"I" (stylized as “i”) is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar.

It was released
on September 23, 2014 as the lead single from Lamar's third studio album To Pimp a
Butterfly. The song utilizes music from "That Lady", written by and originally
performed by R&B group The Isley Brothers, elements from which were re-recorded
rather than being directly sampled from the original record. "i" won two awards at
the 2015 Grammy Awards: Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.

Contents
1 Background
2 Album version
3 Music video
4 Critical reception and awards
5 Chart performance
6 Usage in popular culture
7 Track listing
8 Charts
8.1 Weekly charts
8.2 Year-end charts
9 Certifications
10 References
11 External links
Background
"i" was produced by Los Angeles producer Rahki, who also produced the song
"Institutionalized". Although the version of "i" that appears on the album is
drastically different from the single release, both versions contain a sample of
the song "That Lady" by The Isley Brothers. Lamar personally visited Isley
Brothers' lead vocalist Ronald Isley to ask his permission to sample the song: "I
actually had to go to St. Louis and get the blessings from Ronald Isley," he said.
"That was a trip. We got in the studio and just vibed and talked about how things
were back then and how they are now, and you can actually hear him on the record
with a few ad-libs that he actually did. We got it on camera and things like that,
it’s a beautiful thing." Isley also performs on the song "How Much a Dollar Cost?"
with singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy.[1]

The single cover for "i" features members of gangs the Bloods and the Crips forming
a heart, on the subject of the cover art Lamar said in an interview with AMP Radio:
"Where I'm from, there's a lot of gang culture and things like that, so instead of
throwing on up gang signs, which we used to, I put a Blood and I put a Crip
together and we’re throwing up hearts...sparking the idea of some type of change
through music or through me because I go back to the city now and people give me
the honor and respect that, you know, this kid can change a little bit something
different that’s been going on in the community."[2]

The song's title has a significant connotation. In Hip Hop America, journalist
Nelson George writes, "'i' is a powerful word in the vocabulary of the African
American male," as it can be related to pride. While pride is one of the seven
deadly sins, George's study explains how "this has been an invigorating source of
self-empowerment," similar to the self-love Lamar preaches in his song.[3]

Album version
A different version of "i" was released for Lamar's third studio album To Pimp a
Butterfly. The version which appears on the album was produced in a way that
emulates a live performance, as opposed to the clean production on the single.
Also, during the third verse, the song is interrupted as an argument breaks out in
the crowd to which Lamar is performing. After Lamar speaks to the crowd he proceeds
to perform an a cappella verse which finishes the song.

Music video
The video for the song premiered on Vevo and YouTube on November 4, 2014. It
features cameos from singer Ron Isley and George Clinton. References are made to
2Pac and The Joker in the video. A short instrumental was played in the intro of
the clip. The video is directed by Alexandre Moors.[4]

Critical reception and awards

"i" received critical acclaim from music critics. The track was placed at number
ten on Rolling Stone's 50 Best Songs of 2014 list.[5] Billboard listed "i" as the
second best song of 2014.[6] "i" also was placed at number 14 on Spin's list of
"The 101 Best Songs of 2014".[7] In January 2015, "i" was ranked at number five on
The Village Voice's annual year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

"i" was nominated for Outstanding Music Video and Outstanding Song at the 46th
NAACP Image Award.[8] The song received two nominations at the 57th Annual Grammy
Awards and won both Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.[9]

Chart performance
The song debuted and peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his
fourth top 40 hit in the US.

Usage in popular culture

The song has been used in film trailers for Top Five,[10] Dope, How to Be Single,
The Intern, and Roman J. Israel, Esq. In 2014, it was the official song for the
NBA. It is featured in soundtrack for the 2018 video game Forza Horizon 4 as well.

Track listing
Digital download[11]
"i" – 3:51
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 48
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[13] 22
Belgium Urban (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 24
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[15] 61
Denmark (Tracklisten)[16] 36
France (SNEP)[17] 68
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 82
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 31
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[20] 20
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[21] 20
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[22] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 39
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[24] 11
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[25] 31
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[26] 5
Year-end charts
Chart (2014) Position
Australia Urban (ARIA)[27] 42
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[28] 65
Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000double-dagger
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone