"Fear"
Song by Kendrick Lamar
from the album DAMN.
Recorded2017
GenreWest Coast hip hop
Length7:41
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Fear" (stylized as "FEAR.") is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his fourth studio album DAMN., released on April 14, 2017. The twelfth track on the album (third on the Collector's Edition of Damn[2]), the song was written by Kendrick and produced by The Alchemist, with additional production by Bēkon. At seven minutes and forty-one seconds, it is the longest song on the album.[3][4] Although not released as a single, the song charted in multiple countries in 2017.

The song, structured in three parts, describes events in Lamar's life, specifically his worries and fears, at the ages of seven, seventeen, twenty-seven, and at the time of recording.[4][5][6] The song has received critical acclaim from music critics, with multiple critics calling the track as Damn's centerpiece, as well as a huge standout.

Composition

The song begins with a voicemail from Lamar's cousin, Karni Israel Duckworth (then Carl Duckworth), who, in the voicemail, speaks a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah (a section of the Hebrew Bible).[4] Specifically, he speaks Deuteronomy 28:28, which reads "The LORD will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart." Duckworth, a member of the Black Hebrew Israelites, refers to the burden that Lamar feels as a result of not accepting his supposed Israeli heritage. As Duckworth mentions in his second voicemail to Lamar at the end of the song

"The so-called Blacks, Hispanics, and Native American Indians are the true children of Israel. We are the Israelites, according to the Bible. The children of Israel. He's gonna punish us for our iniquities, for our disobedience because we chose to follow other gods”

Though it is unclear how much of this logic Lamar chooses to follow, he notes in another track on the album, "Yah", that “I’m an Israelite, don’t call me Black no more,” indicating sympathy towards the movement." Following Duckworth’s voicemail, the first verse sees Lamar exploring the fear he experienced as a young child with a strict mother.[5] The second verse sees Lamar exploring his teen years expressing his fear of dying at a young age. This is enforced with the gang banging and police brutality of Compton, CA.[5] The third verse sees Lamar exploring the anxieties he showed on his third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly. These anxieties include his lack of self-confidence in himself and his abilities, as well as the fear of losing the life he had built for himself. At the near end of the song, the beat switches and there's another verse from Carl Duckworth, a continuation of the verse in the first voicemail. Upon explaining its meaning, he ends with the Hebrew word, "shalom" meaning "peace" and "goodbye" (or greetings).

Lyrics

The song contains "backwards vocals", also known as backmasking, or "reverse vocals".[7][8][9] The backmasked lyrics have been described as the lyrics to the song's refrain in reverse.[10] They appear midway through the song and occur for twenty seconds to represent Lamar going back to his childhood.[11]

The backmasked lyrics, played forwards, reads as follows:

Every stone thrown at you restin' at my feet
Why God, why God do I gotta suffer?
Pain in my heart carry burdens full of struggle
Why God, why God do I gotta bleed?
Every stone thrown at you restin' at my feet
Why God, why God do I gotta suffer?
Earth is no more, why don't you burn this muhfucka?[7][8][9]

Critical reception

Kendrick Lamar at the White House in 2016
Lamar himself believes "Fear" contains some of the best lyrics he's ever written.

The song has received critical acclaim from music critics, with multiple critics describing "FEAR." as DAMN.'s centerpiece.[12][13] Sydney Sweeney of Atwood Magazine called "Fear" a contemplative standout on DAMN.[14] Maeve McDermott of USA Today said that with "Fear", "the album's purpose solidifies beyond its political statements, showing a portrait of an artist terrified of failure, in the eyes of his community, his peers and himself.[15] Ryan Alfieri of DJBooth named the track as "one of [the] countless number of standout selections from his newly released opus."[16] Writer Yoh of DJBooth described "Fear" as "the most important song on [Damn]".[17]

Several critics have described the song's structure as similar to the 2017 Academy Award for Best Picture-winning film Moonlight, specifically how Moonlight follows a character in three sections – childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.[12] Because of this, Patrick Lyons of Merry Jane called Lamar "the best storyteller in hip-hop."[12] Lawrence Burney of Vice has compared the song to Lamar's "Momma", from 2015's To Pimp a Butterfly, a track that also explores Lamar's self-actualization.[4]

Lamar himself, in an interview with i-D Magazine, spoke highly of the track, believing some of his best verses he's ever written come from "Fear", saying "[The song's] completely honest."[18][19] Lamar continued "The first verse is everything that I feared from the time that I was seven years old. The second verse I was 17. In the third, it's everything I feared when I was 27. These verses are completely honest."[18][19][20]

Samples

The song contains a sample of "Poverty's Paradise", written by Dale Warren and performed by 24-Carat Black from the album Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth.[4][21][22] According to Genius.com, the second verse contains an interpolation of rapper Beanie Sigel's song "Die", from his first studio album The Truth.[5]

Credits and personnel

Image of the Alchemist performing in 2014
Daniel Maman a.k.a. The Alchemist produced the song.

