"Swimming Pools (Drank)" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar, released on July 31, 2012 as the second single from his major-label debut studio album good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012) by Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope. The song was written by Lamar and Tyler Williams and produced by the latter, professionally known as T-Minus. It was mixed by Top Dawg's engineer Derek "MixedbyAli" Ali and Dr. Dre. The song peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its thirteenth week of charting after gradually climbing up the chart. It first appeared on the Hot 100 at number 100 and progressed from number fifty-five and thirty-two to its peak. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" also serves as Kendrick Lamar's first entry on the UK Singles Chart, where it debuted at number 63. A music video was released to accompany the song in August 2012.
On January 26, 2013, Lamar performed the song on Saturday Night Live, as well as his third single "Poetic Justice".[1] The music video was nominated for Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was later nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
Background
The single is an introspective regarding Lamar's perceived familial and social alcoholism, and the peer pressure which accompanies it amongst his friends. In the first verse, he remembers his grandfather's drinking and resulting death,[2] and the reasons that led Lamar himself to drinking.[3] The hook, from the perspective of his peers, is the social pressure pressed upon him to "get a swimming pool full of liquor" and then "dive in it". At the second verse, Lamar, now drunk, is conversing with his own subconscious, which is attempting to warn him of "drown[ing] in some poison". By the final verse of the song, Lamar is accepting his fate that he believes he will "probably sleep and never ever wake up".
The extended album version of the track feature an interlude and a skit that expands on the concept story of the album. Now drunk and eager to impress his peers, he thinks once more of the album's love interest, Sherane, before detailing a shoot-out between Lamar's friends and their gang rivals, in which his friend's brother is shot and killed. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" is the album's lead single and the follow-up to Lamar's debut single "The Recipe".
Music video
The music video, directed by Jerome D, premiered August 3, 2012 on 106 & Park. A review by the magazine Rolling Stone shared a summary of the video stating: "In his new video for 'Swimming Pools (Drank),' Kendrick Lamar defies gravity, floating and tumbling in suspended space as liquor bottles fly upwards and smash into the ceiling. The rapper gets introspective on a woozy beat, considering the highs and lows of alcohol consumption and the sense of confidence it bestows upon the drinker. Lamar spends most of the video rapping alone, but color-filtered shots of a booze-soaked rager poke through the more contemplative scenes."
Remix
The official remix featuring his Black Hippy cohorts - Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q - was included as a bonus track on the Target Deluxe edition of good kid, m.A.A.d city.[4]
On 14 March 2013 producer Dev Hynes uploaded a reinterpreted rendition of the track by English R&B group, Mutya Keisha Siobhan to his official Soundcloud page. The track, entitled 'Lay Down in Swimming Pools', features an interpolation of the original Lamar song. Hynes later commented saying "Just finished recording new music with Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan, And the girls felt like having a bit of fun at the end of the last session - enjoy!!"[5] The group's interpretation received rave reviews from music critics.[citation needed]
Commercial performance
In its first week of release the song debuted at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained within the chart for another week, but two weeks later re-entered the Hot 100 and climbed up each week, progressing from the top 90 to number eighty-one, seventy-one and sixty-one. In its tenth week, "Swimming Pools (Drank)" climbed up to number 55 and the following week entered the top 40 of the Hot 100 at number thirty-two, moving up to twenty-five and peaking at number 17. On the UK Singles Chart the song entered at number 63, remaining in the top 100 for one week. The song is Kendrick Lamar's highest-charting single in on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the UK Singles Chart.[6]
Critical reception
Rolling Stone named the song the 34th best song of 2012.[7] XXL named it one of the top five hip hop songs of 2012.[8]
Track listing
- Digital single
- good kid, m.A.A.d city
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Certifications
Year-end charts
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Release information
Purchasable release
References
- ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Performs On Saturday Night Live (Video)". 2DopeBoyz. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ↑ Lamar, Kendrick (3 October 2012). "My Favorite Things, Part II". RapGenius. Retrieved 14 January 2013. "...playing on the word swimming pool. him drowning in a pool of liquor in Chicago"
- ↑ Lamar, Kendrick (5 August 2012). "My Favorite Things, Part II". RapGenius. Retrieved 14 January 2013. "This song is about me reminising about my years a kid witnessing a housing that indulged adults in alcohol. So much alcohol that it could fill a swimming pool. Eventually that me reminising became a reality when i became an adult"
- ↑ The Most Important Freestyles Of 2012 | Discussing Lil' Wayne, Drake & Many More Hip Hop Artists | HipHop DX
- ↑ Mutya Keisha Siobhan release Kendrick Lamar cover - listen - Music News - Digital Spy
- ↑ "Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools (Drank) on acharts.us". acharts.us. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ↑ 50 Best Songs of 2012: Kendrick Lamar, 'Swimming Pools Drank' | Rolling Stone
- ↑ http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/01/xxl-lists-best-hip-hop-songs-albums-last-40-years-xxl-issue-152/4/
- ↑ http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20130219-1428/Issue1197.pdf
- ↑ RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - November 21, 2013
- ↑ "R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - 2012 Year End Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- ↑ "Rap Songs - 2012 Year End Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- ↑ "80-61 Hottest 100 - 2012 triple j". abc.net.au. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
- ↑ "Best of 2013 - Hot 100 Songs". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ↑ "2013 Year End Charts — R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ↑ "2013 Year End Charts — Rap Songs". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ↑ . iTunes.com. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
External links
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