"Humble" was the first song to be recorded for Damn.[10] The beat for "Humble" was developed by Mike Will Made It, with the intention of recording the song with Gucci Mane. However, the song was later shown to Lamar. After recording, it was initially agreed upon that it would be released on Mike Will Made's debut album Ransom 2, but others convinced Lamar to keep it for his upcoming album.[10]
Critical receptionedit
On the day of its release Pitchfork named it Best New Track, noting that, "[Humble] is a hard-nosed G check of his lessers, that pivots into imperfect critiques of beauty standards".[11]NPR's Andrew Flanagan thought, "the song, less exploration of contrition on the part of Lamar than an instruction to his peers, picks up a thread NPR Music first examined following that album teaser: how the 'best rapper alive' might explore the theme of God, religion and personal growth."[12] For Alex Young of Consequence of Sound, "it's got all the ingredients of a proper lead single: a Mike WiLL Made It-produced beat built on piano and 808 bass, a chorus you can spit along to ('Sit down/ Be humble'), and shoutouts to Grey Poupon and the former president."[13] Writing for The Guardian, Harriet Gibson explained how the song is, "sparse and rigid, beginning with the crunching swipes of an electric guitar, and is led by beats and sinister stabs of piano. It is a showcase for his authoritative lyricism and preacher-like message, while the instrumentation is far from the complex jazz and funk sounds of To Pimp a Butterfly... In fact, Humble has more in common with grime's minimalism than it does the vintage stylings of his recent output."[14]
Entertainment Weekly labelled it the best song of the year.[15]Rolling Stone considered it the third-best,[16] and Billboard the sixth.[17] In 2018, Billboard ranked the song number one on their list of the 20 greatest Kendrick Lamar songs,[18] and in 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the song number eight on their list of the 50 greatest Kendrick Lamar songs.[19]
Chart performanceedit
"Humble" debuted at number two and later peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lamar's first number one and highest-charting single as a lead artist, surpassing "Swimming Pools (Drank)", which peaked at number 17 in 2012.[20][21] It became his second number one single overall after "Bad Blood", by Taylor Swift featuring Lamar. It was also his fourth top 10 single, and marked the highest debut for a hip hop song since "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna. Selling well over 111,000 copies in its first week, "Humble" became Kendrick Lamar's second number one on the Digital Songs chart, following "Bad Blood".[20] The song was at number 1 on the Hot 100 for one week but was replaced by Bruno Mars's "That's What I Like" on May 1, 2017. The song spent its first 15 weeks in the top 10 of the Hot 100, before dropping to number 11 on the week dated August 5, 2017.[22] "Humble" is the only rap song in 2017 to sell over 1,000,000 digital copies and its certified 14× platinum in the United States.[23]
The song also peaked at number one in New Zealand, number two in Australia (where it was later voted into first place in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2017) and Canada, and reached the top 10 in Ireland and the UK.
Music videoedit
Directed by Dave Meyers and The Little Homies and released on March 30, 2017, on Kendrick Lamar's Vevo account,[24] the song's accompanying music video starts with Lamar dressed like the pope in a cope, before then showing Lamar in all black lying on a table of money, "ignorantly" shooting loads of bills from a cash cannon. It also features a reenactment of Leonardo da Vinci's 15th-century painting, The Last Supper, with Lamar sitting in Jesus' chair as his disciples "unappreciatively" gorge on wine and bread.[25] He is also seen teeing off on top of a car, passing mustard between cars mimicking a Grey Poupon commercial and at one point the top of his head is in flames.[26] Fellow TDE rapper Jay Rock and producer Sounwave appear in the video alongside other TDE members.
Reviewing the music video, Billboard editor Brad Wete thought it "is a poignant exercise in irony and is also filled with messaging that could be perceived as anti-conformist." He concluded saying "His raps are filterless; he tells it like it is. So it's no surprise that this dynamic video is essentially what Lamar is as an artist: balanced with a clear message."[25] Althea Legaspi of Rolling Stone described it as "richly symbolic."[26] For Harriet Gibson of The Guardian, "the brilliantly cinematic video, with its fish-eye lens and cartoonish stylising, recalls classic Hype Williams, and leads the viewer through these passages of assignation, fleshing out Lamar's ideas. It breathes life into a song that would hardly be considered his greatest creation, but neatly lays out a mood of intent."[14] Matt Miller of Esquire opined about the rapper's videography: "in recent years, Kendrick Lamar has revived the music video as a powerful form of social commentary."[27] The music video has ammased over 900 million views on YouTube as of April 2023, becoming Lamar's most viewed video on his channel.[28]
A remix of the song is also featured in the teaser trailer for Shazam!.[citation needed]
The song was featured in the Super Bowl LVI halftime show trailer, but was not performed during its halftime show.
