"King's Dead" is a song by American rappers Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and Future with English singer James Blake, from the soundtrack album of the Marvel Studios superhero film Black Panther and Jay Rock's third studio album Redemption.
| "King's Dead" | ||||
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| Single by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future and James Blake | ||||
| from the album Black Panther: The Album and Redemption | ||||
| Released | January 11, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:50
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Jay Rock singles chronology | ||||
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| Kendrick Lamar singles chronology | ||||
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| Future singles chronology | ||||
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| James Blake singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "King's Dead" on YouTube | ||||
It was released by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records on January 11, 2018, as both the soundtrack's second single and as the lead single from Redemption. The song is Jay Rock's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song, along with "Bubblin" by Anderson .Paak, won Best Rap Performance, and was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Reception
Briana Younger of Pitchfork gave the song a positive review, calling the song "fun and swaggering".
Music video
The music video for the song was released to Rock's Vevo channel on YouTube on February 15, 2018. It was directed by Dave Free and Jack Begert.
Remixes
On March 8, 2018, American rappers Joey Badass and XXXTentacion released a remix of the song.
Personnel
Credits adapted from digital booklet.[better source needed]
Performers
- Jay Rock – vocals
- Kendrick Lamar – vocals
- Future – vocals
- James Blake – vocals
Technical
- Matt Schaeffer – record engineering, mix engineering
- Mike Bozzi – master engineering
- Eric Manco – record engineering
Production
- Kendrick Lamar – production
- Teddy Walton – production
- Sounwave – additional production
- 30 Roc – uncredited co-production
- Twon Beatz – uncredited co-production
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart (2018) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) | 97 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 79 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 41 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada) | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV) | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA) | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
| ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | January 11, 2018 | |||
| United States | January 30, 2018 | Rhythmic contemporary |