Kings Never Die

For the Biohazard song, see Means to an End.

"Kings Never Die" is a song by American rapper Eminem, from the soundtrack album Southpaw (Music from and Inspired By the Motion Picture), released on July 10, 2015. It features American singer Gwen Stefani, marking their first collaboration. The song is the second single released from the soundtrack, after Eminem's "Phenomenal" which was released a month earlier. "Kings Never Die" also marks Stefani's first featured single since 2005's "Can I Have It Like That" with Pharrell Williams. The song was co-written and produced by the New Royales.

"Kings Never Die"
Single by Eminem featuring Gwen Stefani
from the album Southpaw (Music from and Inspired By the Motion Picture)
Released	July 10, 2015
Genre	Rap rock alternative hip hop
Length	4:56
Label	Shady Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Marshall Mathers Luis Resto Khalil Abdul-Rahman Erik Alcock Chin Injeti Liz Rodrigues
Producer(s)	DJ Khalil Eminem (add.) Gwen Stefani's vocal produced and engineered by Mischke
Eminem singles chronology
"Phenomenal" (2015) "Kings Never Die" (2015) "Walk on Water" (2017)
Gwen Stefani singles chronology
"Spark the Fire" (2014) "Kings Never Die" (2015) "Used to Love You" (2015)
Music video
"Kings Never Die (Lyrics)" on YouTube

Background and release

Shady Records and Eminem were approached by Kurt Sutter and asked to executively produce a soundtrack for the 2015 film, Southpaw.^[1] Eminem has four songs on the soundtrack, including two from his collaborative effort – Bad Meets Evil. The other single from the soundtrack, "Phenomenal", is also from Eminem. The song was officially released on July 10, when the audio track was uploaded to YouTube.^[2] On July 29, the lyric video was uploaded to YouTube.^[3] This song talks about him (Eminem) being a king of rap and many people urging him to retire. Eminem says that he won't retire and will stay a king.

Critical reception

On July 3, 2015, the full song leaked onto the internet, followed by a positive response from critics. Lars Brandle from Billboard Magazine stated that the song "is a muscular effort with a classic angry vibe, [but] it's hardly a knockout [and] absolutely worth a spin."^[4] Rap-Up Magazine thought that the song was a "triumphant rap-rock hybrid with rapid-fire rhymes.^[5]

Commercial performance

"Kings Never Die" was the highest-ranking debut for the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated August 1, 2015, entering the chart at number 80.^[6] Its chart debut was supported by first-week digital download sales of 35,000 copies, along with 1.2 million domestic streams.^[7]

Track listing

Digital download

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Kings Never Die" (featuring Gwen Stefani)	Marshall Mathers Luis Resto Khalil Abdul-Rahman Erik Alcock Chin Injeti Liz Rodrigues	DJ Khalil Eminem[a] Gwen Stefani's vocal produced and engineered by Mischke	4:56

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer.

Charts

Chart performance for "Kings Never Die"

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[8]	62
Australia Urban Singles (ARIA)[9]	9
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10]	51
France (SNEP)[11]	184
Scotland (OCC)[12]	54
South Korean International Downloads (Gaon)[13]	30
UK Singles (OCC)[14]	82
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[15]	22
US Billboard Hot 100[16]	80
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17]	23
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[18]	19

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[19]	Gold	35,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[20]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom	—	132,000[21]
United States (RIAA)[22]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Daly, Rhian (23 May 2015). "Eminem to release new song on 'Southpaw' soundtrack". NME. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
2. EminemVEVO (9 July 2015). "Kings Never Die (Audio) ft. Gwen Stefani – YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
3. EminemVEVO (29 July 2015). "Kings Never Die (Lyric Video) ft. Gwen Stefani – YouTube". YouTube.
4. Brandle, Lars. "Eminem and Gwen Stefani Collaborated on 'Southpaw' Track 'Kings Never Die': Listen". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
5. "NEW MUSIC: EMINEM FEAT. GWEN STEFANI – 'KINGS NEVER DIE'". Rap-Up Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
6. "The Hot 100: The Week of August 1, 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
7. Mendizabal, Amaya (July 22, 2015). "The Weeknd's 'Can't Feel My Face' Tops Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
8. Ryan, Gavin (July 25, 2015). "ARIA Singles: Belgium's Lost Frequencies Tops Singles Chart". Noise11. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
9. "The ARIA Report" (PDF). ARIA Charts. July 27, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 29, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
10. "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
11. "Eminem – Kings Never Die" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
12. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
13. "2015년 30주차 Downloads Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
15. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
16. "Eminem Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
17. "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
18. "Eminem – Chart history". Billboard. July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
19. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
20. "Brazilian single certifications – Eminem – Kings Never Die" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
21. Griffiths, George (8 December 2020). "Gwen Stefani's Top 10 biggest singles on the Official Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
22. "American single certifications – Eminem – Kings Never Die". Recording Industry Association of America. February 28, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.