King's Dead

"King's Dead"
Single by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future and James Blake
from the album Black Panther: The Album and Redemption
Released	January 11, 2018 (2018-01-11)
Recorded	2017
Genre	Alternative hip hop trap
Length	3:50 2:40 (Jay Rock album version)
Label	TDE Aftermath Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Kendrick Duckworth Michael Williams Travis Walton Mark Spears Johnny McKinzie Nayvadius Wilburn James Litherland Samuel Gloade Anthony Tiffith Antwon Hicks Axel Morgan[1]
Producer(s)	Mike Will Made It Teddy Walton Sounwave 30 Roc^[a] Twon Beatz^[a][2] Axlfolie[3]
Jay Rock singles chronology
"90059" (2015) "King's Dead" (2018) "Win" (2018)
Kendrick Lamar singles chronology
"Don't Don't Do It" (2018) "King's Dead" (2018) "Pray for Me" (2018)
Future singles chronology
"Bum Bum Tam Tam (Remix)" (2017) "King's Dead" (2018) "Faded Love" (2018)
James Blake singles chronology
"Vincent" (2017) "King's Dead" (2018) "If the Car Beside You Moves Ahead" (2018)
Music video
"King's Dead" on YouTube

"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.

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.[4][5] The song is Jay Rock's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] 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".[7]

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.[8]

Remixes

On March 8, 2018, American rappers Joey Badass and XXXTentacion released a remix of the song.[9]

Personnel

Credits adapted from digital booklet.[10]^[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

Weekly charts Chart (2018) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[11] 58 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[12] 23 Greece (IFPI Greece)[13] 28 Ireland (IRMA)[14] 51 Netherlands (Single Tip)[15] 6 New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 4 Portugal (AFP)[17] 64 Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[19] 50 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[20] 25 US Billboard Hot 100[21] 21 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[22] 13 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[23] 33

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[24] 97 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 79 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 41

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[27]	Platinum	40,000^‡
Canada (Music Canada)[28]	2× Platinum	160,000^‡
Poland (ZPAV)[29]	Gold	25,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[30]	Silver	200,000^‡
United States (RIAA)[31]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label(s)	Ref.
Various	January 11, 2018	Digital download streaming	Top Dawg Aftermath Interscope	[32]
United States	January 30, 2018	Rhythmic contemporary		[33]

Notes

• ^.mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}^[a] signifies an uncredited co-producer

References

1. "BMI | Songview Search".^[permanent dead link‍]
2. "New Music by @jayrock x @kendricklamar x @future x @jamesblake "King Dead" (Prod.By ..." Instagram. Retrieved February 19, 2018.^[permanent dead link‍]
3. "Axlfolie".
4. "Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future, James Blake Debut 'King's Dead'". NPR. January 12, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
5. Puckett, Lily (January 11, 2018). "Jay Rock shares new song "King's Dead," featuring Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Blake". The Fader. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
6. Zellner, Xander (January 24, 2018). "Jay Rock Scores First Hot 100 Entry With Kendrick Lamar, Future & James Blake Collab 'King's Dead'". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
7. Younger, Briana (January 12, 2018). ""King's Dead" [ft. Kendrick Lamar, Future, & James Blake] by Jay Rock Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
8. William Cowen, Trace (February 16, 2018). "Here's the Video for Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future, and James Blake's "King's Dead"". Complex. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
9. "Joey Bada$$ and XXXTentacion link for "Kings Dead" remix". Elevatormag.com. March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
10. "Various Artists – Black Panther: The Album [Booklet]". Genius. Archived from the original on 2018-02-09. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
11. Ryan, Gavin (February 24, 2018). "Australian Charts: Drake 'God's Plan' Stays At No 1". Noise11. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
12. "Jay Rock Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
13. "Greece Official IFPI Charts Digital Singles Chart: Feb 5, 2018". IFPI Charts. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
14. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Jay Rock". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Dutch Single Tip – 24/02/2018" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
16. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. January 22, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
17. "Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Future & James Blake – King's Dead". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
18. "Veckolista Heatseeker – Vecka 7, 16 februari 2018". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
20. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
21. "Jay Rock Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
22. "Jay Rock Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
23. "Jay Rock Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
24. "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
25. "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
26. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
27. "Brazilian single certifications – Jay Rock – King's Dead" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
28. "Canadian single certifications – Jay Rock – King's Dead". Music Canada. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
29. "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
30. "British single certifications – Jay Rock – King's Dead". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
31. "American single certifications – Jay Rock – King's Dead". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
32. "King's Dead". iTunes. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
33. "Top 40/R Future Releases". Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.

External links

• Audio on YouTube