Remixesedit
Many remixes have been made, including by singer Ne-Yo, released on May 3, 2017,[36] and by electronic dance music producer Skrillex, released on September 22, 2017.[37]
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^Ryan, Eran. "10 Trap Songs That'll Get You Through Monday". Phoenix New Times. Voice Media. Archived from the original on April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
^"DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar on Apple Music". Apple iTunes. Apple. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
^"ACE Repertory". ASCAP. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^"Here Are the Full Production Credits for Kendrick Lamar's 'Damn.' Album". XXL. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
^"Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE. (Prod. By Mike Will Made It) [New Song]". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^ ab"Top 40/Rhythmic-Crossover". All Access. March 31, 2017. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017.
^Kreps, Daniel (November 28, 2017). "Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars Lead 2018 Grammy Nominees". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
^ abCarmichael, Rodney (April 25, 2017). "How Mike WiLL Made-It And Kendrick Lamar Created The Year's Most Urgent Music". NPR Music. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
^""HUMBLE." by Kendrick Lamar Review | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
^Flanagan, Andrew (March 30, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar's Video For 'Humble' Is A Must-Watch". NPR. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
^Young, Alex (March 31, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar unveils new single, "HUMBLE.", along with visually stunning video — watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
^ abGibson, Harriet (March 31, 2017). "Watch Kendrick Lamar's video for his new single Humble". The Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
^"The 30 best songs of 2017". Entertainment Weekly. December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
^"50 Best Songs of 2017". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
^"Billboard's 100 Best Songs of 2017: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
^Alysse, Bianca (February 5, 2018). "Kendrick Lamar's 20 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
^"The 50 Greatest Kendrick Lamar Songs". Rolling Stone. November 1, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
^ abTrust, Gary (April 24, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar's 'Humble.' Hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^ ab"Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^Blistein, Jon (September 14, 2017). "Watch 'South Park' Parody Kendrick Lamar's 'Humble'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
^Monroe, Jazz (September 14, 2017). "Watch "South Park" Spoof Kendrick's "HUMBLE."". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
^Young, Alex (September 14, 2017). "South Park parodies Kendrick Lamar's "HUMBLE.": Watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
^"Music from Skam (a.k.a. Shame) S4E05". Tunefind. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
^"Music from Black-ish S4E08". Tunefind. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
^Armstrong, Megan (7 December 2017). "Watch #YouTubeRewind Video 'The Shape of 2017' Frantically Recap the Year's Best Moments". Billboard. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^Minsker, Evan (August 30, 2018). "Eminem Drops Surprise New Album Kamikaze: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
^"Ne-Yo Remixes Kendrick's "HUMBLE."". May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
^"Skrillex Drops New Kendrick Lamar "HUMBLE." Remix: Listen". September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
^"Kendrick Lamar sends off Coachella weekend 2 on a high note". USA Today. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^"Kendrick Lamar Performs 'Element,' 'i' and More at 2017 Coachella - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^"Kendrick Lamar Setlist at Coachella Festival 2017". setlist.fm. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^Masley, Ed (July 13, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar launches DAMN. Tour in Glendale with triumphant one-man show of force". AZ Central. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
^"VMAs: Kendrick Lamar Tops Nominations as MTV Continues to Eliminate Gendered Categories". The Hollywood Reporter. July 25, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
^"Rhythm & Bars Award". BET. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
^"Here Is the Full List of 2017 AMAs Nominations". Billboard. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
^"Here Are All the Winners From the 2017 MTV EMAs". Billboard. November 12, 2017.
^"NAACP Image Awards Nominees". Deadline. November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
^"Grammy Awards Winners List: Updating Live". Variety. January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
^ ab"Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE". iTunes. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
^ ab"HUMBLE. (Skrillex remix) - Single by SKRILLEX & Kendrick Lamar". iTunes. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
^"ARIA Urban Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
^"Kendrick Lamar – Humble." (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
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^"Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201716 into search. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^"Kendrick Lamar – Humble.". Tracklisten. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
^"Kendrick Lamar: Humble." (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
^"Kendrick Lamar – Humble." (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
^"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201716 into search. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^"Portuguese single certifications – Kendrick Lamar – Humble" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
^"Spanish single certifications – Skrillex / Kendrick Lamar – Humble. (Skrillex Remix)". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
^"Veckolista Singlar, vecka 32, 2017 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 11, 2017. Scroll to position 67 to view certification.