TV Off
2024 single by Kendrick Lamar featuring Lefty Gunplay From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"TV Off" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar from his sixth studio album, GNX (2024). It was released on November 26, 2024, alongside "Squabble Up", as one of the album's lead singles through PGLang and Interscope Records. It features guest vocals by rapper Lefty Gunplay and was produced by Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Mustard, Kamasi Washington, and Sean Momberger.
| "TV Off" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Kendrick Lamar featuring Lefty Gunplay | ||||
| from the album GNX | ||||
| Released | November 26, 2024[1] | |||
| Recorded | May 2024 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Kendrick Lamar singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio video | ||||
| "TV Off" on YouTube | ||||
Background
Upon release, "TV Off" emerged as one of the standout tracks on the album, mainly due to its sonic resemblance to the Mustard-produced "Not Like Us", released earlier in 2024. According to Mustard, the similarities were "definitely intentional" and revealed that it was recorded around the same time as "Not Like Us" in May 2024 but at two different times, thus the beat switches. The song was especially noted for Lamar screaming Mustard's name as a transition between the two parts,[2][3] subsequently popularized as a meme.[4]
Lamar performed the second half of the song as the closing number to his Super Bowl LIX halftime show with Mustard as the guest. [5]
In an article about GNX, “GNX is heavily inspired by the car itself. Mustard, the producer, had just got done working on his album Faith of a Mustard Seed just two months before he helped Kendrick record GNX. Faith of a Mustard Seed and GNX are two gimmick records. GNX artist Kendrick won 5 Grammys on the Grammy night for his hit song “Not Like Us”. Faith of a Mustard Seed artist DJ Mustard won 2 Grammy nominations for his previous album Double Ten (2019).”
Composition and content
"TV Off" is a West Coast hip-hop song[6] split into two distinct parts that are connected through a beat switch around the two-minute mark. The song contains samples from "MacArthur Park" by Monk Higgins,[7] along with a snippet of horns from "The Black Hole – Overture" composed by John Barry for the soundtrack to the film The Black Hole (1979),[8] and an interpolation from "Kick in the Door" by The Notorious B.I.G.[9] As the production of the first part fades out, Mustard's signature tag emerges again as a "booming" percussion kicks in and is followed by Lamar's "animated" scream.[10] The song also includes a small instrumental that plays slightly in the background, which sounds extremely similar to the "Meet the Grahams" instrumental.
Critical reception
Zachary Horvath of HotNewHipHop viewed the song as a "pseudo-sequel" to "Watch the Party Die", released exclusively on Lamar's social media in September 2024, as it furthers the idea of resetting the culture in rap music. Despite the superficial similarities to "Not Like Us", distinctions mainly stand out on the lyrical front. Lamar offers his critical stance in regards to social media and the associated distortion of perception.[11] Writing for Pitchfork, in a mixed review, Alphonse Pierre said of the song: "Mustard's backside of 'tv off' is drowned out by these cheesy blaring horns that feel made to go dumb in Nike commercials".[12]
Charts
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal (AFP)[50] | Gold | 5,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[51] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Greece (IFPI Greece)[52] | Platinum | 2,000,000† |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | November 26, 2024 | Rhythmic crossover | [53] |
References
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