Fear (Kendrick Lamar song)
"Fear" | |
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Song |
"Fear" (stylized as "FEAR.") is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his fourth studio album Damn, released on April 14, 2017. The twelfth track on the album (third on the Collector's Edition of Damn[2]), the song was written by Lamar and Daniel Maman a.k.a. the Alchemist, and produced by the Alchemist, with additional production by Bēkon. At seven minutes and forty-one seconds, it is the longest song on the album.[3][4] Although not released as a single, the song charted in multiple countries in 2017.
The song, structured in three parts,[5] describes events in Lamar's life, specifically his worries and fears, at the ages of seven, seventeen, and twenty-seven.[4][6][7] The song has received critical acclaim from music critics, with multiple critics calling the track as Damn's centerpiece and also a huge standout.[5][8][9]
Composition
The song begins with a voicemail from Lamar's cousin, Carl Duckworth, who, in the voicemail, speaks a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah (a section of the Hebrew Bible).[4] Specifically, he speaks Deuteronomy 28:28, which reads "The LORD will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart." The first verse sees Lamar exploring the fear he experienced as a young child with a strict mother.[6] The second verse sees Lamar exploring his teen years expressing his fear of dying at a young age. This is enforced with the gang banging and police brutality of Compton, CA.[6] The third verse sees Lamar exploring the anxieties he showed on his third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. These anxieties include his lack of self-confidence in himself and his abilities, as well as the fear of losing the life he had built for himself.[6]
Lyrics
The song contains "backwards vocals", also known as backmasking, or "reverse vocals".[10][11][12] The backmasked lyrics have been described as the lyrics to the song's refrain in reverse.[13] They appear midway through the song and occur for twenty seconds to represent Lamar going back to his childhood.[14]
The backmasked lyrics, played forwards, reads as follows:[10][11][12]
- Why God, why God do I gotta suffer?
- Pain in my heart carry burdens full of struggle
- Why God, why God do I gotta bleed?
- Every stone thrown at you restin' at my feet
- Why God, why God do I gotta suffer?
- Earth is no more, why don't you burn this mufucka?
Critical reception
The song has received critical acclaim from music critics, with multiple critics describing "Fear" as Damn's centerpiece.[5][8] Sydney Sweeney of Atwood Magazine called "FEAR." a contemplative standout on DAMN.[15] Maeve McDermott of USA Today said that with "FEAR.", "the album's purpose solidifies beyond its political statements, showing a portrait of an artist terrified of failure, in the eyes of his community, his peers and himself.[9] Ryan Alfieri of DJBooth named the track as "one of [the] countless number of standout selections from his newly released opus."[16] Writer Yoh of DJBooth described "FEAR." as "the most important song on [Damn]".[17] However, Luke Morgan Britton of NME gave "Fear" a mixed review, saying the song "hops and skips, switches and changes, but never really settles."[18]
Several critics have described the song's structure as similar to the 2017 Best Picture-winning film Moonlight, specifically how Moonlight follows a character in three sections – childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.[5] Because of this, Patrick Lyons of Merry Jane called Lamar "the best storyteller in hip-hop."[5] Lawrence Burney of Vice has compared the song to Lamar's "Momma", from To Pimp a Butterfly, a track that also explores Lamar's self-actualization.[4]
Lamar himself, in an interview with i-D Magazine, spoke highly of the track, believing some of his best verses he's ever written come from "Fear", saying "[The song's] completely honest."[19][20] Lamar continued "The first verse is everything that I feared from the time that I was seven years old. The second verse I was 17. In the third, it's everything I feared when I was 27. These verses are completely honest."[19][20][21]
Samples
The song contains a sample of Lamar's song "The Heart Part 4",[18][22][23] a song that was released as a promotional single prior to the release of Damn.[24] That song, in turn, contains a sample of "Poverty's Paradise", written by Dale Warren and performed by 24-Carat Black from the album Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth.[4][25][26] According to Genius.com, the second verse contains an interpolation of rapper Beanie Sigel's song "Die", from his first studio album The Truth.[6]
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the official Damn digital booklet.[1]
- Kendrick Duckworth – songwriter
- Daniel Maman – songwriter, producer
- Charles Edward Sydney Isom Jr. – additional vocals
- Bēkon – additional production, additional vocals
- Carl Duckworth – additional vocals
- Derek Ali – mixing
- Tyler Page – mixing, mix assistant
- Cyrus Taghipour – mix assistant
