The 60 Best Kendrick Lamar Songs

Partly inspired by piano-driven hip-hop classics like Marley Marl’s “The Symphony,” “HUMBLE.” finds Kendrick Lamar at his crowd-pleasing, arena-rap peak. Its chorus, spoken with a cadence akin to a head nod, is instantly memorable, while Mike Will Made It’s beat pushes along with a hard pulse. However, Lamar’s lyrics caused controversy: When he rapped about being “sick and tired of the Photoshop,” he was accused of being misogynistic about how women choose to present themselves. —M.R.

Lamar’s call for inner peace despite being “a sinner” remains one of his most soulful tracks. Producer Sounwave’s warm grooves include samples from Boom Clap Bachelors’ “Tiden Flyver,” a canvas on which Lamar raps about scarring changes in his life. Remixes and alternate versions with Emeli Sandé, Jay-Z, and surprisingly, Lady Gaga abound, but the album edition with frequent collaborator Anna Wise on vocals is arguably the best. —M.R.

“All my life, I want money power,” Kendrick Lamar repeats on the chorus of this good kid, m.A.A.d city highlight. “Respect my mind or die from lead shower.” Hit-Boy’s beat, originally made for Ciara, offers Kendrick a wealth of tools. As one of the most dexterous vocalists in rap history, the almost freewheeling melody lets him run loose, experimenting with a dazzling variety of tempos and vocal registers, making for his most purely exciting verse yet. In interviews, Kendrick has said that the verse was modeled from the cadences of Eminem. Kendrick sounds like only he can, though, and this track is dazzling. —J.B.

Listen to the way Lamar Kendrick raps “Ya bish” on his 2012 single “Money Trees.” It’s a syrupy, effortless drawl that lives on as one of the most enduring turns-of-phrases in modern pop culture. He’s rapping over a warped sample of Beach House’s dreamy indie-rock hit “Silver Soul,” courtesy of producer DJ Dahi. And the song, a benchmark for Lamar as a songwriter, finds him at his sharpest. The “Money Trees” in question are the trappings of success, and in what remains the best execution of his career, he confronts the demons that linger beneath ambition, and how the cost attached to reaching the top never seems quite worth it in the end. He measures his elevated skill without compromising any depth. It turns out that Lamar thrives in dichotomies, in the space between two poles — in the real world. —M.P.

The death blow of the Kendrick-Drake feud was also the most decisive victory in the entire history of hip-hop beef. “Not Like Us” not only irrevocably damaged the reputation hip-hop’s all-time biggest hitmaker, it did it while wop-wop-wopping its way up to Number One on the pop charts. Buoyed by that infectious DJ Mustard sproing, “certified boogeyman” Lamar selects the nuclear option, calling Drake a sex offender in half a dozen ways, dismantling his crewmates member-by-member and laying out a treatise on why the Canadian rapper is a “colonizer” of the American South. The fallout was so brutal that Drake pursued legal action against Universal Music Group. Amidst all this, the song won five Grammys, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.–C.W.

Shortly after its release, “Alright” became an anthem for the emerging Black Lives Matter movement, chanted at marches and protests. But to call this the “new civil rights anthem” only gets at part of its greatness. The brilliance of Kendrick is in his obliqueness. So why did this one resonate? “Alright” is what the movement looks and sounds like. Pharrell’s hook is not lofty — it doesn’t conjure up the divine, per se. It’s just a hands-on-your-shoulders-to-straighten-you-out affirmation. Fatigued from murder after senseless murder, Kendrick gave us all a triumphant moment to breathe easier. —W.D.