The drums hit cold, the bass sits low, and Kendrick Lamar’s voice cuts through the speakers on Hoodz Radio. That’s Kendrick Lamar ELEMENT., a DAMN. cut that debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and still sounds like a challenge to every artist in earshot.

Kendrick Lamar ELEMENT.: The Story Behind the Record

“ELEMENT.” is the fourth track on DAMN., Kendrick’s fourth studio album. The project dropped April 14, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath and Interscope. It runs 14 tracks deep, with guest appearances from Rihanna, Zacari and U2.

Production on the album came from a long list that includes Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike WiLL Made-It, Ricci Riera, James Blake, Steve Lacy, BADBADNOTGOOD, Greg Kurstin, The Alchemist and 9th Wonder. “ELEMENT.” sits in the middle of that run as the record where the album hardens up.

Who Made ELEMENT.: Writers, Producers and Credits

The songwriting credits on “ELEMENT.” go to R. Riera, J. Blake, K. Duckworth (Kendrick Lamar) and M. Spears (Sounwave). The record was produced by Sounwave, James Blake, Ricci Riera, Bekon and Tae Beast.

  • Kid Capri is credited with additional vocals.
  • Bekon and Tae Beast are credited with additional production.
  • James Blake is one of five credited producers on the track, a name that stands out on a record this hard.

Bekon is the pseudonym of producer Daniel Tannenbaum, formerly known as Danny Keyz. His résumé includes work with Dr. Dre, Eminem, BJ The Chicago Kid and Snoop Dogg.

What ELEMENT. Means: Self-Reliance on Wax

The meaning of “ELEMENT.” runs through Kendrick’s own words. In his Rolling Stone interview, he was asked about a line on the record dealing with black artists and wack artists. He defined a wack artist as someone scared to make their own voice who chases somebody else’s success. His answer: “A wack artist uses other people’s music for their approval.”

Kendrick also pointed to the record when talking about how he writes. He said he writes about 95 percent of the melodies himself, adding that he “Might give you a hook like “ELEMENT.””

Put those two comments together and here’s the station’s take: this is a statement of artistic self-reliance. It’s a record about owning your voice, your melodies and your lane.

The ELEMENT. Music Video

The visual arrived June 27, 2017. It was directed by Jonas Lindstroem and The Little Homies, Kendrick’s directing alias with Dave Free. It was produced by Iconoclast and TDE Films, and it’s the sixth Kendrick video for The Little Homies.

The imagery is raw. Kendrick gets into a brawl and raps in a blood-covered T-shirt. Groups of kids practice fighting and watch a house burn down. Nuns in white and a boy in pouring rain are intercut throughout. To us, it plays grittier than the videos for “HUMBLE.” and “DNA.”

The production team included Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Dave Free and Jannis Birsner, with Nicolai Niermann as director of photography. The video earned a 2017 UK Music Video Awards nomination for Best Cinematography.

How ELEMENT. Landed: The Chart Run

On the Billboard Hot 100 dated May 6, 2017, “Element.” debuted at No. 16 with 31.3 million U.S. streams in the tracking week ending April 20. That was part of Kendrick placing all 14 DAMN. tracks on the chart at once, with “Humble.” at No. 1.

The song also made noise overseas. It peaked at No. 33 on the UK Official Singles Chart and reached No. 17 on the Irish singles chart.

The album itself opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with the highest-selling first week of 2017 at the time. By May 25, 2018, every track on DAMN. had at least one RIAA plaque, gold or platinum, and the album reached 3x Platinum on May 10, 2018.

Where ELEMENT. Sits in Kendrick’s Catalog

DAMN. won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first non-classical or jazz work to do so. It also won five Grammys, including Best Rap Album. It’s Kendrick’s third album to sell over a million copies, and “HUMBLE.” is its best-selling song.

The run didn’t stop there. Kendrick had the most Hot 100 No. 1s of 2024 with three: “Like That,” “squabble up” and “Not Like Us.” Billboard then named him the top Hot 100 songwriter of 2025, helped by the 13-week No. 1 “Luther” with SZA and the one-week No. 1 “squabble up.”

“ELEMENT.” is an early chapter in that story, an album standout from the project that put Kendrick’s name beside the Pulitzer.

Why ELEMENT. Stays in Rotation on Hoodz Radio

Here’s the station’s take. “ELEMENT.” is a trap-leaning deep cut that charted in the top 20 on the strength of the music alone. It carries the same message the culture was built on: be yourself, write your own story, and don’t borrow somebody else’s shine.

That’s why it fits a station that honors the golden era while pushing the next generation forward. Every new voice should hear this record. Every veteran should nod along.

Sources

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