Nobody pray for me
It been that day for me
Way (Yeah, yeah)
[Verse 1]
Ayy, I remember syrup sandwiches and crime allowances
Finesse a nigga with some counterfeits, but now I'm countin’ this
Parmesan where my accountant lives, in fact, I'm downin' this
D’USSÉ with my boo bae, tastes like Kool-Aid for the analysts
Girl, I can buy your ass the world with my paystub
Ooh, that pussy good, won't you sit it on my taste bloods?
I get way too petty once you let me do the extras
Pull up on your block, then break it down: we playin' Tetris
A.m. to the p.m., p.m. to the a.m., funk
Piss out your per diem, you just gotta hate 'em, funk
If I quit your BM, I still ride Mercedes, funk
If I quit this season, I still be the greatest, funk
My left stroke just went viral
Right stroke put lil' baby in a spiral
Soprano C, we like to keep it on a high note
It's levels to it, you and I know
[Chorus]
Bitch, be humble (Hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, lil’, hol’ up, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Hol’ up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, sit down, lil', sit down, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Hol’ up, hol' up)
Bitch, sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Lil' bitch, hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, hol' up, hol' up)
Be humble (Hol' up, hol' up)
Sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, lil', hol' up, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, sit down, lil', sit down, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Hol' up, hol' up)
Bitch, sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Lil' bitch, hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, hol' up, hol' up)
Who that nigga thinkin' that he frontin' on Man-Man? (Man-Man)
Get the fuck off my stage, I'm the Sandman (Sandman)
Get the fuck off my dick, that ain't right
I make a play fucking up your whole life
I'm so fuckin' sick and tired of the Photoshop
Show me somethin' natural like afro on Richard Pryor
Show me somethin' natural like ass with some stretch marks
Still I take you down right on your mama couch in Polo socks
Ayy, this shit way too crazy, ayy, you do not amaze me, ayy
I blew cool from AC, ayy, Obama just paged me, ayy
I don't fabricate it, ayy, most of y'all be fakin', ayy
I stay modest 'bout it, ayy, she elaborate it, ayy
This that Grey Poupon, that Evian, that TED Talk, ayy
Watch my soul speak, you let the meds talk, ayy
If I kill a nigga, it won't be the alcohol, ayy
I'm the realest nigga after all
[Chorus]
Bitch, be humble (Hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, lil', hol' up, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, sit down, lil', sit down, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Hol' up, hol' up)
Bitch, sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Lil' bitch, hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, hol' up, hol' up)
Be humble (Hol' up, hol' up)
Sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, lil', hol' up, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, sit down, lil', sit down, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Hol' up, hol' up)
Bitch, sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, lil' bitch)
Be humble (Lil' bitch, hol' up, bitch)
Sit down (Hol' up, hol' up, hol' up, hol' up)
About
On the ironically braggadocious track “HUMBLE.” Kendrick Lamar challenges his competition. It was released a week after the first promotional single, “The Heart Part 4,” with a music video directed by Dave Meyers and The Little Homies. It features religious imagery mixed with urban life, such as Kendrick in priest’s robes and a moving re-enactment of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper—juxtaposing this with the concept of humility in the chorus.
On a religious note, the song could also be a reference to the verse James 4:7.
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
—Thus linking to April 7th, the date Kendrick told the industry to have their shit together.
Mike WiLL Made-It produced the beat. It features a deep piano riff and a banging 808 bass line. This style of production is a departure from the sound of Kendrick’s previous jazz-influenced project, To Pimp a Butterfly. It seems to reference the character Deebo’s theme song from the popular comedy movie Friday (1995). Kendrick is also shown riding through the neighborhood on a bicycle in the music video, similar to Deebo in Friday.
The song debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 22, 2017, making it not only the highest charting song for Kendrick, but also one of the highest debuting hip-hop singles since “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem. The song later hit No. 1 on the chart on June 5, 2017, making it Lamar’s first solo No. 1 song and second No. 1 song overall on the charts.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
About a month after the song’s release, producer Mike WiLL Made-It spoke with NPR about working with Kendrick and how the song came to be, amongst other things:
With “HUMBLE.,” I knew that beat was going to capture a moment. It just felt real urgent. I made that beat [last year] when Gucci Mane was getting out of jail; I made it with him in mind. I was just thinking, damn, Gucci’s about to come home; it’s got to be something urgent that’s just going to take over the radio. And I felt like that beat was that. I ended up not doing it with Gucci and I let Kendrick hear it. I was thinking, if Dot gets on this it’ll be his first time being heard on some[thing] like this. At the same time, it kind of has an NWA/Dr. Dre feel, an Eminem kind of feel. So I thought, let me see if Dot f**** with it. And he heard the beat and he liked it. But he was about to give me “HUMBLE.” for [my album] Ransom 2. I love that song so I was like, ‘Man, hell yeah.’ Then he told me that his team was saying he should keep it. And I told him, ‘Bruh, you definitely should keep it, and you should use it as your single.’
In the God Is Gangsta extended music video, there is a frame that displays the words, “My taste bloods is expensive.”
A week prior to the release of “HUMBLE.” they collaborated on “Perfect Pint,” and back in 2014 they joined forces on “Buy The World.”