Music
Plus One
The 11 best Kendrick Lamar songs
Ranking the best Kendrick Lamar tracks ahead of his UK summer shows with SZA
Before the defining hip hop beef of the 2020s, before ‘Not Like Us’ won the Grammy for Song of the Year, before the Pulitzer, there was a Compton rapper whose artistry veered in both socially conscious and charmingly silly directions. After a string of mixtapes under the moniker K.Dot, Kendrick Lamar dropped his debut album, Section.80, introducing the world to poetic Tupac-influenced lyricism that earnestly depicted the peaks and valleys of inner city life for Black men in America – from police brutality and survivor’s guilt to coming of age, falling in love, and everything in between. A rapper who plays with flow and voice as instruments, introducing new vocal stylings to each song and project without losing the distinct character that permeates through his catalogue.
This is not to say that Kendrick’s wit is solely reserved for serious, heavy themes and issues. His latest album, GNX, takes on a more braggadocious and playful tone, incorporating elements of summery G-funk (‘dodger blue’), a Luther Vandross sample (‘luther feat. SZA’), and a very loud DJ Mustard shout-out (‘tv off’). Plus, the Compton rapper has featured on songs with artists across pop, R&B and more – we all remember that Taylor Swift ‘Bad Blood’ remix, or his sultry feature on Jhené Aiko’s ‘Stay Ready’, or pre-beef hit ‘Poetic Justice’ with Drake himself. Or for a real deep cut feature, his verse on 2010s tween It Girl Jasmine V’s ‘That’s Me Right There’. Or cast your mind back to 2009, for my personal favourite deep cut and Kendrick’s most playful use of wit and rhyme to date, his single ‘Beyoncé’. A track where Lamar laments on how he’s upset that Beyoncé was engaged to Jay-Z because he wished to be the object of her affections – all rapped over a characteristically 2009 boom bap-style beat. If you don’t believe me, you can check the track out below:
But now in 2025, with a critically acclaimed discography, a Super Bowl Halftime Show, and an upcoming tour with SZA under his belt, we take on the mammoth task of ranking his top 11 songs.
11. ‘Barbed Wire’
(Overly Dedicated, 2010)
In keeping with the theme of associating Kendrick with poetry, it seemed poetic and natural to begin this list with a track from his first mixtape under his current stage name. ‘Barbed Wire’, produced by Sounwave and featuring the vocals of Ash Riser, chronicles Lamar’s feelings as he tries to overcome the difficulties of living in the ghettos of Compton. Between “my opportunities are low because my brown complexion floats / in the ghetto rather in some heels like Giuseppe’s” and “Tryna get away from the world’s stereotype / Barbed wire got a barricade on your destiny” – ‘Barbed Wire’ is a prime example of his skilful juxtaposition of a hard-hitting delivery but vulnerable storytelling that we come to know him for.
10. ‘FEAR’
(DAMN., 2017)
From his Pulitzer prize-winning project DAMN., we kick off our top 10 with emotionally stirring track ‘FEAR’. It’s a difficult task to narrow down any discography to just 11 tracks, and even harder in the presence of such a behemoth album. Any of the tracks on DAMN. would have been comfortable sitting at any ranking on this list, but ‘FEAR’ wins on this instance for its ability to take us on a 20-year journey of Kendrick’s anxieties in just over seven minutes. Describing key moments true fear across his life; at age seven, 17 and 27, Lamar explores his childhood and family life in Compton, his fear of dying young at the hands of gang activity, and fear of sustaining his life as it currently stands. As Black men are still socialised not to speak on their anxieties or vulnerabilities, Kendrick’s ‘FEAR’ challenges that; ‘FEAR’ lowers the drawbridge and opens up to the world.
9. ‘These Walls (feat. Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat)’
(To Pimp A Butterfly, 2015)
To Pimp A Butterfly Kendrick is a great Kendrick, showing off his versatility in delivery, and knack for double entendres. On the surface ‘These Walls’, produced by Terrace Martin and Larrance Dopson, is a song about sex between two characters in the story he weaves across the album, but also about the walls of a prison cell, the walls of his mind, and the entrapped feeling of all scenarios. In an interview with Peter Rosenberg backstage at Wireless Festival in 2015, Lamar went on record to say that ‘These Walls’ was a song he’d “always wanted to make, but never knew how to make”, but also a song he plays “constantly”. Proof alone that ‘These Walls’ is right at home on this top songs list.
8. ‘Rigamortus’
(Section.80, 2011)
My first foray into the work of Kendrick Lamar began with Section.80, when my older brother would play ‘HiiiPoWeR’ on his iPod dock and the bass would rattle the walls of every room. After listening to the rest of the project (which I downloaded from Limewire), I was an instant fan, but it was ‘Rigamortus’ that made me a fan for life. Taking its name from the biological process of stiffness in a human corpse, this state of being is what Kendrick imposes on any rapper who isn’t him. “Don’t ask for your favorite rapper/ (He dead), yes, sir (Amen)”. His presence alone means he’s your new favourite rapper, that anybody before simply doesn’t exist or shouldn’t even try to exist. Kendrick’s lyricism is a knife to your former favourite rapper, and he “killed him” with it. “Amen”.
