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The sixth track on Lamar’s third album, “u” acts as a complete contrast to its lead single “i,” an anthem of peace, positivity, and prosperity starting with self-love.
With more melancholic production than the funk-influenced “i,” Kendrick peers deep into the dark caverns of his heart to expose the negative thoughts that plague his mind, at point referring to himself as “a fucking failure”. In addition to breaking the track down with MTV, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Lamar said the following about the record:
"That was one of the hardest songs I had to write. There are some very dark moments in there. All my insecurities and selfishness and let-downs. That shit is depressing as a motherfucker. But it helps, though. It helps."
Anybody reading or listening who may be asking these questions of themselves, just remember: from “u,” you will eventually reach “i.”
In The Oral History of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, Kendrick’s engineer MixedByAli described the recording of the song:
" session for “U” was very uncomfortable. wrote it in the booth. The mic was on and I could hear him walking back and forth and having these super angry vocals. Then he’d start recording with the lights off and it was super emotional. I never asked what got into him that day."
On New Year’s Eve 2015, T.D.E. posted a video on their Vimeo user called: “Kendrick Lamar – God Is Gangsta”. This video is a 2-part music video for “u” and “For Sale?”. T.D.E.’s verified Vimeo user was made specifically for this video. The video would later be posted on Youtube on January 13th of the next year.
"u" contains additional vocals performed by Bilal, Jessica Vielmas and SZA.
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