Damn (Kendrick Lamar album)
Damn (stylized as DAMN.) is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. Released on April 14, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records, critical accolades followed including a Pulitzer Prize for Music and the Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. The album features guest appearances from Rihanna, Zacari, and U2.
"DAMN." redirects here. For other uses, see Damn (disambiguation).Damn
April 14, 2017
Late 2016 – 2017
- Henson (Hollywood)
- Jungle City (New York City)
- No Excuses
- Windmark (Santa Monica)
54:54
Lamar assembled numerous artists and producers to produce 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.
The album has been categorized as conscious hip hop, a genre Lamar incorporated on his previous studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly. The album 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 critical acclaim, 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. In 2020, the album was ranked 175th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Artwork and title[edit]
On April 11, 2017, Lamar revealed the cover artwork for Damn.[8][9] The album cover was designed by Vlad Sepetov, who created the album covers for Lamar's last two projects – To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled Unmastered. Sepetov described Damn's cover as "loud and abrasive" and "not uber political like To Pimp a Butterfly but it has energy".[10] Sepetov goes on to say the decision to put the Parental Advisory sticker in its unconventional position was so it could be a part of the design instead of an "afterthought".[10] Billboard listed the cover as one of the best of 2017, dubbing it "both meme-able and memorable".[11]
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".[12] 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."[12]
Commercial performance[edit]
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 (2015) and Untitled Unmastered (2016) to reach the nation's summit. It sold 353,000 copies in its first week and accumulated over 340 million streams.[70] 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.[71] 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.[72] As of April 2018, Damn had sold 1,002,000 copies and earned 3,137,000 album-equivalent units in the US.[73]
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 three million units.[74] The album also opened atop the Canadian Albums Chart with 35,000 consumption units and 25.4 million streams, becoming the rapper's third consecutive album to arrive at number one.[75] In the United Kingdom, Damn sold 30,000 units in its first week and entered at number two on the UK Albums Chart.[76]
According to IFPI, it was the seventh best selling album of 2017, with 1.3 million copies shipped globally.[77] Damn was ranked as the number one album of the year on the Billboard 200 in 2017.[78] In 2018, Damn was ranked as the thirteenth most popular album of the year on the Billboard 200.[79]
Notes
Sample credits