Element (song)

"Element" (stylized as "ELEMENT.") is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his fourth studio album '' Damn'', released on April 14, 2017. The fourth track on the album (eleventh on the ''Collector's Edition'' of ''Damn''), the song was written by Lamar, Sounwave, James Blake, and Ricci Riera and produced by Sounwave, Blake, and Riera, with additional production by Tae Beast and Bēkon. The song charted in multiple countries in 2017.

Background

The song was first introduced by basketball player LeBron James on his Instagram story when he filmed himself dancing to the song prior to ''Damn'' release.

Lyrics

The track opens with a skit from Kid Capri, who refers to Lamar as "Kung Fu Kenny". Afterwards Kendrick Lamar repeats the phrase "I don't give a fuck", before the first verse starts.

Some sources have interpreted the song as a diss track on American rappers Big Sean and Drake. However, Andres Tardio of '' Rap-Up'' has stated the song's hook as a possible diss on Drake, Big Sean, or American recording artist Jay Electronica.

The second verse of the song has been described to have a resemblance to Lamar's " The Heart Part 4", a song also theorized to have contained lyrics that diss Drake and Big Sean. The second verse as follows:

Production

The song features production from musician and producer James Blake. Ricci Riera, who previously worked as a producer on the Lamar-Schoolboy Q collaboration "Collard Greens", also worked as producer for the song. The song contains a sample of " Ha" by rapper Juvenile from his third studio album '' 400 Degreez''.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video premiered on June 27, 2017 on Lamar's Vevo channel on YouTube. The video was directed by Jonas Lindstroem and The Little Homies (pseudonyms for Lamar himself and Dave Free).

Described as violent and powerful, the music video contains powerful imagery, some of which contains direct references to photographs of civil rights photographer, musician, writer, and director Gordon Parks. The video also mimics the imagery from the music video for " Humble", the first single from ''Damn''.

The music video has received positive reviews. Lawrence Burney of ''noisey'' called the video "the masterpiece you anticipated."

Critical reception

Joe Price of ''Pigeons and Planes'' named "Element" as one of the best songs of the week, the week of April 14, 2017, saying the song has "memorable verses and a sticky hook over some sparse but gorgeous production." Continuing, Price says "Element" is "a prime example of what makes ''Damn'' an immediately appealing body of work that is just as rewarding as his more challenging output." Meave McDermott of ''USA Today'', in a positive review, said the song "still sounds sharp and unforgiving even when he's coining catchphrases."

Live performances

Lamar performed "Element" for the first time live at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 23, 2017. His performance at Coachella was highly acclaimed, with the ''L.A. Times'' describing his performance as "simple, yet powerful."

Lamar has performed "Element" on the Damn tour.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the official ''Damn'' digital booklet.
*Kendrick Lamar – songwriter
* Mark Spears – songwriter, producer
* James Blake – songwriter, producer
*Ricci Riera – songwriter, producer
*Tae Beast – additional production
*Bēkon – additional production
*Kid Capri – additional vocals
*Matt Schaeffer – mixing
*James Hunt – mixing
*Derek Ali – mixing
*Tyler Page – mix assistant
*Cyrus Taghipour – mix assistant
*Zeke Mishanec – additional recording
*Brendan Silas Perry – additional recording

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

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2017 songs
Kendrick Lamar songs
Songs written by Kendrick Lamar
Songs written by Sounwave
Songs written by James Blake (musician)
Diss tracks