Top 10 Best Tracks by Kendrick Lamar of All Time

The global hip-hop industry is currently revolving around Kendrick Lamar with his meteoric success with music career. Let’s find out the top 10 best Lamar songs of all time.

Kendrick Lamar’s unparalleled energy and creativity in his rap game have made him the king of the modern hip-hop industry. His intriguing songwriting and hooky head-bopping deliverance make each of the bangers a sweet treat for hip-hop enthusiasts. Whether it is his unwavering personality or mind-bending perspectives to reveal the truth; Lamar has brought a new creative in this industry that has inspired all the rising rappers in the modern hip-hop music scene.

Kendrick’s lyrical skills are quite amazing and offer a poetic essence. Starting from addition, gun control, violence, family, and friends, to his hatred for Drake and other predators; the rapper has always voiced his real thoughts without any swanky representation, and that raw essence is good enough to evoke deeper emotions among the fans. Lamar’s music projects are both commercially successful and critically acclaimed. Due to his powerful contributions, the rapper has won numerous Grammys and also the Pulitzer Prize. The dynamic rapper still has a lot to give for his listeners and till now, he has dropped a total of 6 studio albums with a handful of powerful tracks. Let’s find out the top 10 best bangers dropped by Lamar.

Top 10 Best Tracks by Kendrick Lamar

• All the Stars

‘All the Stars’ is the leading track from Black Panther’s Soundtrack where Kendrick Lamar collaborated with SZA. This banger received a huge commercial success and Marvel’s contribution is fair in it. The song was also released with an official music video that accompanies the Black Panther movie’s theme that embraces black culture and Africans. Lamar and TDE had the vision of this sonic companion which was offered to Ryan Coogler’s Marvel movie and the result was instant success.

It is one of the standout tracks in Lamar’s discography where the rapper offered a stoic rap delivery that perfectly complimented SZA’s dreamy vocals. The synth-heavy track with captivating lyricism made sure to create a huge buzz among Marvel fans as well as the hip-hop lovers. Lamar received his first Academy Award nomination for this track and won the Grammys as well as MTV VMAs.

• Alright

‘Alright’ is a complete work of art that starts with a reference to the novel “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker. The banger offers a complete emphasis on Black people and culture that appeared on his 2015 album called ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’. This album is comprised of a handful of captivating bangers and each of them is a depiction of the society. This rebellion track became a protest track of the generation that explains the duality of the Black experience in American society. He sat with Pharrell Williams in the studio to make the beat and it took him six months to fit in the right lyrics. The track is ‘uplifting’ but ‘aggressive’ enough to create a wall against discrimination and police brutality. However, he also offers optimism with the hook, “we gon’ be alright.” 

• Backseat Freestyle

One of the greatest skills of Kendrick Lamar is that he knows how to change his rhythm and pace based on the subject matter of the tracks. Sometimes slumberous deliveries and sometimes roaring with words, Lamar makes swift transitions through his deliverance and his essence of freestyling can be felt through ‘Backseat Freestyle’. This track appears in his second studio album ‘Good Kid, M.A.A.D City’ and it is produced by Hit-Boy. There are no whistles and distractions but a strong metallic roar of ambition. The banger is unique and cuts through the sonic experience that feels engaging and enjoyable at the same time. As Lamar raps, “My mind is livin’ on cloud nine and this nine is never on vacation,” it is evident that he is on a never-ending journey of success. The song also embraces the hip-hop scene in Compton, Los Angeles.

• Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe

‘Good Kid, M.A.A.D City’ was Lamar’s breakthrough album which also offered ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’ and the fifth track from the project. This song has captivated the whole generation with its iconic hook that has become a motto for many. Although there was initial news of Lady Gaga collaborating with Lamar for this track, the official collaboration has never been released. The song is a representation of Lamar’s integrity and passion for his craft which makes him one of the best in the game. The song reached no. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart along with 10 song charts for hip-hop and R&B. It stayed on the chart for many weeks and gathered global attention from the fans. The song has also released an official music video directed by The Lil Homie and OG Mike Mihail. ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’ is not just a song but a mood that comes with embracing self over everyone who is a fake.

