“King’s Dead” by Kendrick Lamar, Future, Jay Rock & James Blake
“King’s Dead” is somewhat your standard contemporary-braggadocios rap song. For instance collectively the artists dedicate an ample amount of time to bragging about their wealth, ability to sleep with multiple women and the pleasure they derive from living so. Simply put, what we have here, as alluded to earlier, is a common case of rappers touting their superiority over others.
Now those of you already familiar with this song know that it is indeed part of the soundtrack to the 2018 MCU film “Black Panther”. And apparently how this all ties in to the movie, as illustrated in the closing verse, is that Kendrick Lamar in particular is supposed to be taking on the role of the film’s antagonist, Erik “Killmonger”. At one point in the film – spoiler alert – said character ‘kills’ King T’Challa, aka the Black Panther. So apparently it is that particular part of the storyline which the title of this song is based on. And overall the implication is that the rappers are taking on the same type of brash, domineering, don’t-give-a-f attitude as Erik Killmonger himself.
Facts about “King’s Dead”
Kendrick Lamar, Future, Jay Rock and James Blake wrote “King’s Dead” alongside the following:
- Twon Beatz
- 30 Roc
- Sounwave
- Teddy Walton (who is also credited as the track’s producer)
- Mike Will Made-It (also a co-producer of the track)
The labels behind this track are Interscope Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Top Dawg Entertainment.
“King’s Dead” was featured on two projects in 2018. One is “Black Panther: The Album”. And the second is Jay Rock’s solo album, “Redemption”.
“King’s Dead” has been certified triple Platinum in the United States. Furthermore, in 2019, it won a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Performance.
Chart Performance
“King’s Dead” flew to number 1 in Sweden and managed to enter the top 10 in Netherlands. However, it couldn’t replicate this success in the United States and the UK, only managing to reach positions 21 and 50 respectively.
