Without fail, my favorite albums are concept albums. I love something I can listen to from beginning to end, discover a new detail or think about in a new way given the different context within my life. Some of those albums have been commercially successful and others haven’t.
Even the ones that were commercially successful such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Tommy, I’m not so sure they would see the same level of success today. I have little doubt in my mind that Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly will ascend to legendary heights of critical acclaim, but it will never see a great deal of commercial success.
Lamar’s recent foray into pop with his featured verses on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” video have convinced me more than ever that he’s taking a new approach to how he separates his artistic endeavors from his commercial.
Taylor Swift may have critics throwing out highly justifiable claims that she’s “the center of the pop culture universe” especially after breaking the record for number of views on Vevo with 20.1 million in 24 hours. Only a few artists can even attempt to reach the same numbers as she can and only Beyonce matches her on the level of cultural phenomena. But they don’t have the same kind of critical acclaim that is given to Kendrick. Likewise, Kendrick doesn’t reach those same chart-topping numbers.
Kendrick doesn’t have to match those same commercial numbers because he’s been able to take advantage of commercial success as a featured artist. Nowhere is that more evident than on “Bad Blood.”
Since the release of Good Kid Mad City, Kendrick has been featured on 41 different tracks with even more in the pipeline.
1) “Fuckin’ Problems” — ASAP Rocky Ft. Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar
2) “Let Us Move On” — Dido Ft. Kendrick Lamar
3) “Live In My Bed” — Frank Anthony Ft. Kendrick Lamar
4) “YOLO” — The Lonely Island Ft. Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar
5) “How Many Drinks?” — Miguel Ft. Kendrick Lamar
6) “Wake Up” — 50 Cent Ft. Kendrick Lamr
7) “Memories Back Then” — T.I. Ft. B.o.B, Kendrick Lamar and Kris Stephense
8) “Looks Good With Trouble” — Solange Ft. Kendrick Lamar
9) “Street Dreamin’” — Bridget Kelly Ft. Kendrick Lamar
10) “Compton’s Finest” — H.O.P.E. Wright Ft. Kendrick Lamar
11) “Collard Greens” — ScHoolboy Q Ft. Kendrick Lamar
12) “Fragile” — Tech N9ne Ft. Kendrick Lamar, !Mayday! and Kendall Morgan
13) “Forbidden Fruit” — J Cole Ft. Kendrick Lamar
14) “Give It 2 U” — Robin Thicke Ft. Kendrick Lamar and 2Chainz
15) “Jealous” — Fredo Santana Ft. Kendrick Lamar
16) “Radioactive” — Imagine Dragons Ft. Kendrick Lamar
17) “Nosetalgia” — Pusha T Ft. Kendrick Lamar
18) “It’s On Again” — Alicia Keys Ft. Kendrick Lamar
19) “Buy The World” — Mike Will Made It Ft. Future, Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar
20) “That’s Me Right There” — Jasmine V Ft. Kendrick Lamar
21) “Solo Dolo Part II” — Kid Cudi Ft. Kendrick Lamar
22) “Better Off” — Quadron Ft. Kendrick Lamar
23) “Crime” — Mayer Hawthorne Ft. Kendrick Lamar
24) “Paper Birds” — Meek DeMeo Ft. Kendrick Lamar
25) “Rossi Wine” — Droop-E Ft. Kendrick Lamar
26) “100 Favors” — Birdman Ft. Detail Kendrick Lamar
27) “Tangle Ship” — Terrace Martin Ft. Kendrick Lamar
28) “Love Game” — Eminem Ft. Kendrick Lamar
29) “Stay Ready (What A Life) — Jhene Aiko Ft. Kendrick Lamar
30) “Winner Circle” — Kanin Ft. Kendrick Lamar
31) “Backwards” — Tame Impala Ft. Kendrick Lamar (Divergent)
32) “Really Be (Smokin’ N Drinkin’) — YG Ft. Kendrick Lamar
33) “Babylon” — SZA Ft. Kendrick Lamar
34) “Kendrick Lamar’s Interlude” — Ab-Soul Ft. Kendrick Lamar
35) “Drugs On The Schoolyard” — Blue The Misfit Ft. Kendrick Lamar
36) “Go Off” — Reek da Villain Ft. Ace Hood, Swizz Beatz and Kendrick Lamar
37) “Autumn Leaves” — Chris Brown Ft. Kendrick Lamar
38) “Never Catch Me” — Flying Lotus Ft. Kendrick Lamar
39) “I’m Ya Dogg” — Snoop Dogg Ft. Rick Ross
40) “All Day” — Kanye West Ft. Kendrick Lamar
41) “Bad Blood” — Taylor Swift Ft. Kendrick Lamar
I haven’t gone through other artist’s catalogs to compare the number of featured tracks, but I can’t imagine it’s more than 41 over the course of about three years. Not only is Lamar putting out an extraordinary amount of music, but it’s also all such high quality, even when the song itself isn’t.
Peruse the comment sections of these songs on YouTube and most of them are riddled with people saying Kendrick was the best part of the tune or that he saved the song.
For me, that moment came during his 2014 Grammy performance alongside one of my least favorite bands out there today — Imagine Dragons. Before launching into the heart pounding bridge, Kendrick laid out his philosophy for being a featured artist.
“Alright, this night everybody understand me. I need y’all to recognize that plan B is to win your hearts right here at the Grammy’s.”
Each performance as a featured artist is a way to gain new fans and win new hearts. He’s certainly reached a lot of new fans with the “Bad Blood” video. It even features a line from “Backseat Freestyle,” perhaps pointing some Swift fans to Kendrick’s older work. It’s something he’s implemented on a number of other songs but this one will have a far wider reach.
