Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar & Jay Rock
Kendrick Lamar & Drake
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar & MC Eiht
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar & Anna Wise
Kendrick Lamar & Dr. Dre
Kendrick Lamar & Dr. Dre
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar & Mary J. Blige
Kendrick Lamar & Kent Jamz
Kendrick Lamar & JAY-Z
Kendrick Lamar & Emeli Sandé
“m.A.A.d” is an acronym for both “my Angels on Angel dust” and “my Angry Adolescence divided.”
“m.A.A.d” is also a reference to the 90s Compton based hip-hop group “WC and the Maad Circle.” The leader, WC, would go on to form Westside Connection, a group heavily associated with LA-based artists Ice...
[Part I: Produced by Sounwave]
[Refrain: Kendrick Lamar & ScHoolboy Q]
If Pirus and Crips all got along
They'd probably gun me down by the end of this song
Seem like the whole city go against me
Every time I'm in the street, I hear—
Yawk! Yawk! Yawk! Yawk!
[Chorus: Kendrick Lamar]
Man down, where you from, nigga?
Fuck who you know—where you from, my nigga?
Where your grandma stay, huh, my nigga?
This m.A.A.d city I run, my nigga
[Verse: Kendrick Lamar]
Brace yourself, I'll take you on a trip down memory lane
This is not a rap on how I'm slingin' crack or move cocaine
This is cul-de-sac and plenty Cognac and major pain
Not the drill sergeant, but the stress that weighin' on your brain
It was me, L Boog, and Yan Yan, YG Lucky ride down Rosecrans
It got ugly, wavin' yo' hand out the window — check yourself
Uh, Warriors and Conans, hope euphoria can slow dance
With society, the driver seat, the first one to get killed
Seen a light-skinned nigga with his brains blown out
At the same burger stand where **** hang out
Now this is not a tape recorder sayin' that he did it
But ever since that day, I was lookin' at him different
That was back when I was nine, Joey packed the nine
Pakistan on every porch is fine, we adapt to crime
Pack a van with four guns at a time
With the sliding door, fuck is up?
Fuck you shootin' for if you ain't walkin' up, you fuckin' punk?
Pickin' up the fuckin' pump, pickin' off you suckers
Suck a dick or die or sucker punch
A wall of bullets comin' from AK's, AR's, "Ayy, y'all—duck"
That's what mama said when we was eatin' that free lunch
Aw man, goddamn, all hell broke loose
You killed my cousin back in '94, fuck yo' truce
Now crawl your head in that noose
You wind up dead on the news
Ain't no peace treaty, just piecin' BGs up to pre-approve
Bodies on top of bodies, IVs on top of IVs
Obviously the coroner between the sheets like the Isleys
When you hop on that trolley, make sure your color's correct
Make sure you're corporate, or they'll be callin' your mother collect
They say the governor collect all of our taxes, except
When we in traffic and tragic happens, that shit ain't no threat
You movin' backwards if you suggest that you sleep with a TEC
Go buy a chopper and have a doctor on speed dial, I guess
m.A.A.d. city
[Chorus: Kendrick Lamar]
Man down, where you from, nigga?
Fuck who you know—where you from, my nigga?
Where your grandma stay, huh, my nigga?
This m.A.A.d city I run, my nigga
[Refrain: Kendrick Lamar & ScHoolboy Q]
If Pirus and Crips all got along
They'd probably gun me down by the end of this song
Seem like the whole city go against me
Every time I'm in the street, I hear—
Yawk! Yawk! Yawk!—
[Part II: Produced by Terrace Martin]
[Intro: MC Eiht]
Wake yo' punk-ass up
It ain't nothin' but a Compton thang
G-yeah, real simple and plain
Let me teach you some lessons about the street
(Smoke somethin', nigga)
Hood ('Sup, cuz?)
