m.A.A.d city

Sounwave and THC produced the first part of the instrumental and Terrace Martin the second as additional production. MC Eiht of Compton's Most Wanted is featured, and Schoolboy Q sings background vocals and ad-libs "yawk" in the refrain. Complex's oral history says a B.B. King sample could not be cleared at the last minute, so Sounwave found a player to replay it. Sounwave says Eiht was one of Lamar's childhood idols and that Lamar pitched having him on the track; Eiht says they talked through the concept and the song just connected. Lamar describes it as the turn up, the aggressive side of Compton.

The album came out on October 22, 2012 on Interscope, Top Dawg and Aftermath, with Dr. Dre and Anthony Tiffith as executive producers. The song was not a single. It debuted at 94 on the Hot 100 in album release week and peaked at 75 after the Grammy performance, with 24 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop and 10 on Hot Rap Songs, and is certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. XXL called it the album's creative and cinematic climax. Live, he performed it at Paid Dues on March 31, 2013, on the Arsenio Hall Show on September 17, 2013, and in a mash-up with Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" at the 56th Grammys in January 2014. Cassie's "I Know What You Want" (2013) and Sensato's "Back in Business" (2013) sample it. We found no studio for this track beyond a booklet reading of TDE Red Room that we could not confirm, and no official video.