"KMT" (acronym for "Kiss My Teeth") is a song by Canadian rapper

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from his album, ''

More Life ''More Life'' is a commercial mixtape by Canadian rapper and singer Drake. Described and marketed as a playlist, some publications have referred to it as a mixtape. It was released on March 18, 2017, through Republic Records and distributed by Cas ...

'' (2017). The song features a guest appearance from British rapper Giggs and was written by Drake, Giggs, Courtney Clyburn, and Cameron Shaikh. It was produced by Ness and Chef Pasquale. The song saw commercial and critical success in the

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where it peaked at number nine on the

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and was later nominated for "Best Track" at the 2017

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Rated Awards. "KMT" was additionally certified Gold by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

in the

Background

Controversy

On January 28, 2017, "KMT" was previewed on stage by Drake during a concert in

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. The song was compared by users on social media to American rapper

XXXTentacion Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...

's song " Look at Me" due to the similarity in flows, resulting in significant online controversy. While these events were taking place, XXXTentacion was incarcerated for

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charges. After being granted parole, XXXTentacion was released from jail on March 26, 2017. Before appearing for an interview on

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radio station

103.5 The Beat WMIB (103.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is an urban contemporary radio station in South Florida, United States. It is licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but it also serves Miami and the Miami metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia an ...

, he spoke with fans using the live video streaming app

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. During the interview with 103.5 The Beat, XXXTentacion claimed that Drake contacted a DJ that he had been associated with. According to the DJ, Drake was supposed to contact XXXTentacion's manager, but that did not occur. XXXTentacion also claimed that shortly after these exchanges took place, one of his friends contacted him during his incarceration and had shown him a live performance of "KMT" following comparisons to the similarity in flow from fans. XXXTentacion later joined his fans in accusing Drake of taking his style from "Look at Me". Drake later appeared on an interview with

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, where he addressed the controversy. Drake claimed that a few days after performing the track with Giggs he saw comments on Instagram accusing him of stealing XXXTentacion's flow. Drake maintained that he had never heard of XXXTentacion or his track, "Look at Me" prior to the controversy. He then goes on to explain that he searched for the song that was being referenced, and that he could see where people could draw the comparison.

Samples

"KMT" has two credited samples. One of the samples, "His World", was composed by

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and was performed by

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and

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of the band Zebrahead. "His World" is best known as the theme song from the 2006 video game, ''

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'', which also serves as the theme of Sonic. When asked about the sample on Twitter, Ohtani said he was surprised and honoured that the song was sampled. The other sample was taken from a live version of "

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" by English rapper and fellow album collaborator,

Skepta Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...

Reception

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'' magazine interviewed American listeners to see how they felt Giggs fit into the song. Interviewees said that a distinction between rappers from the United Kingdom as opposed to North America is that rappers from the UK focus more on the lyrics whereas North American rappers focus more on the flow. Multiple respondents said that Giggs' contribution did not work well with the track. In another piece ''Vice'' claimed that Drake had to conform to American standards during his rise to fame and it was only recently that he had been able to incorporate Torontonian culture into his music. In '' GQ'', it was further elaborated that the branding of the album as a "playlist" could be explained by Drake wanting to produce a project that was an incorporation of his favourite international artists. GQ went on to say that Drake's role in "KMT" was to introduce the song, and to let Giggs make it his own.

Commercial performance

North America

On April 8, 2017, "KMT" entered the charts at number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Canadian Hot 100 and remained in the top 100 until May 6, 2017. The song spent two weeks on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, entering the chart at number 48, its immediate peak, on April 8, 2017.

Europe

On March 24, 2017, "KMT" entered at number 9 on the

, becoming Drake's second-highest charting song from ''More Life'', after " Passionfruit" which peaked at number 3. "KMT" became Giggs' first top-ten entry on the UK Singles Chart. "KMT" also appeared on the UK R&B Charts and spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 2.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2017 songs Drake (musician) songs Giggs (rapper) songs Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Giggs (rapper) Trap music songs