Charts
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] | 43 |
Ireland (IRMA)[28] | 43 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] | 85 |
New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ)[30] | 2 |
Portugal (AFP)[31] | 41 |
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[32] | 63 |
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[33] | 4 |
UK Singles (OCC)[34] | 68 |
US Billboard Hot 100[35] | 50 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[36] | 29 |
References
- ^ a b "Digital Booklet - DAMN. copy.pdf". DocDroid. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ India, Lindsey (December 8, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar Surprises Fans With 'Damn.' Collector's Edition". XXL. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ Lyons, Patrick (April 18, 2017). "A Track-By-Track Analysis Of Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN."". HotNewHipHop. Urbanlinx Media. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Burney, Lawrence (April 18, 2017). "Why Kendrick Lamar's "FEAR" Feels so Perfect". Noisey. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Lyons, Patrick (April 14, 2017). "Journey Through a Lifetime of "FEAR" on Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN." Highlight - MERRY JANE". Merry Jane. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Kendrick Lamar – FEAR., retrieved April 25, 2017
- ^ Craven, Teddy (April 24, 2017). "Album review: Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN."". The Daily Campus. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ^ a b Okoth-Obbo, Vanessa (April 14, 2017). ""FEAR." by Kendrick Lamar Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ a b McDermott, Maeve (April 14, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.': A track-by-track instant review". USA Today. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ a b "What's Kendrick Lamar saying in reverse on "Fear" and "Duckworth"? Listen to the original". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ a b "Backward Vocals Reveal Hidden Message in Kendrick Lamar's "Fear"". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ a b Atkinson, S. "What Are The Backward Lyrics On Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.'? They Could Have A Symbolic Connection". Bustle. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ "Listen To The Reversed Backwards Vocals In Kendrick Lamar's 'FEAR.' - hiphopearly". hiphopearly. April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ "The Biggest Surprises on Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.' - Kendrick's not trying to rap circles around the competition". PigeonsandPlanes. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ Sweeney, Sydney (April 17, 2017). "Review: "FEAR." is a Contemplative Standout on Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. - Atwood Magazine". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ "FEAR: Kendrick Lamar & the Shared Struggle to Achieve True Happiness - DJBooth Article". DJBooth.net. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ^ Yoh (April 14, 2017). "'DAMN.' Decoded: Kendrick Lamar's Album is About Breaking the Curse of Disobedience". DJBooth. The DJ Booth LLC. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
- ^ a b Britton, Luke Morgan (April 14, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar - 'DAMN.': First-listen track-by-track review - NME". NME. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ a b India, Lindsey (October 16, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar Thinks He Wrote His Best Verses on "Fear."". XXL. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ a b McKinney, Jessica (October 16, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar Explains Why "FEAR." Has Some of His Best Verses Ever". Vibe. Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
- ^ Giulione, Bianca (October 17, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar Says "FEAR." Contains His Best Verses". Highsnobiety. Titel Media GMBH. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
- ^ "FEAR. by Kendrick Lamar on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ Genius (April 17, 2017), Every Sample On Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.', retrieved April 20, 2017
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar's upcoming album HAS a release date". KISS FRESH. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- ^ Genius (April 17, 2017), Every Sample On Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.', retrieved April 20, 2017
- ^ "Listen to the Samples From Kendrick Lamar's New Album 'DAMN.'". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar – Fear." (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar – Fear.". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
- ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201716 into search. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ^ "Swedish Heatseekers Chart – April 14, 2017". Retrieved March 17, 2017.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.