M.A.A.D City

"M.A.A.D City" (stylized as "m.A.A.d city") is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his second studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). The song, which appears as the eighth track on the album, features a guest appearance from fellow Compton native and West Coast rapper MC Eiht. The song was produced by Top Dawg in-house producers THC and Sounwave for the first part of the instrumental, and Terrace Martin for the second part. The song peaked at number 75 on the BillboardHot 100.

In the song, Lamar tells the story of his upbringing in Compton and its results. The song features MC Eiht of American gangsta rap group Compton's Most Wanted. The song also features additional background vocals from Lamar's Black Hippy cohort Schoolboy Q, doing his signature ad-lib "yawk" four times during the refrain. He also explained "M.A.A.D" is an acronym for "My Angels on Angel Dust". It is also known as "My Angry Adolescence Divided."^[1]

On "M.A.A.D City", Lamar talks about driving down Rosecrans Avenue in Compton, references smoking the PCP-laced blunt that he smoked in "The Art of Peer Pressure," and talks about being fired from his job as a security guard for staging a robbery. Lamar also talks about how he saw his uncle being shot at a local burger stand.^[2] The song features the violent climatic change in the Good Kid, M.A.A.D City story.^[3]

The song was met with universal acclaim from music critics, praising the production and both rappers' performances.^[4][5]XXL called "M.A.A.D City" the album's "creative and cinematic climax."^[6] David Amidon of PopMatters praised the song's production saying, it "feels like Dr. Dre's The Chronic had a love child with Dr Dre's 2001.^[7] Andrew Nosnitsky of Spin described MC Eiht's appearance as show stealing.^[8]Complex named the song number 25 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2012.^[9]

The week of the October 2012 release of Good Kid M.A.A.D City, "M.A.A.D City" debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to high downloads. For unknown reasons, the track re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending September 8, 2013, at number 98.^[10] Following Lamar's performance of the song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, the song re-entered the chart, reaching a new peak of number 75 on the chart.^[11]

El 31 de marzo de 2013, Lamar cerró la parte de Good Kid MAAD City del set de Black Hippy , en Paid Dues 2013 con "MAAD City". ^{[ 12 ]} Durante su gira mundial Good Kid MAAD City el 12 de julio de 2013, Lamar interpretó "MAAD City" en Birmingham, Inglaterra mientras estaba acompañado por una banda en vivo. ^{[ 13 ]} Lamar también interpretó "MAAD City" y " Money Trees " junto a Jay Rock , en el concierto BET Experience en el Staples Center en Los Ángeles . ^{[ 14 ]} El 17 de septiembre de 2013, Lamar interpretó "MAAD City" en The Arsenio Hall Show , junto con el sencillo de Schoolboy Q " Collard Greens ". ^{[ 15 ]} El 28 de enero de 2014, Lamar interpretó "MAAD City" en SKEE Live de DJ Skee . ^{[ 16 ]} Posteriormente, en la 56.ª edición de los Premios Grammy , Lamar interpretó "MAAD City" nuevamente, junto con un remix de " Radioactive ", en una mezcla con la banda de rock estadounidense Imagine Dragons . ^{[ 17 ]} Luego, el 15 de febrero de 2014, Lamar interpretó "MAAD City" y " Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe " en la televisión nacional, durante la Noche del Sábado de las Estrellas de la NBA . ^{[ 18 ]} Lamar interpretó "MAAD City" en cada concierto del Damn Tour . ^{[ 19 ]} Fue interpretada por Lamar en el espectáculo de medio tiempo del Super Bowl LVI el 13 de febrero de 2022.

La canción fue sampleada para el mixtape debut de la cantante estadounidense Cassie, RockaByeBaby (2013), en la canción "I Know What You Want". ^{[ 20 ]} La canción también fue sampleada por el rapero dominicano Sensato , para su mixtape La Parte 3 Del 28 (2013), en la canción "Back in Business". ^{[ 21 ]}