XXX (Kendrick Lamar song)

", pronounced "X-Rated") is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his fourth studio album Damn, released on April 14, 2017.

The eleventh track on the album (fourth on the Collector's Edition of Damn),[3] the song was written by Lamar, Mike Will Made It, DJ Dahi, Mark Spears a.k.a.

[9] The chorus then features Bono, the lead singer of Irish rock band U2, singing a prominent refrain in the latter half of the song.

"[7] The Diamondback news source paid compliments to the track, commending its messaging and stating "he’s [Lamar] fed up with violence and gun politics, but in the same breath threatens to pick off those who challenge him.

"[14] The Diamondback also spoke further on the theming of the song, stating that Lamar "wrestles with the meaning of perfection" within this track.

[14] Reggie Ugwu of Buzzfeed News examined "XXX" as a whole track, stating that the song is a "hard-hitting, shapeshifting elegy" in how it relays its messages.

Lamar performed "XXX" live, without U2,[15] at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 23, 2017.

Irish rock band U2 performing in 2015
The four members of U2, the Irish rock band active since the 1970s, had never been featured on a hip hop song until their collaboration with Lamar on "XXX".