| "Never Catch Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byFlying Lotus featuringKendrick Lamar | ||||
| from the albumYou're Dead! | ||||
| Released | October 6, 2014[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:31 | |||
| Label | Warp | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Ellison | |||
| Flying Lotus singles chronology | ||||
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| Kendrick Lamar singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Never Catch Me" onYouTube | ||||
"Never Catch Me" is a song by American music producerFlying Lotus from his fifth studio albumYou're Dead! (2014). The song features vocals from hip hop recording artistKendrick Lamar. "Never Catch Me" received a nomination forBest Dance Recording at the58th Grammy Awards.[2]
The song features "buoyantly" jazzy, occasionallyZappa-esque production.[3] Kendrick Lamar raps over warp-speed psychedelic soul-jazz beat.[4] According to music critics, the track shows influences from jazz-tingeddrum and bass artistRoni Size, the "gleeful" mania ofOutKast’s "B.O.B", and early '90sjazz rap.[5] The track's instrumental samples Eric McDaniels and TLC Cathedral ChoirsONE MORE CHANCE, notably the bassline provided by Reggie Young.
Music critics favorably reviewed "Never Catch Me". Named Best New Track byPitchfork Media, editor Jayson Greene praised Lamar's performance, writing "his hyper-vaulting flow and embedded rhyme patterns within rhyme patterns".[6] For its year-end list of "The 100 Best Tracks of 2014",Pitchfork ranked the song at number 23.[5] Also commenting on Lamar,Billboard's Chris Payne wrote, "There aren't many A-list rappers who could handle a beat like this, but Kendrick is clearly one of them."[7]Rolling Stone editor Jon Dolan gave the song three-and-a-half out of five stars, commenting "Over offhandedly lovely, warp-speed psychedelic soul-jazz, Lamar unleashes a word-mad waterfall with a worried emotional core ("analyze my demise I say I'm super-anxious", he raps)."[4]Consequence of Sound editor Nina Corcoran wrote: "when combined with one of Lamar’s hottest verses to date (beforeTo Pimp a Butterfly), the song explodes. But it doesn’t stop there. FlyLo shows off his talent by shifting gears post-Kendrick verse the only way you can: insane keys, double-time bass drum, and unrelenting hand claps. Eventually, it’s all swallowed up in massive swelling synth and choral hums, fading to a beautiful, passionate outro."[8]
Directed byHiro Murai,[9] the video begins at a funeral (including attendees Flying Lotus and Thundercat in cameo roles). Seemingly a sad video, it turns instantly joyful when the two late children—a boy and a girl—bound out of their caskets at the front of the church and dance gleefully down the aisle. The mourners can't see the children as they dance right out of the church and out onto a blacktop, but a group of other kids chases after them as they hop in a hearse and drive away.[10]
The clip was featured by several publications on their year-end list of best videos, includingPitchfork,[11]Spin,[12] andStereogum—with the latter listing it at number one.[13] The video received two nominations at the2015 MTV Video Music Awards:Best Choreography andBest Cinematography,[14] ultimately winning the latter.
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[15] | 71 |
| Japan (Japan Hot 100)[16] | 100 |