#96 good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar
The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time
- 2025 Album Rank
- 96
- Total Points
- 683
- Year Released
- 2012
- Billboard 200 Chart Peak
- 2
- Weeks at #1
- N/A
- RIAA Sales Certification
- 3,000,000 (Multi Platinum)
- Buy Album
- Apple Music Amazon
good kid, m.A.A.d city Album Details
good kid, m.A.A.d city is the major-label debut album by Kendrick Lamar, released on October 22, 2012, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath, and Interscope. Subtitled "a short film by Kendrick Lamar," the album is a deeply autobiographical concept record that chronicles a day in the life of a teenage Kendrick navigating the temptations, violence, and survival of Compton, California. Told through voicemails, skits, and narrative lyrics, it's a cinematic and tightly constructed body of work that redefined what a modern hip-hop album could be.
Blending vivid storytelling with layered production from Dr. Dre, Pharrell Williams, Just Blaze, and others, the album features tracks like Swimming Pools (Drank), Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe, and the 12-minute epic Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst. It was hailed as an instant classic, earning universal acclaim for its lyrical depth, social commentary, and musical ambition. The album's balance of mainstream appeal and uncompromising artistry cemented Lamar as a generational voice in hip-hop.
Interesting Facts About good kid, m.A.A.d city
- The album is largely autobiographical, detailing Kendrick's teenage years in Compton. The "good kid" trying to survive a "m.A.A.d" (My Angry Adolescence Divided / My Angels on Angel Dust) environment.
- The skits and voicemails between songs create a narrative thread, with his parents' voices adding humor, tension, and realism to the story arc.
- Backseat Freestyle was written to reflect the mindset of a brash, overconfident teenager, with exaggerated rhymes contrasting the more thoughtful tone of the rest of the album.
- The title Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst reflects mortality, guilt, and redemption, central themes of the album. The song includes real-life stories of Kendrick's friends who were affected by violence and poverty.
- Swimming Pools (Drank) was widely interpreted as a party anthem but is in fact a critique of alcoholism and peer pressure, illustrating Kendrick's skill at layering deeper meaning beneath commercial appeal.
- The album ends with Kendrick's conversion moment after a traumatic event, a turning point that frames his spiritual and artistic evolution.
- Dr. Dre, as executive producer, helped guide the project while allowing Kendrick full creative control, blending old-school West Coast influence with Lamar's introspective style.
- The cover features a Polaroid photo of Kendrick's grandfather and friends a symbolic commentary on identity and legacy.
- Though not initially intended as a radio single, Money Trees featuring Jay Rock became one of the album's most beloved tracks for its laid-back groove and incisive lyrics.
- Widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, good kid, m.A.A.d city spent over 10 consecutive years on the Billboard 200, a record-breaking feat for a hip-hop studio album.
good kid, m.A.A.d city Tracklist
- Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter's Daughter
- Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe - Reached #32 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
- Backseat Freestyle
- The Art of Peer Pressure
- Money Trees
- Poetic Justice - Reached #26 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
- Good Kid
- M.A.A.D City
- Swimming Pools (Drank) - Reached #7 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
- Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst
- Real
- Compton
