Money Trees

"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 "MixedByAli" Ali, features background vocals from American singer Anna Wise of Sonnymoon. Money Trees samples the Beach House song "Silver Soul", from their 2010 album Teen Dream, as well as vocals from Lamar's "Cartoon and Cereal" and interpolates lyrics from E-40's "Big Ballin' With My Homies".

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
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)DJ Dahi

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

Background

"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 dominos 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

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

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]

Critical reception

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".[6] In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the track at number one on its list of "The 50 Best Kendrick Lamar Songs".[7] 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!"[8][9]

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".[10] 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".[11]

Commercial performance

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.[12]

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "Money Trees"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[22] Platinum 90,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[23] Gold 150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[24] Gold 50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[25] 5× Platinum 150,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[26] Platinum 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[28] Platinum 1,000,000‡
Streaming
Greece (IFPI Greece)[29] Gold 1,000,000†

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

References
  1. "The Narrative Guide To Kendrick Lamar's 'good kid, m.A.A.d city' | NOISEY". Noisey.vice.com. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  2. "Director Taj Stansberry Talks Concept Behind Kendrick Lamar's 'Money Trees' Video". Vibe. 2013-08-28. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  3. "Kendrick Lamar Performs "m.A.A.d city" & "Money Trees" At BET Experience Concert - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  4. "Video: Kendrick Lamar ft. Jay Rock – Money Trees (Live @ VICELAND)". Nah Right. 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  5. Young, Alex (2016-07-04). "Kendrick Lamar, Janelle Monáe make President Obama's Fourth of July BBQ the highlight of his presidencies •". consequence.net. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
  6. "Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city - XXL". Xxlmag.com. 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  7. "The 50 Best Kendrick Lamar Songs". Rolling Stone. 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  8. "Best Kendrick Lamar Songs: Top Songs So Far". Complex. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  9. "Kendrick Lamar's 20 greatest songs ranked!". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  10. "10. Jay Rock on Kendrick Lamar's "Money Trees" — The 25 Best Guest Verses of 2012". Complex. 2012-12-29. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  11. XXL Staff. "35 of the Most Iconic Hip-Hop Guest Verses Since 2000". XXL Mag. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  12. "Kendrick Lamar - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-09-18.
  13. "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  14. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  15. "Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 19. nedēļa" (in English and Latvian). LAIPA. May 14, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  16. "2023 19-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  17. "Kendrick Lamar feat. Jay Rock – Money Trees". Top 40 Singles.
  18. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  19. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  20. "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  21. "2022 metų klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  22. "Danish single certifications – Kendrick Lamar – Money Trees". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  23. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Kendrick Lamar; 'Money Trees')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  24. "Italian single certifications – Kendrick Lamar – Money Trees" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  25. "New Zealand single certifications – Kendrick Lamar – Money Trees". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  26. "Portuguese single certifications – Kendrick Lamar – Money Trees" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  27. "British single certifications – Kendrick Lamar ft J-Rock – Money Trees". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  28. "American single certifications – Kendrick Lamar – Money Trees". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  29. "IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Εβδομάδα: 17/2023" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
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