Song · Kendrick Lamar
“Alright” by Kendrick Lamar
From the album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)
“Alright” by Kendrick Lamar appears on 9 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2015 and 2025. It was first released in 2015 on the album To Pimp a Butterfly. Its best result is #37 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2015. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #234 alternative song of 2015.
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"Alright" comes from To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album, and went to radio that summer as its fourth single: a song about holding on to hope while your own life keeps trying to knock you flat. Sounwave and Pharrell Williams produced it, and it's a jittery, jazz-soaked thing, Terrace Martin's alto saxophone darting around the edges, Thundercat, Candace Wakefield and Pharrell stacking up backing vocals, and Lamar weaving through it all until the chorus lands like a promise.
It traveled far beyond radio. Young protesters in the Black Lives Matter movement took up the chorus as a chant, and the song became the movement's rallying cry. It won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the Grammys, Pitchfork later named it the best song of the 2010s, and in 2022 Lamar played it at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 37 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2015 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 433 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 172 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 354 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2024 | 815 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 123 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 86 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 339 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
| 2025 | 94 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) | 714 |
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