Maps of Music

DAMN. (2017)

Where the lyrics of DAMN. take you, and where it was really made.

Before settling on Damn, Lamar had planned to title the album What Happens on Earth Stays on Earth, a name he later said didn't read right.

Key places

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Hollywood studio listed as a recording location for Damn. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording site Jungle City Studios — New York City studio listed as a recording location for Damn. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Damn (stylized DAMN.): fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar
Released April 14, 2017 by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records
Categorized as conscious hip-hop, with elements of trap, contemporary R&B, and pop
Guest appearances from Rihanna, Zacari, and U2
Production led by Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith (executive producer), Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It, and Ricci Riera
Further production from James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, Greg Kurstin, the Alchemist, and 9th Wonder

Promotional single “The Heart Part 4” released March 23, 2017; its lyrics hinted at a possible April 7 release date
April 7, 2017: album opened for pre-order and release confirmed for April 14
April 11, 2017: track listing revealed
Three singles: “Humble” (March 2017), “Loyalty” (June 2017), and “Love” (October 2017)
“Humble” became Lamar’s first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist
December 8, 2017: Collectors Edition released with the same music, a reversed track order, and new artwork

The beat for “Humble” was developed by Mike Will, who first intended to record it with Gucci Mane
After recording, the beat was initially planned for Mike Will’s debut album Ransom 2, but others persuaded Lamar to keep it for his own album
“DNA” was the second song recorded by Lamar and Mike Will, after “Humble”
Lamar rapped the second verse a cappella, and Mike Will built the second half of the beat around those rhymes
Lamar said playing the album in reverse tracklist order was “premeditated … in the studio”

Cover artwork revealed April 11, 2017
Designed by Vlad Sepetov, who also created the covers for To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled Unmastered
Sepetov described the cover as “loud and abrasive”
The Parental Advisory sticker was placed near the center-right of the frame on purpose, as part of the design

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, born June 17, 1987, in Compton, California.
Began releasing music as K.Dot in high school; signed with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2005 and co-founded Black Hippy.
Debut album Section.80 (2011) led to a joint contract with Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012), To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), and Damn (2017) were ranked among Rolling Stone's greatest albums.
Damn won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first award of this kind for a non-classical or non-jazz work.
Curated the Black Panther soundtrack (2018); "All the Stars" earned an Academy Award nomination.
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022) and GNX (2024) each debuted atop the US Billboard 200.
Holds six US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, including "Humble", "Not Like Us", and "Luther".
Headlined the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in 2025, the most-watched Super Bowl performance of all time.
The Grand National Tour with SZA became the highest-grossing co-headlining tour of all time.
Holds 27 Grammy Awards, the most won by a rapper.
Co-founded the creative company PGLang with Dave Free in 2020.

Widespread critical acclaim, with many critics naming it one of the best albums of 2017 and the decade
Metacritic average of 95 from 39 reviews
AnyDecentMusic?: 9.1 out of 10
AllMusic (Andy Kellman): contains some of Lamar’s best writing and performances
Rolling Stone (Christopher R. Weingarten): a brilliant combination of the timeless and the modern
Chicago Tribune (Greg Kot): strips rhythms down to their essence
The New York Times (Jon Caramanica): positive review, likely Lamar’s most jubilant album
Entertainment Weekly (Eric Renner Brown): finds a middle ground between the personal and the broad, with emotionally resonant music
The Guardian (Alexis Petridis): ambition not lessened despite a more straightforward listen
Pitchfork (Matthew Trammell): a widescreen masterpiece of rap
The A.V. Club (Evan Rytlewski): trusts every idea to stand on its own
Exclaim! (A. Harmony), mixed review: first time Lamar did not break new ground

Rolling Stone’s updated list “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” (2020) ranked it 175th

Billboard 200 debut at number one with 603,000 album-equivalent units in its first week
353,000 copies sold in the first week; third consecutive Lamar album to top the US chart
Canada: number one, opening with 35,000 consumption units
United Kingdom: number two, 30,000 units in first week
Number two in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden
RIAA triple platinum certification on May 10, 2018
Billboard year-end number one album of 2017
IFPI: seventh best-selling album of 2017, 1.3 million copies shipped globally
2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first given to an artist outside classical and jazz
2018 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album

The original title was What Happens on Earth Stays on Earth; Lamar said the working title “didn’t read right”
Lamar explained the final title with the line “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t”
The Collectors Edition released on December 8, 2017 reversed the track order and added new artwork
Cover designer Vlad Sepetov also created the covers for To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled Unmastered
“Blood” and “DNA” contain elements of Fox News commentators criticizing Lamar’s 2015 BET Awards performance
The “Humble” beat was first developed by Mike Will with the intention of recording with Gucci Mane