Damn (album)

The beat for "Humble" was developed by Mike Will with the intention of recording with Gucci Mane, but later showed it to Kendrick Lamar. After recording, it was initially agreed upon that it would be released on Mike Will's debut album Ransom 2, but others convinced Lamar to keep it for his own next album. Lamar has said in interviews that the ability to play the album in reverse tracklist order was "premeditated ... in the studio": "It plays as a full story and even a better rhythm. It's one of my favorite rhythms and tempos within the album". Musical style Damn has been characterized as conscious rap with elements of trap, R&B, and pop. ==Artwork and title==

On April 11, 2017, Lamar revealed the cover artwork for Damn. The album cover was designed by Vlad Sepetov, who created the album covers for two of Lamar's projects – To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled Unmastered. Sepetov described Damns cover as "loud and abrasive" and "not uber political like To Pimp a Butterfly but it has energy". Sepetov went on to say the decision to put the Parental Advisory sticker in its unconventional position (near the center-right of the frame) was so it could be a part of the design instead of an "afterthought". In a radio interview on June 29, 2017, Lamar revealed the original title for the album was going to be What Happens on Earth Stays on Earth, but eventually settled on Damn. He stated the working title "didn't read right". Lamar went on to say about its final title, "There was so many different ways you could put it in my head. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. The loudness of the record. When I think about 'DNA', when I think of "Humble", when I think these records, it just felt like that." ==Release and promotion==

in 2017 On March 23, 2017, Lamar released a promotional single, "The Heart Part 4", which contained lyrics hinting at a possible April 7 release date for his fourth studio album. On April 7, 2017, the album was made available for pre-order and confirmed to be released on April 14. On April 11, Lamar revealed the track listing for Damn. Singles On March 30, 2017, Lamar released the album's lead single, "Humble", accompanied by a music video. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. "Loyalty" featuring Rihanna, was released as the album's second single on June 20, 2017, to rhythmic and urban contemporary radio. The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Love" featuring Zacari, was released as the album's third single on October 2, 2017, to rhythmic contemporary radio. It was released to contemporary hit radio on November 21, 2017. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song entered at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lamar's second highest-charting song as a solo artist after "Humble". The song peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. ==Critical reception==

Damn was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 95, based on 39 reviews. Eric Renner Brown of Entertainment Weekly said, "After delving into the personal on 2012's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and going broader on Butterfly, Lamar has found a middle ground on Damn. that yields some of his most emotionally resonant music yet". Rankings Industry awards ==Commercial performance==

In the United States, Damn debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 603,000 album-equivalent units in its first week of release, becoming his third consecutive album after To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled Unmastered to reach the nation's summit. It sold 353,000 copies in its first week and accumulated over 340 million streams. In its second week, the album remained at the top of the US charts with 238,000 album-equivalent units of which 87,000 were traditional album sales, bringing the sales to a total of 841,000 units. In its third week, the album continued to top the charts with 173,000 album-equivalent units of which 57,000 were traditional album sales, bringing the sales to a total of 1.014 million units. As of April 2018, Damn had sold 1,002,000 copies and earned 3,137,000 album-equivalent units in the US. On May 10, 2018, the album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of 3 million units. In the United Kingdom, Damn sold 30,000 units in its first week and entered at number two on the UK Albums Chart. According to IFPI, it was the seventh best selling album of 2017, with 1.3 million copies shipped globally. Damn was ranked as the number one album of the year on the Billboard 200 in 2017. In 2018, Damn was ranked as the thirteenth most popular album of the year on the Billboard 200. ==Track listing==