It ain't nothin' but a Compton thang
G-yeah, how we do
[Verse 1: Kendrick Lamar]
Fresh outta school 'cause I was a high school grad'
Sleepin' in the living room of my mama's pad
Reality struck, I seen the white car crash
Hit the light pole, two niggas hopped out on foot and dashed (Watch out, cuz)
My pops said I needed a job, I thought I believed him
Security guard for a month and ended up leavin'
In fact, I got fired 'cause I was inspired by all of my friends
To stage a robbery, the third Saturday I clocked in
Projects tore up, gang signs get thrown up (Sup?)
Cocaine laced in marijuana
And they wonder why I rarely smoke now
Imagine if your first blunt had you foamin' at the mouth
I was straight tweakin', the next weekend we broke even
I made allegiance that made a promise to see you bleedin'
You know the reasons but still'll never know my life
Kendrick a.k.a. "Compton's Human Sacrifice"
[Interlude: MC Eiht]
G-yeah, cocaine, weed
Niggas been mixin' shit since the '80s, loc
Sherm sticks, butt-nakeds
Dip, make a nigga flip
Cluck heads all up and down the block and shit
One time's crooked and shit
Block a nigga in
Alondra, Rosecrans, Bullis, it's Compton
[Verse 2: MC Eiht]
I'm still in the hood, loc, yeah, that's cool
Shit, the hood took me under, so I follow the rules
But, yeah, that's like me, I grew up in the hood where they bang
And niggas that rep colors is doin' the same thang
Pass it to the left, so I can smoke on me
A couple drive-bys in the hood lately, yeah
Couple of IV's with the fuckin' spray-can
Shots in the crowd, then everybody ran
Crew I'm finna slay, the street life I crave
Shots hit the enemy, hearts turn brave
Mount up, regulators in the whip
Down the boulevard with the pistol grip, yeah
Trip, we in the hood still
So, loc, grab a strap 'cause, yeah, it's so real, yeah
Deal with the outcome, a strap in the hand
And a bird and ten grand's where a mothafucka stand
[Verse 3: Kendrick Lamar]
If I told you I killed a nigga at sixteen, would you believe me?
Perceive me to be innocent Kendrick you seen in the street
With a basketball and some Now and Laters to eat?
If I mentioned all of my skeletons, would you jump in the seat?
Would you say my intelligence now is great relief?
And it's safe to say that our next generation maybe can sleep
With dreams of bein' a lawyer or doctor
Instead of boy with a chopper that hold the cul-de-sac hostage
Kill 'em all if they gossip
The Children of the Corn, they vandalizin' the option
Of livin' a lie, drown their body with toxins
Constantly drinkin' and drive
Hit the powder, then watch this flame that arrive in his eye
Listen, coward, the concept is aim and then bang it and slide
Out that bitch with deposit, a price on his head, the tithes
Probably go to the projects
I live inside the belly of the rough, Compton, USA
Made me an Angel on Angel Dust, what?
[Scratches]
m.A.A.d city
Compton
[Outro]
Nigga, pass Dot the bottle, damn
You ain't the one that got fucked up
What you holdin' it for?
Niggas always actin' unsensitive and shit
Nigga, that ain't no word
Nigga, shut up
Hey, Dot, you good, my nigga?
Don't even trip
Just lay back and drink that
m.A.A.d city was written by Axl Folie & Terrace Martin & MC Eiht & Kendrick Lamar & Sounwave & Ricci Riera.
m.A.A.d city was produced by Sounwave & THC & Terrace Martin.
Kendrick Lamar released m.A.A.d city on Mon Oct 22 2012.
“m.A.A.d city” has two meanings; My Angel on Angel Dust and My Angry Adolescence Divided. If you listen to the album [you’ll find out] the reason why I don’t smoke weed. Because once upon a time, you’d find stuff laced with cocaine [and angel dust]. That caused a reaction and I put that inside the s...
Lamar told Complex in October 2012:
’m.A.A.d city' is the turn up. That’s the side of Compton that everybody knows, the aggressive side. The first half of the song [is like] the interlude half of it, the actual song is with MC Eiht on it. That’s really the turn up. In that I state the actual title:...
No, this song doesn’t sample Radioactive. For the Radioactive remix featuring Kendrick Lamar, click here.
Yes! “m.A.A.d city” was certified 2x platinum on June 8, 2018 by the RIAA.