Money Trees

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Not to be confused with Money tree.

"Money Trees"
Song by Kendrick Lamar featuring Jay Rock
from the album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
ReleasedOctober 22, 2012 (2012-10-22)
Recorded2012
StudioTDE Red Room (Carson, California)
Genre
Length6:26
Label
Songwriters
ProducerDJ Dahi
Audio video
"Money Trees" on YouTube

"Money Trees" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, taken from his major label debut studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). The song, which appears as the fifth track on the album, features a guest appearance from his Black Hippy cohort, fellow American rapper Jay Rock, and was produced by DJ Dahi. It entered the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at number 19 due to high downloads, following the album's release. The song, mixed by Top Dawg engineer Derek "MixedByAIi" Ali, features background vocals from American singer Anna Wise of Sonnymoon. Money Trees samples the 2010 song "Silver Soul" by Beach House, as well as vocals from Lamar's "Cartoon and Cereal" and interpolates lyrics from E-40's "Big Ballin' With My Homies".

On June 2, 2015, Jay Rock released the sequel "Money Trees Deuce" as a solo record with no feature from Kendrick Lamar.

Background

[edit | edit source]

"Money Trees" follows the storyline of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, as Kendrick Lamar reassesses what happened so far in the story. He talks about having sex with his love interest Sherane and going to tell his friends about it. He also assesses his current situation in his hometown Compton, California and reflecting on the immortalization of his uncle after he was shot. At the end of the track, Lamar's mom calls him again and asks him to bring her car back, a recurring theme of the story. His dad has forgotten about the dominoes he wanted by now, suggesting that Lamar "has been out of the house for a while, driving around and trying to figure his life out, having just been attacked outside Sherane's house".[1]

Music video

[edit | edit source]

On August 28, 2013, Taj Stansberry revealed that he had begun to shoot a music video with Lamar and Jay Rock for "Money Trees". Stansberry, who called the song his favorite song on the album, said upon getting the job to come up with a treatment for the video that was due in a day, he dropped everything right then, and created a website for the idea to present to Lamar. He added: "I started literally at 9 in the morning and finished at 9 at night".[2] The video remains unreleased.

Live performances

[edit | edit source]

Lamar performed "Money Trees", alongside Jay Rock at the BET Experience concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.[3] The duo also frequently performed the track on Lamar's Good Kid, m.A.A.d city world tour and at the 2013 South by Southwest music festival.[4] On October 15, 2013, Lamar and Jay Rock performed "Money Trees" at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards.[5] On July 4, 2016, Lamar performed "Money Trees" at President Obama's Fourth of July BBQ.[5] On June 19, 2024, during the Pop Out show at the Kia Forum, Lamar performed the first verse of the song, and had Jay Rock raised from the floor to perform his verse.[6]

Critical reception

[edit | edit source]

The song was met with acclaim from music critics, and it is widely regarded as one of Lamar's best songs. XXL in their perfect "XXL" review, deemed the song a "tale of hustler's ambitions".[7] In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the track at number one on its list of "The 50 Best Kendrick Lamar Songs".[8] A similar 2017 list by Complex placed it fifth on their list of "The Best Kendrick Lamar Songs", while The Guardian had it sixth on its 2022 list of "Kendrick Lamar's 20 greatest songs – ranked!"[9][10]

The track especially received acclaim for the guest verse from Jay Rock. Complex praised Jay Rock's verse, calling it the tenth best guest appearance of 2012. They described his verse as "stellar", adding in the verse Rock "contemplates a life of crime versus one stricken in dire poverty".[11] XXL included the verse on its 2019 list of the "35 of the Most Iconic Hip-Hop Guest Verses Since 2000", stating that Rock "grounds the tune with a voice wizened by poverty and pushed by pursuit".[12]

Commercial performance

[edit | edit source]

Even without being released as a single, the song spent seven weeks on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, peaking at number 19.[13]

Charts

[edit | edit source]

Certifications

[edit | edit source]
Certifications for "Money Trees"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[28] 8× Platinum 560,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria)[29] Platinum 30,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[30] 2× Platinum 120,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[31] Platinum 90,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[32] Gold 150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[33] Gold 50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[34] 8× Platinum 240,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[35] 3× Platinum 30,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[36] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[38] Platinum 1,000,000‡
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece)[39] 2× Platinum 4,000,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ "Kendrick Lamar feat. Jay Rock – Money Trees". Top 40 Singles.
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  22. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  23. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  28. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  29. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  30. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  31. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  32. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  33. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  34. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Type Money Trees in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  35. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  36. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  37. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  38. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  39. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Money_Trees&oldid=16126738"