XXX. by Kendrick Lamar (Ft. U2)
XXX. by Kendrick Lamar (Ft. U2)

XXX.

Kendrick Lamar & U2 * Track #11 On DAMN.

Download "XXX."

XXX. by Kendrick Lamar (Ft. U2)

Release Date
Fri Apr 14 2017
Performed by
Kendrick LamarU2
Produced by
Mike WiLL Made-It & Sounwave & Dahi & Top Dawg & Bēkon
Writed by
The Edge (Guitarist) & Bono & Larry Mullen Jr. & Adam Clayton & Top Dawg & Sounwave & Dahi & Mike WiLL Made-It & Kendrick Lamar
About

Kendrick teams up with rock legends U2 on “XXX.,” which delves deeper into the political and religious themes heard throughout DAMN. In an August 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Kendrick described how this song came together:

We had a [different] record we were supposed to be doing together. He...

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XXX. Lyrics

[Intro: Bēkon & Kid Capri]
America
God bless you if it's good to ya
America, please take my hand
Can you help me underst—
New Kung Fu Kenny!

[Verse 1: Kendrick Lamar]
Throw a steak off the ark to a pool full of sharks
He'll take it
Leave him in the wilderness with a sworn nemesis
He'll make it (He'll make it)
Take the gratitude from him, I bet he'll show you somethin'
Woah (Woah)
I chip a nigga lil' bit of nothin'
I chip a nigga lil' bit of nothin'
I chip a nigga lil' bit of nothin'
I chip a nigga, then throw the blower in his lap
Walk myself to the court like, "Bitch, I did that!," X-rated
Johnny don't wanna go to school no mo', no mo'
Johnny said books ain't cool no mo' (No mo')
Johnny wanna be a rapper like his big cousin
Johnny caught a body yesterday out hustlin'
God bless America, you know we all love him

[Verse 2: Kendrick Lamar]
Yesterday, I got a call, like, from my dawg, like 101
Said they killed his only son because of insufficient funds
He was sobbin', he was mobbin', way belligerent and drunk
Talkin' out his head, philosophin' on what the Lord had done
He said: "K-Dot, can you pray for me? It been a fucked up day for me
I know that you anointed, show me how to overcome."
He was lookin' for some closure, hopin' I could bring him closer
To the spiritual, my spirit do know better, but I told him
"I can't sugarcoat the answer for you, this is how I feel:
If somebody kill my son, that mean somebody gettin' killed."
Tell me what you do for love, loyalty, and passion of
All the memories collected, moments you could never touch
I wait in front a nigga's spot and watch him hit his block
I catch a nigga leavin' service if that's all I got
I chip a nigga, then throw the blower in his lap
Walk myself to the court like, "Bitch, I did that!"
Ain't no Black Power when your baby killed by a coward
I can't even keep the peace, don't you fuck with one of ours
It be murder in the street, it be bodies in the hour
Ghetto bird be on the street, paramedics on the dial
Let somebody touch my momma, touch my sister, touch my woman
Touch my daddy, touch my niece, touch my nephew, touch my brother
You should chip a nigga, then throw the blower in his lap
Matter fact, I'm 'bout to speak at this convention, call you back—

[Break: Kendrick Lamar]
Alright, kids, we're gon' talk about gun control
(Pray for me) Damn

[Chorus: Bono]
It's not a place
This country is to be a sound
Of drum and bass
You close your eyes to look around

[Verse 3: Kendrick Lamar]
Hail Mary, Jesus and Joseph
The great American flag is wrapped and dragged with explosives
Compulsive disorder, sons and daughters
Barricaded blocks and borders—look what you taught us
It's murder on my street, your street, back streets, Wall Street
Corporate offices, banks, employees, and bosses with
Homicidal thoughts; Donald Trump's in office
We lost Barack and promised to never doubt him again
But is America honest, or do we bask in sin?
Pass the gin, I mix it with American blood
Then bash him in, you Crippin' or you married to Blood?
I'll ask again—oops, accident
It's nasty when you set us up then roll the dice, then bet us up
You overnight the big rifles, then tell Fox to be scared of us
Gang members or terrorists, et cetera, et cetera
America's reflections of me, that's what a mirror does

[Chorus: Bono]
It's not a place
This country is to be a sound
Of drum and bass
You close your eyes to look ar—

XXX. Q&A

Who produced XXX.'s ?

XXX. was produced by Mike WiLL Made-It & Sounwave & Dahi & Top Dawg & Bēkon.

When did Kendrick Lamar release XXX.?

Kendrick Lamar released XXX. on Fri Apr 14 2017.

What did Kendrick Lamar say about "XXX."?

This is the second time I got a chance to do a record with Bono. The first time was on Quincy Jones’ album with Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. It’s dope that Kendrick made this record the way he did with U2 on it; he made it real hip-hop. Instead of it being this big crossover record, he made it rea...

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Who is Sounwave?

Sounwave is one of two production members of Digi+Phonics, an in-house production duo for TDE.

He’s produced songs like “King Kunta”, “Alright”, “Poetic Justice”, “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” & “A.D.H.D.”.

Have Mike WiLL Made-It & Kendrick Lamar worked together before?

Mike WiLL Made-It had production credits on DAMN.’s lead single, “HUMBLE.” They have also worked together on “Perfect Pint,” as well as 2014’s “Buy The World.”

Mike WiLL has production credits on “DNA.” earlier on the album.

Did all of U2 work on this song, or is it just a Bono feature?

U2 members The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. have writing credits on the song as well.

Why did Kendrick choose to collaborate with U2?

Kendrick and Bono always talk back and forth through text and they always wanted to work with each other. It just never lined up. Whenever we’d be working on a project it just wouldn’t feel right. Until this came along. It’s like “Yo, this is perfect timing.” So Kendrick reached out to Bono and the...

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Is the digital version different from the CD version?

The only difference is that the spoken interlude between the first verse and the chorus isn’t included in the CD version.

How did Bono end up on this song?

We had a [different] record we were supposed to be doing together. He sent it over, I laid some ideas to it, and we didn’t know where it was going. I just happened to have an album coming out, so I just asked him, like, “Yo, would you do me this honor of letting me use this record, use this idea tha...

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Who sparked the initial conversation between Kendrick and Bono?

Apparently, this collaboration was a byproduct of the relationships between Dr. Dre, Aftermath Entertainment,
Jimmy Iovine (who produced U2’s Rattle and Hum documentary), and Mike WiLL Made-It.

Iovine is a successful film and record producer who co-founded Beats Electronics alongside Dr. Dre in 200...

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What has producer Dj Dahi told about the making of the song ?

According to Songfacts, producer DJ Dahi declared in an interview with Spin magazine:

Initially, he had this record that he started with Mike WiLL and he had the basic structure of the record, but he wanted some more energy and more vibe. When I came in to work on the record, I went, ‘Oh, this is d...

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