Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst

About this song

The two-part song was made with different producers for each half: Skhye Hutch and Sounwave produced the first part, which samples Grant Green's 1971 record "Maybe Tomorrow" and takes drums from Bill Withers' "Use Me", while Like of Pac Div produced the second half, sampling a vocal break from The Singers Unlimited's "My Romance". Kendrick explained in an October 2012 interview on Power 106 that he tied the two parts together because they reflected a situation that happened at the same time. The music video was split into two parts, with "Sing About Me" premiering in December 2013 and "I'm Dying of Thirst" in January 2014.

What it's about

The song tells the story of life in an urban ghetto and the experiences that pulled Kendrick Lamar away from gang culture, along with his faith and the spiritual rebirth that offered him a way out of the streets. The second part picks up after the outro skit of "Swimming Pools", where Dave is killed and his brother seeks revenge.

Fun facts

• Samples “My Romance by The Singers Unlimited” and “Maybe Tomorrow by Grant Green”.
• Sampled in 35 other songs, like “Forest Fires by Lupe Fiasco”.
• Covered once, including “Inconsolable 2 by Will Williams”.
• Written by Alan Bergman, Duane Hitchings, Kendrick Lamar, Like, Marilyn Bergman and Quincy Jones.
• Produced by Like, Skhye Hutch and Sounwave.