i (Kendrick Lamar song)

"i"
Single by Kendrick Lamar
from the album To Pimp a Butterfly
Released	September 23, 2014
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2014
Genre	Hip hop neo soul
Length	3:51 (single version) 5:36 (album version)
Label	Top Dawg Aftermath Interscope
Writer(s)	Kendrick Duckworth Marvin Isley O'Kelly Isley Ronald Isley Rudolph Isley Ernie Isley Christopher Jasper Columbus Smith
Producer(s)	Rahki
Kendrick Lamar singles chronology
"Buy the World" (2014) "i" (2014) "Pay for It" (2014)

"i" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on September 23, 2014 as the lead single from Lamar's third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. The song heavily samples "That Lady", as performed by R&B group The Isley Brothers, elements of which were re-recorded rather than being directly sampled from the original record. The song debuted and peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Background

"I" was produced by Los Angeles producer Rahki, who also produced the song "Institutionalized". Although the version of "i" that appears on the album is drastically different from the single release, both versions contain a sample of the song "That Lady" by The Isley Brothers. Lamar personally visited Isley Brothers' lead vocalist Ronald Isley to ask his permission to sample the song: "I actually had to go to St. Louis and get the blessings from Ronald Isley," he said. "That was a trip. We got in the studio and just vibed and talked about how things were back then and how they are now, and you can actually hear him on the record with a few ad-libs that he actually did. We got it on camera and things like that, it’s a beautiful thing." Isley also performs on the song "How Much a Dollar Cost?" with singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy.^[1]

The single cover for "i" features members of gangs the Bloods and the Crips forming a heart, on the subject of the cover art Lamar said in an interview with AMP Radio: "Where I'm from, there's a lot of gang culture and things like that, so instead of throwing on up gang signs, which we used to, I put a Blood and I put a Crip together and we’re throwing up hearts...sparking the idea of some type of change through music or through me because I go back to the city now and people give me the honor and respect that, you know, this kid can change a little bit something different that’s been going on in the community."^[2]

Album version

A different version of "i" was released for Lamar's third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. The version which appears on the album was produced in a way that emulates a live performance, as opposed to the clean production on the single. Also, after the second verse, the song is interrupted as an argument breaks out in the crowd to which Lamar is performing. After Lamar speaks to the crowd he proceeds to perform an acapella verse which finishes the song.

Music video

The video for the song premiered on Vevo and YouTube on November 4, 2014. It features cameos from singer Ron Isley and George Clinton. References are made to 2Pac and The Joker in the video. A short instrumental was played in the intro of the video.

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim from music critics. The track was placed at number ten on Rolling Stone‍ '​s 50 Best Songs of 2014 list.^[3] Billboard listed "i" as the second best song of 2014.^[4] "i" also was placed at number 14 on Spin's list of "The 101 Best Songs of 2014".^[5] In January 2015, "i" was ranked at number five on The Village Voice‍ '​s annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

"i" received the award for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2015 Grammy Awards.^[6]

Track listing

• Digital download^[7]

1. "i" – 3:51

Charts

References