DAMN.

DAMN.

by Kendrick Lamar
DAMN.

DAMN.

by Kendrick Lamar

Vinyl LP(Long Playing Record)

$42.99 
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Overview

To Pimp a Butterfly's proper and oft-biblical follow-up arrived on Good Friday, 13 months after untitled unmastered., an intermediary release that eclipsed the best work of most contemporary artists. If Kendrick Lamar felt pressure to continue living up to his previous output, there's no evidence on DAMN. He's too occupied tracing the spectrum of his mental states, from "boxin' demons" to "flex on swole," questioning and reveling in his affluence, castigating and celebrating his bloodline, humble enough to relate his vulnerabilities, assured enough to proclaim "Ain't none of y'all fuckin' with the flow." Throughout, he intensely examines most of the seven deadly sins, aware all along that his existence is threatened by anyone who objects to the color of his skin or clothes -- or, in the case of the blind stranger who shoots him during the album's opener, nothing that is apparent. Compared to the maximum-capacity, genre-twisting vastness and winding narratives of Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City and To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN. on the surface seems like a comparatively simple rap album that demands less from the listener. There's relative concision in the track titles and material, and a greater emphasis on commercial sounds -- such as Mike WiLL's lean and piano-laced trap beat for the strong-arming "HUMBLE.," Lamar's first Top Ten pop hit, and a couple productions that are merely functional backdrops lacking distinction. In a way, however, DAMN. is just as lavish and singular as the preceding albums, its quantity and weight of thoughts and connected concepts condensed into a considerably tighter space. It contains some of Lamar's best writing and performances, revealing his evolving complexity and versatility as a soul-baring lyricist and dynamic rapper. Although it's occasionally distorted, stretched, smeared, and reversed to compelling and imagination-fueling effect, his voice is at its most affecting in its many untreated forms. Take "FEAR.," in which he switches between echoing hot-blooded parental threats to enumerating, with a 40-acre stare, various death scenarios. His storytelling hits an astonishing new high on "Duckworth," the album's finale. Over ethereal funk sewn by 9th Wonder, Lamar details a potentially tragic encounter between his father and future Top Dawg CEO Anthony Tiffith -- and the conditions leading to it -- that occurred long before Kung Fu Kenny was known as K. Dot. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date: 07/14/2017
Label: Aftermath
UPC: 0602557618280
Rank: 184

Tracks

Disc 1

  1. BLOOD.
  2. DNA.
  3. YAH.
  4. ELEMENT.
  5. FEEL.
  6. LOYALTY.
  7. PRIDE.

Disc 2

  1. HUMBLE.
  2. LUST.
  3. LOVE.
  4. XXX.
  5. FEAR.
  6. GOD.
  7. DUCKWORTH.

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kendrick Lamar   Primary Artist,Rap,Vocals,Keyboards,Lead Vocals
U2   Featured Artist
Rihanna   Vocals,Featured Artist
Charles Edward   Vocals
Kid Capri   Vocals
Kamasi Washington   Strings
Marcos Tovar   Vocals
Charles Edwards   Vocals
Thundercat   Bass
DJ Dahi   Vocals
Sounwave   Strings
Chelsea Blythe   Vocals
Matt Schaeffer   Guitar
Kaytranada   Vocals
Anna Wise   Vocals (Background)
Steve Lacy   Vocals (Background)
Rat Boy   Vocals
Zacari   Vocals,Featured Artist
Bekon   Violin,Vocals
Charles Edward Sydney Isom Jr.   Vocals
Carl Duckworth   Vocals
Mike Hector   Drums

Technical Credits

Larry Mullen, Jr.   Composer
The Edge   Composer
Don Robey   Composer
Juvenile   Composer
Darryl McDaniels   Composer
Joseph Simmons   Composer
Phillip Terry   Composer
Rick Rubin   Composer
Rihanna   Composer
9th Wonder   Mixing,Producer
David Harrell   Assistant
Michael Burton   Composer
Mannie Fresh   Composer
Kuk Harrell   Vocal Producer
James Hunt   Mixing,Engineer
Kid Capri   Mixing
Bono   Composer
Greg Kurstin   Composer,Producer
Dr. Dre   Executive Producer
John King   Composer
Adam Clayton   Composer
Adam Horovitz   Composer
The Alchemist   Producer
George Williams   Composer
Bruno Mars   Composer
Marcos Tovar   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Paul Hewson   Composer
Philip Lawrence   Composer
Bill Curtis   Composer
Richard Cornwell   Composer
Earl Shelton   Composer
Johnny Flippin   Composer
Roberto Reyes   Photography
Mike Bozzi   Mastering
Anna Wise   Composer,Composer
Christopher Brown   Composer
Brock Korsan   A&R,Composer
Anthony "TOPDAWG" Tiffith   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Dale Warren   Composer
Blake Harden   Engineer
Terrace Martin   Composer,Producer
Daniel Alan Maman   Composer
James Blake   Composer,Producer
Joseph W. Scott   Composer
Patrick Douthit   Composer
DJ Dahi   Producer
Peter Ugrin   Composer
Derek "MixedByAli" Ali   Mixing
Simon Mavin   Composer
Michael Williams   Composer,Producer
Kendrick Lamar   A&R,Composer,Creative Director
Cardo   Producer
Dave Free   Photography,Creative Director,Associate Producer
Sounwave   Mixing,Producer
Kendrick Duckworth   Composer
David Evans   Composer
Ricci Riera   Composer,Producer
Asheton Hogan   Composer
Mike WiLL Made-It   Composer,Producer
Daniel Tannenbaum   Composer
Robyn Fenty   Composer
Chester Hansen   Composer
BadBadNotGood   Producer
Alexander Sowinski   Composer
Dacoury Natche   Composer
Mark Spears   Composer
Zeke Mishanec   Engineer
Perrin Moss   Composer
Matthew Tavares   Composer
Matt Schaeffer   Mixing,Engineer
Tae Beast   Additional Production
Leland Whitty   Composer
Louis Kevin Celestin   Composer
Daveon Jackson   Composer
Alan Maman   Composer
Paul Bender   Composer
Teddy Walton   Composer,Producer
Steve Lacy   Composer,Producer
Ronald LaTour   Composer
Naomi Saalfield   Composer
Jordan Cardy   Composer
Brendan Silas Parry   Engineer
Zacari Pacaldo   Composer
Bekon   Producer,Additional Production
Tyler Page   Mixing,Mixing Assistant
Cyrus Taghipour   Mixing,Mixing Assistant
Derrick McCall   Assistant
Edgar Moreno   Assistant
Vladimir Sepetov   Creative Director
Mike Will   Producer
Adolf Topic   Composer
Pero Ugrin   Composer
Janez Boncina   Composer
Jean Matyka   Composer
Travis Walton   Composer
George Noah Booth   Composer
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