Lamar wanted to discuss life in his native Compton, California, on the album.Īfter the release and success of his debut studio album Section.80 (2011), Kendrick Lamar signed a major label record deal with Interscope Records and Dr. In 2020, the album was ranked 115th on Rolling Stone 's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was later certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album was also named to many end-of-the-year lists, often topping them. It became Lamar's first album to enter the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 16, and entering the UK R&B Albums Chart at number two. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 242,000 copies in its first week – earning the highest first-week hip hop album sales of 2012 from a male artist. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its thematic scope and Lamar's lyrics. Lamar also went on a world tour between May and August 2013, featuring the other members of the hip hop collective, Black Hippy.
All five singles achieved chart success of varying degrees. The album was supported by five singles – " The Recipe", " Swimming Pools (Drank)", " Backseat Freestyle", " Poetic Justice", and " Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". The album earned Lamar four Grammy Award nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. Billed as a "short film by Kendrick Lamar" on the album cover, the concept album follows the story of Lamar's teenage experiences in the drug-infested streets and gang lifestyle of his native Compton. Dre, Just Blaze, Pharrell Williams, Hit-Boy, Scoop DeVille, Jack Splash, and T-Minus, among others, contributing to the album. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City was recorded mostly at several studios in California, with producers such as Dr. It is Lamar's major label debut, after his independently released first album Section.80 in 2011 and his signing to Aftermath and Interscope the following year. Dre, Jay-Z, Jay Rock, Anna Wise, and MC Eiht. The album features guest appearances from Drake, Dr. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The handwriting for both covers was scrawled by TDE member Schoolboy Q, who also did many of the album’s adlibs and wrote on the classic cover for TPAB.Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (stylized as good kid, m.A.A.d city) is the second studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. The album cover for the deluxe features his mother’s van that was referenced in the album sitting in the driveway of Lamar’s childhood home. “That photo says so much about my life and about how I was raised in Compton and the things I’ve seen" Although the black strips highlighted that the story was told through Lamar’s eyes, Clark stated they were a legal decision pushed by Interscope to obscure identities. Above where his uncle shows a C for Crips, a photograph of Kendrick and his father hangs. Speaking on the bottle, Top Dawg President Punch said “growing up as a kid… it was always around my household, and the households of a lot of people I know”. On the table, a 40oz bottle lies next to a baby bottle, hinting to the issues in ‘Swimming’. In the original album cover, Kendrick’s uncles are to his left, and his grandfather to his right. “… he doesn’t care what people will think and his art speaks for itself, and I appreciate that audacity.” - Don Clark for EyeonDesign The cover didn’t use original polaroids - Clark took 4圆 portraits given to him by Lamar, and distressed the photographs until they had the distinct texture. In fact, Lamar had planned the cover (as well as much of the album’s content) years prior, stating to Complex "everything was premeditated". However, speaking to EyeonDesign, he explained Kendrick already knew “exactly what he wanted”. The M.A.A.d acronym stood for “My Angry Adolescence Divided” and “My Angels on Angel Dust” (the latter referring to his “first blunt” laced with PCP).ĭesigner Don Clark initially wasn’t a fan of the concept - he fought against the photo of the minivan as he felt it wasn’t worthy of a cover, and didn’t think the graffiti font worked. The title came from a nickname he had given himself - Good Kid in a Mad City. When Kendrick Lamar burst onto the scene with his major-label debut, listeners were greeted with two striking covers.