Notes • signifies an additional producer • signifies an uncredited co-producer • signifies a vocal producer • Every song is stylized in all caps with a period at the end of their titles, including featured artist credits. For example, "Yah" is stylized as "YAH." • Some CD pressings of the album have slight differences: "Pride" runs for 4 minutes and 31 seconds (4:31), "Love" runs for 3 minutes and 31 seconds (3:31), and "Fear" runs for 6 minutes and 54 seconds (6:54), bringing the total album length to 54 minutes and 2 seconds (54:02). This version of the album also features slightly different mixing. Sample credits • "Blood" and "DNA" contain elements of Fox News commentators Eric Bolling, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Geraldo Rivera criticizing Lamar's 2015 BET Awards performance. • "Feel" contains a sample of "Stormy", written and performed by O. C. Smith; and an interpolation from "Don't Let Me Down", written and performed by Fleurie. • "Loyalty" contains samples of "24K Magic", written by Bruno Mars, Christopher Brody Brown, and Philip Lawrence, as performed by Bruno Mars; "Shimmy Shimmy Ya", written by Russell Jones and Robert Diggs, as performed by Ol' Dirty Bastard; and "Get Your Mind Right Mami", written by Shawn Carter, Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr., Malik Cox, and Ricardo Thomas, as performed by Jay-Z featuring Snoop Dogg and Memphis Bleek. • "XXX" contains samples of "America", written by Daniel Tannenbaum, Tyler Reese, Sergiu Gherman, Richard Michael McRae, Kendrick Duckworth, Daniel Krieger, Craig Balmoris, and Alexander Botwin, and performed by Bekon; and "American Soul", written and performed by U2, featuring Lamar himself. • "Fear" contains a sample of "Poverty's Paradise", written by Dale Warren and performed by 24-Carat Black. • "God" contains a sample of "End of the World", written and performed by Illmind. • "Duckworth" contains samples of "Atari", written by Nai Palm and performed by Hiatus Kaiyote; "Be Ever Wonderful", written by Don Robey and Joe Scott, as performed by Ted Taylor; "Ostavi Trag", written by September; and "Let the Drums Speak", written by Bill Curtis and performed by the Fatback Band. ==Personnel==

Adapted from the album liner notes and AllMusic. Production and music • 9th Wonder – production ("Duckworth") • Anna Wise – additional vocals ("Pride") • Alan "The Alchemist" Maman – producer ("Fear") • Bekon – additional vocals ("Blood", "Yah", "Pride", "XXX", "Fear", "God", "Duckworth") • Carl Duckworth – additional vocals ("Fear") • Charles Edward Sydney Isom Jr. – additional vocals ("Fear") • Chelsea Blythe – additional vocals ("Feel") • DJ Dahi – additional vocals ("Loyalty") • Dave Free – associate producer • Dr. Dre – executive producer • Kamasi Washington – strings ("Lust") • Kaytranada – additional vocals ("Lust") • Kendrick Lamar – vocals; additional keys ("XXX") • Kid Capri – additional vocals ("Element", "Love", "XXX", "Duckworth") • Kuk Harrell – vocal production for Rihanna • Matt Schaeffer – guitar ("Humble"); additional guitar ("DNA", "Feel") • Mike Hector – additional drums ("God") • Rat Boy – additional vocals ("Lust") • Steve Lacy – background vocals, production ("Pride") • Thundercat – bass ("Feel") Technical • Blake Harden – recording ("Lust", "Duckworth") at Windmark Studios • Brendan Silas Perry – additional recording ("Element", "Love", "Duckworth") • Cyrus Taghipour – mix assistant • Derek "MixedByAli" Ali – mixing • James Hunt – engineer, mixing ("Element") • Marcos Tovar – vocal recording for Rihanna (at Windmark Studios) • Matt Schaeffer – engineer ("Humble"); mixing ("Element") • Mike Bozzi – mastering at Bernie Grundman in Hollywood, California • Sounwave – mixing ("Feel") • Tyler Page – mix assistant • Zeke Mishanec – additional recording ("Element", "Love", "Duckworth") Art • Dave Free – creative direction, photography • Kendrick Lamar – creative direction • Roberto Reyes – photography • Vladimir Sepetov – creative direction ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts ==Certifications and sales==