Credits adapted from the official DAMN. digital booklet.[1]

  • Kendrick Duckworth – songwriter
  • Daniel Alan Maman – producer, songwriter
  • Charles Edward Sydney Isom Jr. – additional vocals
  • Bēkon – additional production, additional vocals
  • Carl Duckworth – additional vocals
  • Derek Ali – mixing
  • Tyler Page – mixing, mix assistant
  • Cyrus Taghipour – mix assistant

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[23] 43
France (SNEP)[24] 170
Ireland (IRMA)[25] 43
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] 85
New Zealand Heatseekers (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 2
Portugal (AFP)[28] 41
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[29] 63
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 4
UK Singles (OCC)[31] 68
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 50
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[33] 29

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[34] Gold 35,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[35] Gold 40,000‡
United States (RIAA)[36] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 "Digital Booklet – DAMN. copy.pdf". DocDroid. Retrieved April 20, 2017.|Dale Warren
  2. ↑ India, Lindsey (December 8, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar Surprises Fans With 'Damn.' Collector's Edition". XXL. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  3. ↑ Lyons, Patrick (April 18, 2017). "A Track-By-Track Analysis Of Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN."". HotNewHipHop. Urbanlinx Media. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Burney, Lawrence (April 18, 2017). "Why Kendrick Lamar's "FEAR" Feels so Perfect". Noisey. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Kendrick Lamar – FEAR., retrieved April 25, 2017
  6. ↑ Craven, Teddy (April 24, 2017). "Album review: Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN."". The Daily Campus. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "What's Kendrick Lamar saying in reverse on "Fear" and "Duckworth"? Listen to the original". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Backward Vocals Reveal Hidden Message in Kendrick Lamar's "Fear"". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Atkinson, S. "What Are The Backward Lyrics On Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.'? They Could Have A Symbolic Connection". Bustle. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Listen To The Reversed Backwards Vocals In Kendrick Lamar's 'FEAR.' – hiphopearly". hiphopearly. April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Biggest Surprises on Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.' – Kendrick's not trying to rap circles around the competition". PigeonsandPlanes. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 Lyons, Patrick (April 14, 2017). "Journey Through a Lifetime of "FEAR" on Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN." Highlight – MERRY JANE". Merry Jane. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  13. ↑ Okoth-Obbo, Vanessa (April 14, 2017). ""FEAR." by Kendrick Lamar Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  14. ↑ Sweeney, Sydney (April 17, 2017). "Review: "FEAR." is a Contemplative Standout on Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. – Atwood Magazine". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  15. ↑ McDermott, Maeve (April 14, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.': A track-by-track instant review". USA Today. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  16. ↑ "FEAR: Kendrick Lamar & the Shared Struggle to Achieve True Happiness – DJBooth Article". DJBooth.net. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  17. ↑ Yoh (April 14, 2017). "'DAMN.' Decoded: Kendrick Lamar's Album is About Breaking the Curse of Disobedience". DJBooth. The DJ Booth LLC. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  18. 1 2 India, Lindsey (October 16, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar Thinks He Wrote His Best Verses on "Fear."". XXL. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  19. 1 2 McKinney, Jessica (October 16, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar Explains Why "FEAR." Has Some of His Best Verses Ever". Vibe. Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  20. ↑ Giulione, Bianca (October 17, 2017). "Kendrick Lamar Says "FEAR." Contains His Best Verses". Highsnobiety. Titel Media GMBH. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  21. ↑ Genius (April 17, 2017), Every Sample On Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.', retrieved April 20, 2017
  22. ↑ "Listen to the Samples From Kendrick Lamar's New Album 'DAMN.'". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Fear." (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  25. ↑ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Fear." (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  27. ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar – Fear.". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  29. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201716 into search. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Swedish Heatseekers Chart – April 14, 2017". Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  34. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Kendrick Lamar – Fear". Music Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  36. ↑ "American single certifications – Kendrick Lamar – Fear". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
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