The Kendrick Lamar hit that was originally made for Gucci Mane: “Let me see if Dot fucks with it”
Kendrick Lamar landed one of the biggest singles of his career with ‘Humble’, but it almost went to Gucci Mane instead. Producer Mike WiLL Made-It was one of the masterminds behind K. Dot’s DAMN. album in 2017, producing numerous songs, including ‘DNA’ and ‘XXX’ featuring U2.
However, ‘Humble’ was by far the most successful of them all. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and six on the UK Singles chart, winning Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video at the Grammy Awards in 2018.
Things nearly turned out a little different. Mike WiLL originally made the track for Gucci to use when he was released from prison; the urgent instrumental would have been the perfect way for the Atlanta rapper to return home, but it might not have had the same long-lasting effect as Kendrick’s version.
“With ‘Humble,’ I knew that beat was going to capture a moment,” Mike told NPR. “It just felt real urgent. I made that beat 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.”
Before going with Gucci, he decided to play the beat for Kendrick. He believed it would force the Compton rapper outside his comfort zone while still keeping things West Coast.
“I ended up not doing it with Gucci and I let Kendrick hear it,” he explained. “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 fucks with it.’ And he heard the beat, and he liked it.”
Not only was Gucci close to having the ‘Humble’ beat, but the song almost appeared on Mike WiLL’s own album. Ransom 2 dropped the month before DAMN. and included a Kendrick feature on another song called ‘Perfect Pint’, which happened to feature Gucci, as well as Rae Sremmurd.
“He was about to give me ‘Humble’ for Ransom 2,” he said. “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.'”
Kendrick and Mike WiLL had been around each other for years before joining forces across his DAMN. album after fellow Black Hippy rapper ScHoolboy Q connected them. With that project, their visions finally aligned.
“I gave him a bunch of beats for good kid, m.A.A.d city and I gave him a bunch of beats for To Pimp a Butterfly, but they definitely weren’t the right vibe,” Mike admitted. “At the time, I didn’t really know what he was working on. I was just giving him beats that I could hear him on. But right after To Pimp a Butterfly came out, we just caught a wave. And from there, we just kept recording.”