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• DNA

Kendrick is one of those rappers who is never afraid to push his creative boundaries and ‘DNA’ is the biggest example of that where he rapped with a jazzy soundscape. Appearing in “To Pimp a Butterfly”, the track offers a fusion of jazz rap which is swampy, groovy, and appears like poetry. Perhaps this is the main reason why Lamar is addressed as an urban poet more than a rapper. Although there are many reasons to celebrate this track the three main ingredients are mystery, lyricism, and realness. As the rapper continues, it feels like he is unfolding new layers of himself by addressing the follies in his DNA which can sometimes outperform his cerebral control and consciousness of himself. The good in you and the evil in you, both are parts of your DNA and your originality and that is what is poetically expressed through this banger.

• Euphoria

Long before ‘Not Like Us’ became a global hit, the conflicts between Drake and Lamar were evident and the biggest example of their feud is ‘Euphoria’. It is considered to be a diss track for Drake and a response to his track ‘Push Ups’. The banger is brutal and the aggressive beats make sure to keep the intensity of the track high. Lamar surely penned down some diabolical replies through this banger that addresses each accusation made by Drake through his track. With bars like “Know you a master manipulator and habitual liar too / But don’t tell no lie about me and I won’t tell truths ’bout you”, Lamar was lowkey asking Drake to back off which he might have listened to. Accused for being an absent parent by Drake, Lamar replied, “I got a son to raise, but I can see you don’t know nothin’ ’bout that” and well, that was a burn!

• King’s Dead

‘King’s Dead’ is a part of the movie Black Pather’s soundtrack and it is a collaboration between Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, and Future along with English singer James Blake. Although it is a part of the superhero film, this collaboration project is one of the best tracks of Lamar’s as well as Jay Rock’s musical career. Jay Rock made this track the leading single of his album and the commercial success of the banger is quite high. It is amazing to witness how Lamar adapts himself to any kind of project that is thrown at him and he will make sure to serve the best. Lamar and Rock elevated the whole theme of a King’s presence and importance whether he is dead or alive. It is a presentation of power and responsibility and Kendrick has done a great job with it. His ability to rule in all kinds of soundscapes is clearly visible through this collaborative hip-hop project.

• Money Trees

‘Money Trees are perfect for shading’, isn’t it? This banger is Lamar’s open letter to crime and violence in hip-hop as well as the music industry which is not reducing but ongoing through every era. This track follows a woozy call-and-response flow which sounds quite captivating. Hit-Boy and DJ Dahi did a great job in creating a nostalgia-infused soundscape that is both engaging and enjoyable at the same time. Lamar is obsessed with both music and tragedy which is well described through this track. There are references to E-40, Usher, and many other scenes of violence that he witnesses in the industry. With the bars like “Everybody gon’ respect the shooter/But the one in front of the gun lives forever”, Lamar has successfully struck the deeper emotions of his fans with a raw depiction of the industry that only wants to plant money trees while cutting down forests.

• Not Like Us

‘Not Like Us’ did not need five Grammys and a Superbowl halftime performance to prove that it is a great banger. This song is one of the greatest examples of Lamar’s illustrative lyricism comes with a satiric perspective and ludicrous references that are dark and engaging at the same time. While the main target in the banger is Drake, it is an ode to all the predators and pedophiles in Hollywood as well as the music industry which is also filled with many child and teen artists. Lamar joined forces with DJ Mustard and created this intoxicating diss track that almost ruined Drake’s career.

The banger is well crafted with a borderline aggressive syncopation where the beats are clean and minimalistic enough to help listeners focus on the pungent lyricism. Hip-hop enthusiasts might also find a classic West Coast sound in this track due to his phonetic patterns and cadence. The head-bopping energy in the track can make you ‘crip-walk’ while you embrace your inner hater for the abusers. It is not a ‘minor’ but a major success in Lamar’s career.

• Poetic Justice

Right after ‘Not Like Us’, it is justified to talk about ‘Poetic Justice’ as for this banger; Kendrick Lamar has collaborated with Drake. It is the only love song from “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City” and of course, a great one. The timeless sensuality in this track is celebrated through his glorious lyricism where listeners can find philosophical one-liners, such as, “If a flower bloomed in a dark room would you trust it?” Just like the title of the song suggests; it is absolutely poetic and offers justice with its creative take on hip-hop. The originality and uniqueness of the banger make this one of the greatest music projects by Lamar.

Kendrick Lamar continues to climb the ladder of success with more awards and a determination to drop more iconic hip-hop projects in the coming days.