Recorded 2012 | Length 5:50 | |
Released October 22, 2012 (2012-10-22) Genre West Coast hip hop
gangsta rap
hardcore hip hop
g-funk Label Top Dawg
Aftermath
Interscope Writer(s) Kendrick Lamar Duckworth
Mark Spears
Ricci Riera
Axel Morgan
Aaron Tyler
Quincy Hanley | ||
"M.A.A.D City" (stylized "m.A.A.d city") is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar, from his major label debut studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). The song, which appears as the eighth track on the album, features a guest appearance from fellow Compton native and West Coast rapper MC Eiht. The song was produced by Top Dawg in-house producers THC and Sounwave for the first part of the beat, and Terrace Martin for the second part. The song peaked at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Contents
Background
In the song Lamar tells the story of his upbringing in corruption and its results. The song features MC Eiht of American gangsta rap group Compton's Most Wanted. The song also features additional background vocals from Lamar's Black Hippy cohort Schoolboy Q, doing his signature ad-lib during the refrain. He also explained "M.A.A.D" is an acronym for "Me an Angel on Angel Dust".
On "m.A.A.d city" Lamar talks about driving down Rosecrans Avenue in Compton, references smoking the PCP-laced blunt that he smoked in "The Art Of Peer Pressure," and talks about being fired from his job for a robbery. Lamar also talks about how he saw his uncle being shot at a local burger stand. The song features the violent climatic change in the Good Kid, M.A.A.D City story.
Critical reception
The song was met with universal acclaim from music critics, praising the production and both rappers' performances. XXL called "m.A.A.d city" the album's "creative and cinematic climax." David Amidon of PopMatters praised the songs production saying, it "feels like Dr. Dre's The Chronic had a love child with Chronic 2001. Andrew Nosnitsky of Spin described MC Eiht's appearance as show stealing. Complex named the song #25 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2012.
Commercial performance
The week of the October 2012 release of Good Kid m.A.A.d city, "m.A.A.d City" debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to high downloads. For unknown reasons, the track re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending September 8, 2013, at number 98. Following Lamar's performance of the song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, the song re-entered the chart, reaching a new peak of number 75 on the chart.
Live performances
On March 31, 2013, Lamar closed the Good Kid m.A.A.d City portion of Black Hippy's set, at Paid Dues 2013 with "m.A.A.d city". During his Good Kid m.A.A.d City World tour on July 12, 2013, Lamar performed "m.A.A.d city" in Birmingham, England while backed by a live band. Lamar also performed "m.A.A.d city" and "Money Trees" alongside Jay Rock, at the BET Experience concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. On September 17, 2013, Lamar performed "m.A.A.d city" on The Arsenio Hall Show, along with Schoolboy Q's single "Collard Greens". On January 28, 2014, Lamar performed "m.A.A.d city" on DJ Skee's SKEE Live. Following that, at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Lamar performed "m.A.A.d city" again, along with a remix to "Radioactive", in a mash-up with American rock band Imagine Dragons. Then on February 15, 2014, Lamar performed "m.A.A.d city" and "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" on national television, during NBA's All-Star Saturday Night.
Remixes
The song was sampled for American singer Cassie's debut mixtape RockaByeBaby (2013), on the song "I Know What You Want". The song was also sampled by Dominican hip hop recording artist Sensato, for his mixtape La Parte 3 Del 28 (2013), on the song "Back in Business".