Kendrick Lamar - "XXX." ft. U2

[Gonna Run 2 U]

I would hope there is a video for this. I think it's the closest thing u2 will get in regards to hits and relevance they've been dying for.

 

[mikal]

That or "This u2 group owe Kendrick cuz they about to blow up"

I can't believe Kendrick put U2 on my iPhone!!!111

 

[JoRu]

Is the intro voice a heavily modified Bono or something else? Can't really tell.

 

[dan_smee]

Can't see how it is Bono, though I've seen some lyrics sites attribute it to him


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[mikal]

Pitchfork - "We will dock Kendrick's new album by 1.3 points due to the inclusion of U2. We haven't heard the song yet."

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Is the intro voice a heavily modified Bono or something else? Can't really tell.

I suppose it's not impossible, but I'd guess no.

 

[PRB216]

I thought some were overstating the flood of positive U2 reactions but they really weren't- Twitter is overwhelmingly positive about it. Lots are saying it's the best track on DAMN. and others are even "forgiving" them for the SOI release haha This is a total win for U2- well played! I'm really curious to hear how this collab came to be.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Really makes me wonder if we're in for some other curve balls on SOE

 

[digitize]

Love the song, both for Kendrick's part and U2's part. I love it when U2 push themselves to make things that have both popular appeal and artistic merit, and this definitely fits. Great to hear!

 

[nielsgov]

I would hope there is a video for this. I think it's the closest thing u2 will get in regards to hits and relevance they've been dying for.

The song really doesn't sound like a single, good as it may be.

 

[LadySpinHead]

Nicely done!

 

[gvox]

Does kendrick even know u2 is on his album cause they on my iphone and i aint asked for that

 

[corianderstem]

It's probably not going to be one of the handful of rap/hip hop songs I genuinely love (King Kunta is the only Kendrick song I've heard so far that I really like), but I really dig that it's something different and not a cringe-worthy collaboration or just a sample.

Good for them.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

"It sounds like edge was relegated to joint rolling duty".

 

[lazarus]

Is the intro voice a heavily modified Bono or something else? Can't really tell.

My first thought as well.

It's slowed down, so one only has to drop it into a program where you can speed it up a little, and then it will be clear.

 

[mikal]

Close call between this one and "New Day"

 

[gvox]

My first thought as well.



It's slowed down, so one only has to drop it into a program where you can speed it up a little, and then it will be clear.

To be honest when i first heard it I thought it was one of those leaks where a number of different songs are leaked in single file and it's a comp of a few snippets from different songs.

But this is all one song, is that the generally accepted wisdom here? Literally listened on my iPhone speakers and i was out till 5 getting pounded by classic house over massive speakers so I'm kinda deaf rn lol

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

To be fair, there's a lot of "damn Kendrick can even make U2 sound good" out there as well.

The reaction to the song is good, and it's a win for the band, but let's stop short of calling it the thing that will turn the tide back in their direction as far as public perception goes back within the younger set.

All it'll take is Bono getting on stage with Kendrick at Coachella and saying something stupid like "Dublin in the house y'all" and it'll all come crashing down.

 

[mikal]

U2 has just reapplied for the job, guys.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Full track credits

11 XXX.

Featuring: U2
Composer(s): D. Natche, L Mullen, P. Hewson, A. Clayton, K. Duckworth, D. Evans, M. Spears, M. Williams, II, Anthony Tiffith
Producer(s): Mike WiLL Made-It, Anthony Tiffith, Bekon, DJ Dahi, Sounwave
Additional production: Bekon
Additional keys: Kendrick Lamar
Additional vocals: Bekon, Kid Capri


Interesting that the additional keys appear to be Kendrick Lamar, not the Edge.

Part of me wonders if that lyric is actually pulled from an unreleased U2 song due for Songs of Experience, maybe that Mike WiLL Made It was working on when they were passing it around to different produces and it ended up here... thus why it's credited as U2 and not just Bono.



I'm very intrigued as to how the collaboration came to be, and what the other members of the band actually contributed.

 

[lazarus]

"Additional keys" doesn't mean the only keys.

 

[zoopop]

To be fair, there's a lot of "damn Kendrick can even make U2 sound good" out there as well.

The reaction to the song is good, and it's a win for the band, but let's stop short of calling it the thing that will turn the tide back in their direction as far as public perception goes back within the younger set.

All it'll take is Bono getting on stage with Kendrick at Coachella and saying something stupid like "Dublin in the house y'all" and it'll all come crashing down.

Adam will just put a 'House of Pain' sticker on his bass this tour

 

[PRB216]

In a just published track by track review, Rolling Stone claims Edge is the one that laid out the keys. Don't know if the author knows this for a fact or is just assuming it's him:
Kendrick Lamar's 'Damn.': A Track-by-Track Guide - Rolling Stone

11. "XXX" feat. U2
When the iTunes credits revealed that rock icons U2 would appear on Damn, some wondered whether producer Mike Will Made It was sampling the band or if the rapper was actually working with them. It's not a fake-out: Shortly after the midpoint of "XXX," Larry Mullen Jr.'s familiar military-style drum rolls come in, we hear Bono's voice, and the Edge lays out a mournful piano riff akin to the band's classic "New Year's Day." "It's not a place/To me this country is a sound," Bono sings. The effect isn't jarring, reminiscent of Rod Stewart's appearance on A$AP Rocky's 2015 single "Everyday." Meanwhile, Lamar continues with a stinging criticism of America's treatment of people of color. "It's nasty when you roll the dice and set us up then batter's up/You overnight the big rifles then tell Fox to be scared of us," he raps.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Kendrick Lamar - "XXX." ft. U2

Well at least no one seems to be bashing it. Seems like people are surprised and really like it or are just indifferent to it. I am interested to know how much input the band had with the entire track. There are points where I can hear a numb influence (not the rapping).

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

This is the best article I've read on the track so far. It compares Kendrick putting U2 on his track to U2 putting Johnny Cash on The Wanderer, and makes total sense.

http://uproxx.com/music/kendrick-lamar-damn-u2-xxx/3/

 

[lazarus]

Ha just posted that in The Better Place.

 

[prbiker15]

This is the best article I've read on the track so far. It compares Kendrick putting U2 on his track to U2 putting Johnny Cash on The Wanderer, and makes total sense.

http://uproxx.com/music/kendrick-lamar-damn-u2-xxx/3/

Lots of great points in that article.

 

[rennowba]

This is the best article I've read on the track so far. It compares Kendrick putting U2 on his track to U2 putting Johnny Cash on The Wanderer, and makes total sense.

http://uproxx.com/music/kendrick-lamar-damn-u2-xxx/3/

I was just about to post this article. Superb article and the writer clearly knows his u2 history.

 

[womanfish]

I was just about to post this article. Superb article and the writer clearly knows his u2 history.

Yep, this is a well written piece and like his take on the Wanderer bit.
The writer could have referenced SLABT as a stylistic touchpoint to this feature on XXX. But then a critic would have to say something nice about SOI.

 

[womanfish]

And for those scolding me yesterday about saying Stereogum are U2 haters, well, just read their review.
“XXX” is a Kendrick Lamar song — a feverish and intense and pointed and brilliant one — and the “featuring U2″ tag means we get a scant few second of Bono mewling about how America means “a sound of drum and bass” to him.

So yeah, like i said, always ready to throw in a smug hit on U2.