Nobody has ever listened to a Kendrick Lamar song and thought it reminded them of Paul McCartney. Despite this, Paul once learned that one of his tracks was co-written by Lamar. The “Silly Love Songs” singer initially hesitated over the track’s lyrics.
Paul McCartney was ‘honored’ to do a song with Kendrick Lamar
Paul’s career, both with and without The Beatles, took him in so many musical directions. On The White Album alone, The Beatles dabbled in blues, folk, pop, rock, avant-garde music, ska, vaudeville, children’s music, and heavy metal. With Wings, Paul dabbled in disco, reggae, synth-pop, country music, and, somehow, Irish republicanism. He stayed away from hip-hop for decades, but that all changed in the 2010s.
During a 2018 interview with GQ, Paul recalled the story behind his song “All Day,” a collaboration between the former Beatle and three rappers: Kanye West, Theophilus London, and Allan Kingdom. The track had 20 credited writers. Paul was elated to learn that a certain rap superstar contributed to “All Day.” “Kendrick Lamar!” he said. “I didn’t know I was on a record with Kendrick. I’m very honored.”
Paul had seemed a bit surprised that it took so many artists to write one song. “I have no idea what he or the other 18 did,” he admitted. “But it’s how it’s done these days, and I’m pleased to be part of it. And slightly amazed.”
With “All Day,” Paul found a classy way for him to slide his way into rap music: by not doing any rapping himself. Perhaps if John Lennon had lived long enough, he could have sung some hooks for Lamar or one of his contemporaries. It would undoubtedly feel weird for a former Beatle to win a rap Grammy!
Paul McCartney’s team worried about Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, and others using 1 word
Some people on Paul’s team didn’t want him to work on “All Day” because the track uses the N-word numerous times. “They said, ‘You can’t be connected to this,’” he recalled. “There’s basically two schools of thought: One, that the N-word has been re-appropriated by Black rappers and they’ve sort of taken the sting out of it. And the other point of view is Oprah’s point of view, which is that any use of the word denigrates Black people, and I can see that, too.”
Ultimately, Paul took no issue with the lyrics of “All Day.” “I thought, you know, ‘It’s urban poetry. It’s Kanye,’” he said. “I like the record. I thought he did a really good job on it.”
How the world reacted to the song
“All Day” became a modest hit. It reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasted on the chart for 15 weeks. Despite all the artists attached to it, it hasn’t appeared on a studio album. It would be shocking if it ever appeared on one of Paul’s greatest hits albums for two reasons. Firstly, Paul produced hits that were far more popular than “All Day.” Secondly, many artists have tried to distance themselves from West in recent years because of the “Heartless” rapper’s numerous controversies.
“All Day” isn’t a great song, but it stands as the one song to feature writing credits from Paul and Lamar.
