Featured In
Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Kendrick Lamar
Vocals
MC Eiht
Vocals
Marlon Williams
Guitar
Mary Keating
Violin
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Mark Spears
Songwriter
Ricci Riera
Songwriter
Axel Morgan
Songwriter
Aaron Bernard Tyler
Songwriter
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth
Songwriter
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Brian Gardner
Mastering Engineer
Derek "MixedByAli" Ali
Mixing Engineer
James Hunt
Recording Engineer
Mark Spears
Producer
Mike Bozzi
Mastering Engineer
Terrace Martin
Additional Producer
Lyrics
[Intro]
If Pirus and Crips all got along
They'd probably gun me down by the end of this song
Seem like the whole city go against me
Every time I'm in the street, I hear
Yawk, yawk, yawk, yawk
[Chorus]
Man down, where you from, ****?
Fuck who you know, where you from, my ****?
Where your grandma stay, huh, my ****?
This m.A.A.d city I run, my ****
[Verse 1]
Brace yourself, I'll take you on a trip down memory lane
This is not a rap on how I'm slingin' crack or move cocaine
This is cul-de-sac and plenty Cognac and major pain
Not the drill sergeant, but the stress that weighin' on your brain
It was me, L Boog, and Yan Yan, YG Lucky ride down Rosecrans
It got ugly, wavin' yo' hand out the window, check yourself
Uh, Warriors and Conans, hope euphoria can slow dance
With society, the driver seat the first one to get killed
Seen a light-skinned **** with his brains blown out
At the same burger stand where **** hang out
Now this is not a tape recorder sayin' that he did it
But ever since that day, I was lookin' at him different
That was back when I was nine, Joey packed the nine
Pakistan on every porch is fine, we adapt to crime
Pack a van with four guns at a time
With the sliding door, fuck is up?
Fuck you shootin' for if you ain't walkin' up, you fuckin' punk?
Pickin' up the fuckin' pump, pickin' off you suckers
Suck a dick or die or sucker punch
A wall of bullets comin' from AKs, ARs, "Aye, y'all, duck!"
That's what Momma said when we was eatin' that free lunch
Aw man, goddamn, all hell broke loose
You killed my cousin back in '94, fuck yo' truce
Now crawl your head in that noose
You wind up dead on the news
Ain't no peace treaty, just piecin' BGs up to pre-approve
Bodies on top of bodies, IVs on top of IVs
Obviously, the coroner between the sheets like the Isleys
When you hop on that trolley, make sure your colors correct
Make sure you're corporate or they'll be callin' your mother collect
They say the governor collect all of our taxes, except
When we in traffic and tragic happens, that shit ain't no threat
You movin' backwards if you suggest that you sleep with a TEC
Go buy a chopper and have a doctor on speed dial, I guess
M.A.A.d city
[Chorus]
Man down, where you from, ****?
Fuck who you know, where you from, my ****?
Where your grandma stay, huh, my ****?
This m.A.A.d city I run, my ****
[Bridge]
If Pirus and Crips all got along
They'd probably gun me down by the end of this song
Seem like the whole city go against me
Every time I'm in the street, I hear
Yawk, yawk, yawk
[Bridge]
Wake yo' punk-ass up
It ain't nothin' but a Compton thang
G-yeah, real simple and plain
Let me teach you some lessons about the street
Smoke somethin', ****
Hood
'Sup, Cuz?
It ain't nothin' but a Compton thang
G-yeah, how we do
[Verse 2]
Fresh outta school 'cause I was a high school grad
Sleepin' in the living room of my momma's pad
Reality struck, I seen the white car crash
Hit the light pole, two **** hopped out on foot and dashed
My pops said I needed a job, I thought I believed him
Security guard for a month and ended up leavin'
In fact, I got fired, 'cause I was inspired by all of my friends
To stage a robbery the third Saturday I clocked in
Projects tore up, gang signs get thrown up ('Sup)
Cocaine laced in marijuana
And they wonder why I rarely smoke now
Imagine if your first blunt had you foamin' at the mouth
I was straight tweakin', the next weekend we broke even
I made allegiance that made a promise to see you bleedin'
You know the reasons but still will never know my life
Kendrick, a.k.a. "Compton's Human Sacrifice"
[Verse 3]
G-yeah, cocaine, weed
**** been mixin' shit since the '80s, loc
Sherm sticks, butt-nakeds
Dip, make a **** flip
Cluckheads all up and down the block and shit
One time's crooked and shit
Block a **** in
Alondra, Rosecrans, Bullis, it's Compton
[Verse 4]
I'm still in the hood, loc, yeah, that's cool (G-yeah)
The hood took me under, so I follow the rules
But yeah, that's like me, I grew up in the hood where they bang
And **** that rep colors is doin' the same thang
Pass it to the left so I can smoke on me
A couple drive-bys in the hood lately (G-yeah)
Couple of IVs with the fuckin' spray-can
Shots in the crowd, then everybody ran
Crew I'm finna slay, the street life I crave
Shots hit the enemy, hearts turn brave
Mount up, regulators in the whip
Down the boulevard with the pistol grip (G-yeah)
Trip, we in the hood still
So, loc, grab a strap 'cause G-yeah, it's so real (G-yeah)
Deal with the outcome, a strap in the hand
And a bird and ten grand's where a mothafucka stand
[Verse 5]
If I told you I killed a **** at sixteen, would you believe me?
Or see me to be innocent Kendrick you seen in the street
With a basketball and some Now and Laters to eat?
If I mentioned all of my skeletons, would you jump in the seat?
Would you say my intelligence now is great relief?
And it's safe to say that our next generation maybe can sleep
With dreams of bein' a lawyer or doctor
Instead of boy with a chopper that hold the cul-de-sac hostage
Kill 'em all if they gossip
The Children of the Corn, they vandalizin' the option
Of livin' a lie, drown their body with toxins
Constantly drinkin' and drive
Hit the powder, then watch this flame that arrive in his eye
Listen, coward, the concept is aim and then bang it and slide
Out that bitch with deposit, a price on his head, the tithes
Probably go to the projects, I
Live inside the belly of the rough, Compton, USA
Made me an Angel on Angel Dust, what?
[Verse 6]
M.A.A.d city
Compton
[Outro]
****, pass Dot the bottle, damn
You ain't the one that got fucked up
What you holdin' it for?
**** always actin' unsensitive and shit
****, that ain't no word
****, shut up
Hey, Dot, you good, my ****?
Don't even trip
Just lay back and drink that
Written by: Kendrick Lamar, Axel Morgan, Ricci Riera, Mark Spears