Good Kid, M.A.A.D City

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
In an instant film photograph, three male adults, with one holding a baby, sitting in a room. The room has a table decorated with glasses, a bottle, and a decorated basket with a poster of a child and a person hanging in the wall. The eyes of the adults are covered with a black bar.
Studio album by
Kendrick Lamar
ReleasedOctober 22, 2012 (2012-10-22)
Studio
  • At My Mama's Studio (Los Angeles)
  • Body Music (Miami)
  • Encore (Burbank)
  • PatchWerk (Atlanta)
  • TDE Red Room (Carson)
Genre
Length68:23
Label
Producer
Kendrick Lamar chronology
Section.80
(2011) 		Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
(2012) 		To Pimp a Butterfly
(2015)
Deluxe edition cover
An instant film photograph of a black minivan parked in front of a house.
Singles from Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
  1. "The Recipe"
    Released: April 3, 2012
  2. "Swimming Pools (Drank)"
    Released: July 31, 2012
  3. "Backseat Freestyle"
    Released: January 7, 2013
  4. "Poetic Justice"
    Released: January 15, 2013
  5. "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe"
    Released: March 18, 2013

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (stylized as good kid, m.A.A.d city) is the second studio album by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Drake, Dr. Dre, Jay Rock, Anna Wise and MC Eiht. It is Lamar's first major label album, after his independently released first album Section.80 in 2011 and his signing to Aftermath and Interscope the following year.

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City was recorded mostly at several studios in California, with producers such as Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, Pharrell Williams, Hit-Boy, Scoop DeVille, Jack Splash, and T-Minus, among others, contributing to the album. Billed as a "short film by Kendrick Lamar" on the album cover, the concept album tells a coming-of-age story about Lamar's adolescence surrounded by the drug-infested streets and gang lifestyle of his native Compton. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its thematic scope and Lamar's lyrics. 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. It also 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 was supported by five singles – "The Recipe", "Swimming Pools (Drank)", "Backseat Freestyle", "Poetic Justice", and "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". All five singles achieved chart success of varying degrees. Lamar also went on a world tour between May and August 2013, featuring the other members of the hip hop collective, Black Hippy.

The album earned Lamar four Grammy Award nominations at the 2014 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album was also named to many end-of-the-year lists, often topping them. It was later certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2020 and 2023, the album was ranked 115th on Rolling Stone's updated list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and in 2022, the publication named it the greatest concept album of all time.

  1. ^ Capobianco, Ken (October 22, 2012). "Kendrick Lamar, 'good kid, m.A.A.d city'". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jeffries was invoked but never defined (see the help page).