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Kendrick Lamar and SZA<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Out of all of the acts to come from Top Dawg Entertainment, Kendrick Lamar and SZA are easily the most recognizable, not just within the West Coast powerhouse but across the globe. Given their overlapping circle of collaborators, fans naturally want them to link up, and fortunately, they deliver each and every time.<\/p>\n
The two artists\u2019 genius was even more obvious during their Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performance, where Lamar brought her out for \u201cluther\u201d and \u201cAll The Stars\u201d in front of over 100 million viewers. Thankfully, we\u2019ll get to see more of that on their joint “Grand National Tour<\/a>” in April, which, by the way, will be both of their first time doing all stadiums. The pair are slated to sweep through cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit up until June.<\/p>\n For the sake of consistency, we\u2019re leaving out \u201cu\u201d and \u201cFor Sale? (Interlude)\u201d since the St. Louis native only contributed background vocals. Without further ado, here are the best Kendrick Lamar and SZA collaborations to date, ranked from worst to best.<\/p>\n Another entry from GNX<\/em>, \u201cgloria\u201d might seem like it\u2019s about a person at first, but that\u2019s not necessarily the case. Instead, Kendrick Lamar uses the nearly five-minute offering to unpack the highs and lows of his \u201cright hand\u201d \u2014 aka the pen. \u201cMy baby boo, you either heal n**gas or you kill n**gas\/ Both is true, it take some tough skin just to deal with you,\u201d the pgLang<\/a> founder spat while reflecting on the dual nature of love, both musically and in real life.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, for all the magic Lamar and SZA have made together, this is where their chemistry feels the weakest. There\u2019s no lyrical tug-of-war, no harmonizing, no playful push-and-pull, just the St. Louis native holding down the chorus and outro while the rapper does his thing.<\/p>\n Kendrick Lamar\u2019s untitled unmastered.<\/em> doesn\u2019t get nearly as much recognition as it should. The project is, after all, a collection of leftovers and demos from his To Pimp a Butterfly<\/em> era. \u201cuntitled 04 | 08.14.2014,\u201d in particular, saw him link up with SZA once again to remind fans that \u201chead is the answer, head is the future\u201d \u2014 both when it comes to gaining knowledge and in a more physical sense too. SZA carries much of the track, with TDE labelmate Lance Skiiiwalker assisting on the bridge, but with another verse or two, “untitled 04 | 08.14.2014” could\u2019ve easily ranked higher.<\/p>\n For once, Kendrick Lamar and SZA aren\u2019t just featured on each other\u2019s albums. In 2015, the two linked up for Jay Rock\u2019s \u201cEasy Bake<\/a>,\u201d where the Watts rapper brought some much-needed Cali grit to their usual love-laced collaborations. The production, courtesy of TDE\u2019s in-house producers ThankGod4Cody and The Antydote, is just as impressive, between the piercing snares and beat switch about three minutes in. When you think about it, any time Jay Rock and Lamar join forces, it\u2019s a guaranteed hit, as evidenced by their Grammy-winning \u201cKing\u2019s Dead\u201d and \u201cWow Freestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n Serving as the pair\u2019s first song together, \u201cBabylon\u201d originally dropped without Kendrick Lamar\u2019s guest verse, though he ended up being a stellar addition to SZA\u2019s honey-hued vocals. Though she mostly questions if it was all worth it and the cycle of making amends with a former lover, K. Dot snuck in a few nods to Napoleon and J. Cole\u2019s Born Sinner<\/em>, among other things. Still, for this being one of their earliest collaborations \u2014 and, honestly, very early in her career \u2014 \u201cBabylon\u201d lacks the fuller production and chemistry we see in the pair’s work a decade later.<\/p>\n \u201c30 for 30\u201d opened with a spoken-word sample courtesy of Switch\u2019s Bobby DeBarge on \u201cI Call Your Name,\u201d which, fun fact, the LANA<\/a><\/em> standout itself sampled \u201cThrow Some D\u2019s\u201d by Rich Boy. In a time where interludes and storytelling feel practically on life support, the intro naturally laid the foundation for another solid SZA and Kendrick Lamar duet. She opened with a verse about finding solace in that one person when loneliness creeps in, with the \u201ci\u201d rapper subsequently emphasizing she\u2019s all that and then some.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the \u201cYou f**kin\u2019 with n**gas that\u2019s thinkin\u2019 they cuter than you, oh\u201d line, which felt like a shot at a certain someone (*cough*, Drake) given SZA\u2019s earlier \u201cwipin\u2019 ’em down\u201d reference on the chorus. As their eighth and most recent collaboration, \u201c30 for 30\u201d only serves as further proof the duo\u2019s chemistry is just as strong as ever.<\/p>\n Easily one of the stronger tracks from Ctrl.<\/em>, \u201cDoves in the Wind<\/a>\u201d is definitely one you probably don\u2019t want to blast around your grandmother. Between the endless sexual innuendos and \u201cp**sy\u201d being said a staggering 28 times over the course of 4 \u00bd minutes, Kendrick Lamar and SZA made no effort to censor themselves, not that they needed to for a song “dedicated to vaginas.” K. Dot\u2019s guest verse broke down how men \u2014 and, in some cases, even women \u2014 become so consumed by sex that they\u2019ll wine and dine, kill, or even die for it. It\u2019s not exactly Super Bowl-friendly, let alone radio-ready, which probably makes it even more of a guilty pleasure.<\/p>\n For a song written for 2018\u2019s Black Panther<\/em>, a soundtrack Kendrick Lamar executive produced himself, \u201cAll The Stars\u201d is about as close as the film gets to a true happy ending. The track first played over the closing credits, with both the Pulitzer Prize winner and SZA slipping in references to T\u2019Challa and Killmonger, whom viewers found out was actually the Black Panther\u2019s cousin toward the film\u2019s end. \u201cA small percentage who I’m buildin’ with\/ I want the credit if I’m losin’ or I’m winnin’\/ On my mama, that’s the realest s**t,\u201d Lamar spat on the Sounwave-produced cut.<\/p>\n The moment Luther Vandross sang, \u201cIf this world were mine,\u201d we knew we were in for something different. \u201cluther\u201d is noticeably more stripped down, put simply, than what fans are used to hearing from Kendrick Lamar, which is probably why it clicks so well even for the most picky ears. \u201cHey, Roman numeral seven, bae, drop it like it’s hot\/ If this world was mine, I’d take your dreams and make ’em multiply,\u201d he rapped in the opening verse before teaming up with SZA on the chorus.<\/p>\n8. \u201cgloria\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
7. \u201cuntitled 04 | 08.14.2014\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
6. \u201cEasy Bake\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
5. \u201cBabylon\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
4. \u201c30 for 30\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. \u201cDoves In The Wind\u201d<\/h2>\n
2. \u201cAll The Stars\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. \u201cluther\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n