该死 (2017)

Damn (stylized as DAMN.) is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on April 14, 2017, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. Lamar assembled numerous artists and producers to create the album, including executive producer and Top Dawg Entertainment label head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It, and Ricci Riera, as well as further production contributions from James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, Greg Kurstin, the Alchemist, and 9th Wonder, among others. It features guest appearances from Rihanna, Zacari, and U2.

The album has been categorized as conscious hip-hop, but also incorporates elements of trap, contemporary R&B, and pop. Prior to the album's release, Lamar released a promotional single, "The Heart Part 4". In the months that followed, Lamar released three singles from the album; "Humble" was released in March 2017, "Loyalty" in June 2017, and "Love" in October 2017, the first of which became Lamar's first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist.

Damn received widespread acclaim from critics, with many naming the album one of the best albums of 2017 and the decade. The album topped the US Billboard 200 with 603,000 album-equivalent units earned in its first week and topped the chart of Canada while reaching number two in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in May 2018 and was the Billboard Year-End number one album of 2017. The album earned Lamar the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first time an artist outside of the classical and jazz genres received the honor. It also earned the Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. In 2020, Damn was ranked 175th on Rolling Stone's updated list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Recording and production

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.

"DNA" was the second song from the album to be recorded by Lamar and Mike Will, after "Humble". After the first verse of "DNA" was recorded with the beat that Mike Will had already prepared, Lamar started rapping the second verse a cappella, requesting that Mike Will build the beat around the rhymes. Lamar proposed that it sound like "chaos", and Mike Will put together the second half of the song with the intention to make it "sound like he's battling the beat".

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.