In an era where musicians are struggling to find revenue sources and how to balance that with artistic integrity, Kendrick Lamar seems to have a sound model at play.
Even the ones that were commercially successful such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Tommy, I’m not so sure they would see the same level of success today. I have little doubt in my mind that Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly will ascend to legendary heights of critical acclaim, but it will never see a great deal of commercial success.
Lamar’s recent foray into pop with his featured verses on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” video have convinced me more than ever that he’s taking a new approach to how he separates his artistic endeavors from his commercial.
Taylor Swift may have critics throwing out highly justifiable claims that she’s “the center of the pop culture universe” especially after breaking the record for number of views on Vevo with 20.1 million in 24 hours. Only a few artists can even attempt to reach the same numbers as she can and only Beyonce matches her on the level of cultural phenomena. But they don’t have the same kind of critical acclaim that is given to Kendrick. Likewise, Kendrick doesn’t reach those same chart-topping numbers.
Kendrick doesn’t have to match those same commercial numbers because he’s been able to take advantage of commercial success as a featured artist. Nowhere is that more evident than on “Bad Blood.”
Since the release of Good Kid Mad City, Kendrick has been featured on 41 different tracks with even more in the pipeline.
1) “Fuckin’ Problems” — ASAP Rocky Ft. Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar
2) “Let Us Move On” — Dido Ft. Kendrick Lamar
3) “Live In My Bed” — Frank Anthony Ft. Kendrick Lamar
4) “YOLO” — The Lonely Island Ft. Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar
5) “How Many Drinks?” — Miguel Ft. Kendrick Lamar
6) “Wake Up” — 50 Cent Ft. Kendrick Lamr
7) “Memories Back Then” — T.I. Ft. B.o.B, Kendrick Lamar and Kris Stephense
8) “Looks Good With Trouble” — Solange Ft. Kendrick Lamar
9) “Street Dreamin’” — Bridget Kelly Ft. Kendrick Lamar
10) “Compton’s Finest” — H.O.P.E. Wright Ft. Kendrick Lamar
11) “Collard Greens” — ScHoolboy Q Ft. Kendrick Lamar
12) “Fragile” — Tech N9ne Ft. Kendrick Lamar, !Mayday! and Kendall Morgan
13) “Forbidden Fruit” — J Cole Ft. Kendrick Lamar
14) “Give It 2 U” — Robin Thicke Ft. Kendrick Lamar and 2Chainz
15) “Jealous” — Fredo Santana Ft. Kendrick Lamar
16) “Radioactive” — Imagine Dragons Ft. Kendrick Lamar
17) “Nosetalgia” — Pusha T Ft. Kendrick Lamar
18) “It’s On Again” — Alicia Keys Ft. Kendrick Lamar
19) “Buy The World” — Mike Will Made It Ft. Future, Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar
20) “That’s Me Right There” — Jasmine V Ft. Kendrick Lamar
21) “Solo Dolo Part II” — Kid Cudi Ft. Kendrick Lamar
22) “Better Off” — Quadron Ft. Kendrick Lamar
23) “Crime” — Mayer Hawthorne Ft. Kendrick Lamar
24) “Paper Birds” — Meek DeMeo Ft. Kendrick Lamar
25) “Rossi Wine” — Droop-E Ft. Kendrick Lamar
26) “100 Favors” — Birdman Ft. Detail Kendrick Lamar
27) “Tangle Ship” — Terrace Martin Ft. Kendrick Lamar
28) “Love Game” — Eminem Ft. Kendrick Lamar
29) “Stay Ready (What A Life) — Jhene Aiko Ft. Kendrick Lamar
30) “Winner Circle” — Kanin Ft. Kendrick Lamar
31) “Backwards” — Tame Impala Ft. Kendrick Lamar (Divergent)
32) “Really Be (Smokin’ N Drinkin’) — YG Ft. Kendrick Lamar
33) “Babylon” — SZA Ft. Kendrick Lamar
34) “Kendrick Lamar’s Interlude” — Ab-Soul Ft. Kendrick Lamar
35) “Drugs On The Schoolyard” — Blue The Misfit Ft. Kendrick Lamar
36) “Go Off” — Reek da Villain Ft. Ace Hood, Swizz Beatz and Kendrick Lamar
37) “Autumn Leaves” — Chris Brown Ft. Kendrick Lamar
38) “Never Catch Me” — Flying Lotus Ft. Kendrick Lamar
39) “I’m Ya Dogg” — Snoop Dogg Ft. Rick Ross
40) “All Day” — Kanye West Ft. Kendrick Lamar
41) “Bad Blood” — Taylor Swift Ft. Kendrick Lamar
I haven’t gone through other artist’s catalogs to compare the number of featured tracks, but I can’t imagine it’s more than 41 over the course of about three years. Not only is Lamar putting out an extraordinary amount of music, but it’s also all such high quality, even when the song itself isn’t.
Peruse the comment sections of these songs on YouTube and most of them are riddled with people saying Kendrick was the best part of the tune or that he saved the song.
For me, that moment came during his 2014 Grammy performance alongside one of my least favorite bands out there today — Imagine Dragons. Before launching into the heart pounding bridge, Kendrick laid out his philosophy for being a featured artist.
“Alright, this night everybody understand me. I need y’all to recognize that plan B is to win your hearts right here at the Grammy’s.”
Each performance as a featured artist is a way to gain new fans and win new hearts. He’s certainly reached a lot of new fans with the “Bad Blood” video. It even features a line from “Backseat Freestyle,” perhaps pointing some Swift fans to Kendrick’s older work. It’s something he’s implemented on a number of other songs but this one will have a far wider reach.
In an era where musicians are struggling to find revenue sources and how to balance that with artistic integrity, Kendrick Lamar seems to have a sound model at play.