Kendrick Lamar has been on a steady soar up the ranks of contemporary rap for the last few years. Performing under the name of K-Dot initially, his mixtapes caught Dr. Dre’s attention which led to his debut release, good kid, m.A.A.d City, giving him critical acclaim.
From then onwards, Lamar has been on a steady climb with no sign of stopping. His lyrical content covers a broad array of topics, but one area he excels in is love.
Here is my list of Kendrick Lamar’s best love songs!
1. Love
Album: DAMN.
Released: 2017
While “Love” may seem like a standard love song initially, Kendrick Lamar’s offering with Zacari can be taken in multiple ways. It can also be interpreted as a song declaring self-love and understanding what we need as individual people.
About confidence just as much as it is about love, “Love” is a solid start to this list with Zacari’s contributions adding a loving touch.
2. Die Hard
Album: Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Released: 2022
Here we have one of Kendrick Lamar’s most recent offerings which shows his development as a musician over the years. “Die Hard”’s beautiful, slow beat is dedicated to his family and wanting to overcome past traumas and issues to be the best and happiest person that he can be.
It shows a sensitive, vulnerable side to Lamar which only adds to his likability.
3. No Makeup
Album: Section.80
Released: 2011
Kendrick Lamar wasted no time diving straight into romanticisms fairly early into his career. In his critically acclaimed debut, “No Makeup” sees Lamar talking to his assumed partner and how he thinks she is beautiful in her most natural form. As he raps “don’t you know your imperfections is a wonderful blessing?”, he shows his lyrical ability to say much with little words.
“No Makeup” has an early 2000s Linkin Park atmosphere surrounding Lamar’s raps and a handful of piano passages for emotional impact.
4. Loyalty
Album: Damn
Released: 2017
Loosely relating to the theme of love, Kendrick explores the theme of loyalty both in platonic and romantic relationships in this track. This theme in particular is extremely important to Kendrick Lamar as accentuated throughout his entire discography, but “Loyalty” is the magnum opus of this particular theme.
I think Rihanna takes this track to a whole new level; two critically acclaimed artists complementing each other can’t be beaten. The track’s melodic switch halfway through also makes for an interesting change of pace.
5. Opposites Attract (Tomorrow W/O Her)
Album: Overly Dedicated
Released: 2010
I think Overly Dedicated is a criminally underrated release from Kendrick Lamar. Perhaps it was overlooked due to his sharp rise to stardom shortly after, but it contains some of his most interesting tracks, including “Opposites Attract…”.
It explores the complexities of love and relationships, with the notion that we “hurt people that love us, love people that hurt us”. Its delicate piano passage alongside Lamar’s signature vocals makes you realize what Dr. Dre saw in him when he was initially picked up.
6. Pray For Me
Album: Black Panther Soundtrack
Released: 2022
As one of his newest releases, and another collaboration with The Weeknd, Pray For Me can be interpreted as a song of self-love as much as external love.
Powerful lyrics encompass The Weeknd’s silky smooth voice between Lamar’s trademark rapping style, accompanied by a dark electro beat which helps the track stand apart from both artists’ discographies.
7. Cloud 10
Album: Unreleased
Released: 2011(?)
Here we have one of Kendrick Lamar’s first offerings to the musical arena which helped propel him to the position he’s in today. One of his lesser-known releases, “Cloud 10” can be seen as his struggle for self-love and independence in a big wide world as he’s trying to make it; a theme which would later become more apparent in his releases.
If you’re interested in the roots of this now-trademark rap artist, “Cloud 10” is an interesting listen. It may not be the most advanced song, but it acts as a good reference point for a lot of Lamar’s later inspirations.
8. Poetic Justice
Album: good kid, m.A.A.d city
Released: 2012
“Poetic Justice” is one of Kendrick’s more seductive approaches to the love theme. Wasting no time in wooing the subject of his track, a soulful, sexy beat follows the lyrical content. There are two interesting additions to this track: Drake, and Janet Jackson.
Drake adds a change of tempo while maintaining a similar flow to Lamar, while the use of Janet Jackson’s “Any Time, Any Place” is a tasteful and perfect sample to use in a track like this.
9. U
Album: To Pimp A Butterfly
Released: 2015
“U” is easily one of Kendrick Lamar’s more experimental and ambitious tracks. Firstly, we have a minimalistic, broken-down jazz section encompassing Lamar’s borderline chaotic vocals which reminds me of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
The track’s tempo is abrasive and takes effort to follow, but it’s well worth its weight in reward; especially when the track calms down and changes form.
The track itself explores the complexities of love, even when it’s not the most beneficial thing for those involved.
10. She Needs Me
Album: good kid, m.A.A.d city
Released: 2012
In our final song of the list, we have “She Needs Me”: a track for Kendrick Lamar’s perfect woman. Instrumentally, it’s quite a minimalistic bar a long-chiming melodic chord stroke behind Lamar’s groundbreaking verses.
The track is based around a woman who’s successful on her own, but Kendrick wants to be a part of her life. In an interview, it sounded like Kendrick in fact needed her, which is an interesting twist on the lyrics of the track.
Jordan McEvoy is a UK-based music journalist. He’s also an avid concert-goer, amateur photographer, and part-time gig promoter. When he isn’t rambling about his love for metal, attempting to write poetry, or playing RuneScape for the 50th time, he’s usually surrounded by coffee and listening to techno or Woods Of Ypres.
