"Swimming Pools (Drank)" 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 ...

. It was released on July 31, 2012 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

(second overall) 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), by Top Dawg,

Aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an America ...

and Interscope. The song was written by Lamar and Tyler "T-Minus" Williams, the latter of whom also produced the song. The song, mixed by

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

and Top Dawg's engineer Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, propelled Lamar to mainstream popularity. The song peaked at number 17 on the US '' Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, in its thirteenth week of charting, after gradually climbing up the chart. It debuted on the Hot 100 at number 100 and progressed from number 55 and 32 to its peak. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" also serves as Lamar's first entry on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, where it debuted at number 63. A music video was released to accompany the song in August 2012. It was featured in the 2013 game ''

Saints Row IV ''Saints Row IV'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 2011's '' Saints Row: The Third'', the fourth installment of the ''Saints Row'' series, and the final main installment i ...

'', the 2014 re-release of the game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'', and on a 2013 episode of ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

''. On January 26, 2013, Lamar performed the song on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', as well as his third single "

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, henc ...

". The music video was nominated for

Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...

and Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was later nominated for

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

Background

The single is an introspective regarding Lamar's family and social life,

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

, and the

peer pressure Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests, experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, and behavior. A g ...

that accompanies it amongst his friends. In the first verse, he remembers his grandfather's drinking and resulting death, and the reasons that led Lamar himself to drinking.

Critical reception

The song garnered acclaim from music critics upon its release. ''

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 song the 34th best of 2012. '' XXL'' named it one of the top five hip hop songs of 2012.

Live performances

Lamar performed "Swimming Pools (Drank)" at every show 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 ...

Chart performance

In its first week of release, the song debuted at number 100 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and remained within the chart for another week then fell, but two weeks later re-entered the Hot 100 and climbed up each week, progressing from the top 90 to number 81, 71 and 61. In its tenth week, "Swimming Pools (Drank)" climbed up to number 55 and the following week, entered the top 40 of the Hot 100 at number 32, moving up to 25 and peaking at number 17. On the

, the song entered at number 63, remaining in the top 100 for one week. The song is Lamar's sixth highest-charting solo single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 behind " DNA." which debuted and peaked at number four and " HUMBLE." which debuted at number two and peaked at number one (though his features on "

Fuckin' Problems "Fuckin' Problems" (edited version titled as "F**kin' Problems", and "Problems") is a song by American rapper ASAP Rocky, featuring Canadian rapper Drake, and fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 24, 20 ...

" and " Bad Blood" reached the top 10 in the United States) and on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

The

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 ...

, directed by Jerome D, premiered August 3, 2012 on '' 106 & Park''. A review by the

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

'' shared a summary of the video stating: "In his new video for 'Swimming Pools (Drank),' Kendrick Lamar defies gravity, floating and tumbling in suspended space as liquor bottles fly upwards and smash into the ceiling. The rapper gets introspective on a woozy beat, considering the highs and lows of alcohol consumption and the sense of confidence it bestows upon the drinker. Lamar spends most of the video rapping alone, but color-filtered shots of a booze-soaked rager poke through the more contemplative scenes."

BTS Sample

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-pr ...

members Jin,

Suga Suga may refer to: * Suga, Iran, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran * Suga language, a language of Cameroon * Suga (rapper) (born 1993), South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer * ''Suga'' (EP), 2020 EP by Megan Thee Stallion * ''Sug ...

and RM sampled Swimming Pools in "School of Tears (학교의눈물)". The song's video has received over 8-million views and 993-thousand likes on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

as of 2022.

Track listing

Remixes

The official remix featuring his Black Hippy cohorts – Ab-Soul,

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 ...

and

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. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...

was included as a

bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

on the

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...

deluxe edition of ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City''. On March 14, 2013, producer

Dev Hynes Devonté Hynes (born David Joseph Michael Hynes, 23 December 1985), also known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and director based in New York City. From 2004 to 2006, Hynes was ...

uploaded a reinterpreted rendition of the track by English R&B group,

Mutya Keisha Siobhan Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes release ...

to his official

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

page. The track, entitled "Lay Down in Swimming Pools", features an interpolation of the original Lamar song. Hynes later commented saying: "Just finished recording new music with Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan, and the girls felt like having a bit of fun at the end of the last session – enjoy!!". Lloyd and

August Alsina August Anthony Alsina Jr.(April 8, 2013)R&B Singer August Alsina Talks Working With The Dream, Preps Def Jam Debut, ''Life + Times'' (confirms middle name; other sources confirm he is a "junior") (born September 3, 1992) is an American singer f ...

have also released a remix of the song.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2012 singles Aftermath Entertainment singles Interscope Records singles Kendrick Lamar songs Song recordings produced by T-Minus (record producer) Songs about alcohol Songs written by Kendrick Lamar Top Dawg Entertainment singles Songs written by T-Minus (record producer) 2012 songs