, m.A.A.d city'' world tour and at the 2013

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

music festival. On October 15, 2013, Lamar and Jay Rock performed "Money Trees" 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, Georgia, and w ...

. On July 4, 2016, Lamar performed "Money Trees" at President Obama's Fourth of July BBQ.

Critical reception

The song was met with acclaim from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s, and it is widely regarded as one of Lamar’s best songs. '' XXL'' in their perfect "XXL" review, deemed the song a "tale of hustler's ambitions." In 2021, ''

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

'' ranked the track at number one on its list of “The 50 Best Kendrick Lamar Songs.” A similar 2017 list by ''

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 ...

'' placed it fifth on their list of “The Best Kendrick Lamar Songs,” while ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' had it sixth on its 2022 list of “Kendrick Lamar’s 20 greatest songs – ranked!” The track especially received acclaim for the guest verse from

. ''Complex'' praised Jay Rock's

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

, calling it the tenth best

of 2012. They described his verse as "stellar", adding in the verse Rock "contemplates a life of crime versus one stricken in dire poverty." ''XXL'' included the verse on its 2019 list of the “35 of the Most Iconic Hip-Hop Guest Verses Since 2000,” stating that Rock “grounds the tune with a voice wizened by poverty and pushed by pursuit.”

Commercial performance

Even without being released as a single, the song spent seven weeks on the US charts and peaked at number 19 on the US ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2013 songs Kendrick Lamar songs Songs written by Kendrick Lamar Gangsta rap songs Jay Rock songs Songs written by DJ Dahi Songs written by Jay Rock Songs written by Victoria Legrand