King Kunta

A funk-infused promotional single released March 23, 2015, referencing Kunta Kinte and classic soul influences.

"King Kunta" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar, from his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). It was released as a promotional single on March 23, 2015. Lamar co-wrote the song with Thundercat, while Terrace Martin, Sounwave, and Thundercat served as producers. The song features interpolations and references to lyrics written by Michael Jackson, James Brown, Fred Wesley, John Starks, and Johnny Burns, who are all credited as songwriters. The title references the archetypal rebellious slave Kunta Kinte from Alex Haley's novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and the song also contains references to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man.

Quick Facts

Artist

Kendrick Lamar

Album

To Pimp a Butterfly

Released

24 March 2015

Recorded

2013–2014

Genre

G-funk

Label

TDE
Aftermath
Interscope

Producer

Terrace Martin
Michael Kuhle
Sounwave

Lore & Background

The song's writing and composition draws from multiple literary and musical sources. "King Kunta" is a reference to the archetypal rebellious slave Kunta Kinte, the basis of the main character from the Alex Haley novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The song also contains references to Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart and Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man. Musically, it contains an interpolation of "Get Nekkid" (2000), written by Johnny Burns (a.k.a. Mausberg), performed by Mausberg, and produced by DJ Quik; resung lyrics from "Smooth Criminal" (1987), written and performed by Michael Jackson; and elements of the 1974 James Brown song "The Payback", written by Brown, Fred Wesley, and John Starks.

Reader's Guide

Critically, "King Kunta" was met with critical acclaim for its production and lyricism. This led to it being placed at number seven on Rolling Stone's "50 Best Songs of 2015" list, with the editors commenting, "The fiercest and most funkadelic track on To Pimp a Butterfly takes aim at everything from Lamar's haters to 'the power that be.' We already knew Kendrick was a great lyricist; turns out he's kind of a badass, too." Additionally, Pitchfork ranked the song at number four on its "The 100 Best Tracks of 2015" list. Village Voice named "King Kunta" the second-best single released in 2015 on their annual year-end critics' poll, Pazz & Jop. It came in 2nd on the annual Triple J Hottest 100 for 2015.