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Song by Kendrick Lamar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Yah" (stylized as "YAH.") is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his fourth studio album DAMN, released on April 14, 2017. The third track on the album (twelfth on the Collector's Edition of Damn),[2] the song was written by Lamar, Mark Spears, a.k.a. Sounwave, DJ Dahi, and Anthony Tiffith, and produced by, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, and Tiffith, with additional production by Bēkon.
"Yah" | |
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Song by Kendrick Lamar | |
from the album Damn | |
Recorded | 2017 |
Studio | Jungle City |
Genre | |
Length | 2:40 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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The song's title refers to "Yahweh", a romanization of the name of the Abrahamic God in the Hebrew Bible (יהוה).[3][4][5]
The song shows Lamar expressing his inner thoughts, a subject he rarely touches upon in interviews.[6]
In the lyrics, Lamar calls out Fox News' reporter Geraldo Rivera, who criticized Lamar's performance of "Alright" at the BET Awards 2015.[4][6][7]
The song makes multiple references to religion, a theme Lamar would reference multiple times throughout Damn.[4][8] Lamar specifically references the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book from the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament.[4][9] Lamar mentions his cousin, Carl Duckworth, who teaches Lamar about the Book of Deuteronomy and how the book talks about penalties for breaking the rule of God.[6][10][11] A voicemail snippet from Carl appears in the song "Fear", also from Damn,[12] during which he espouses the beliefs of the Hebrew Israelite group where he is a member.[13][14] At one point, Lamar raps "I'm a Israelite, don't call me black no mo'," which is a clear reference to Black Israelism.[15]
According to Spin magazine, the song drew influence from American rapper Kanye West's song "Jesus Walks" from his first studio album The College Dropout, a song that also drew biblical allusions.[9]
Credits adapted from the official Damn digital booklet.[1]
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16] | 67 |
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] | 27 |
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[18] | 79 |
France (SNEP)[19] | 96 |
Germany (Official German Charts)[20] | 100 |
Ireland (IRMA)[21] | 29 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] | 100 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] | 30 |
Portugal (AFP)[24] | 24 |
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[25] | 39 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[26] | 69 |
UK Singles (OCC)[27] | 45 |
US Billboard Hot 100[28] | 32 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[29] | 18 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[30] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada)[31] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[32] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
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