7. ‘ Untitled 02 | 06.23.2014’
(Untitled Unmastered, 2016)
It seems hyperbolic to claim any of Kendrick Lamar’s albums are underrated but Untitled Unmastered seems to live in the shadow of the critically acclaimed, culture shifting DAMN., To Pimp A Butterfly and good kid, m.A.A.d city. But some of Kendrick’s more experimental, challenging vocal deliveries, rhymes and thematic exploration lives boldly on this compilation album. Taking our seventh spot is ‘Untitled 02’. Home to the infamous Kendrick Scream intro, an experimental jazz time signature reminiscent of that of Thelonious Monk, the exploration of the dichotomy between his music career and the real threats facing his immediate community in compton – ‘Untitled 02’ is a masterclass in balancing multiple competing elements on one song.
6. ‘Poe Mans Dreams (His Vice) (feat. GLC)’
(Section.80, 2011)
‘Poe Mans Dreams’ is an instant classic, evocative of early conscious rap from 90s hip hop mainstays Mos Def, Common and Q-Tip, while still remaining defiantly contemporary and Californian. Speaking on giving into vices, Kendrick Lamar’s lackadaisical delivery conveys a narrative voice exasperated by the conditions they’re living in – confessional but also accessible to anyone who listens. It’s Kendrick’s superpower to be able to tell stories of hardship whilst being inviting and relatable, and Willie B-produced ‘Poe Mans Dreams’ is a good example of that.
5. ‘Money Trees’
(good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012)
Some might argue that the real hero of ‘Money Trees’ is Jay Rock (and I may or may not be one of those people), but it is a true testament to the skill of Kendrick Lamar to have a featured artist’s verse that stands out while not taking away from his own performance. ‘Money Trees’ takes a sample of Beach House’s ‘Silver Soul’, paired with additional backing vocals from long-time collaborator Anna Wise, and discusses the pitfalls of lust and want for material things. Both Jay Rock and Kendrick have been on record to say that ‘Money Trees’ is one of their favourite songs, so it should come as no surprise that it’s one of our favourites too.
4. ‘The Heart’ (Parts 1 – 6)
(Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, 2022)
It is absolutely cheating to include of all of ‘The Heart’ track series, but why pick one apple and deny yourself a bushel? Technically each part of ‘The Heart’ expands from the last one, so really, it’s all one song. For the purpose of this list, we’ve only featured part five, but rest assured that we rank every part as our fourth spot. Each part morphs into a new socially conscious organ of one overarching beast, with the early parts one and two released during his mixtape days, sampling ‘UMI Says’ by Mos Def (Now Known as Yasiin Bey) and ‘A Peace of Light by The Roots respectively. The next parts come as full-blown album tracks and even standalone singles (‘The Heart Part 4’), and invite collaborators Jay Rock and Ab-Soul. Each ‘Heart’ elaborates on life living in close proximity to poverty, gang violence, institutional racism, and trying to form community in the midst of that. ‘heart pt.6’ on latest album GNX even goes back to his early ‘Heart’ 90s sample roots, with a sample of SWV ‘Use Your Heart’.
3. ‘Alright’
(To Pimp A Butterfly, 2015)
Any song in this top five could’ve been number one, especially ‘Alright’, with its legacy of bringing Black people together to chant the words “we gon’ be alright”. Especially in the face of adversity, structural racism, police brutality, mass incarceration, and more, the notion that we will overcome that is necessarily hopeful. The chorus for ‘Alright’ served as a protest chant during the Black Lives Matter movement, a contemporary We Shall Overcome for millennials, whilst also a source of joy for crowds at Black block and hall parties. Who else can create an era-defining moment like Kendrick Lamar? As long as he’s around, the answer is no one.
2. ‘HiiiPoWeR’
(Section.80, 2011)
No.2 on our list goes to ‘HiiiPoWeR’, produced by none other than J.Cole. On this somber, uncompromising track, Kendrick stresses the importance of self-reflection, inner work and enlightenment, whilst also exploring conspiracy theories and historical figures. It’s a quest for knowledge despite the narrative voice’s circumstances in the housing projects of the Section 80 housing act, from which the album takes its name. It’s also the very first Kendrick song I ever heard, so I’m allowing bias to place this in the top two of our list.
1. ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst’
(good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012)
It’s bewildering that good kid, m.A.A.d city didn’t win Best Rap Album at the Grammys all those years ago, when it could’ve won any award for this song alone. Coming in at number one is ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst’, a two-part feat of storytelling that touches on brushes with gang violence, strength in spirituality and faith, and resisting retaliation. Each part of the song was produced by a different production team, and even have separate music videos – ‘Sing About Me‘ and ‘I’m Dying of Thirst’. While again, any of Kendrick’s songs could be argued as his number one, ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst’ is a true testament to all the aspects of Kendrick’s artistry that we’ve come to respect. The piece de resistance of a piece de resistance.
