| "Collard Greens" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single bySchoolboy Q featuringKendrick Lamar | ||||
| from the albumOxymoron | ||||
| Released | June 11, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:01 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Schoolboy Q singles chronology | ||||
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| Kendrick Lamar singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Collard Greens" onYouTube | ||||
"Collard Greens" is a song by Americanhip hop recording artistSchoolboy Q, released on June 11, 2013 as thelead single from his thirdstudio albumOxymoron (2014). The song, produced by production team THC and co-produced by Gwen Bunn, features a guest appearance from hisBlack Hippy cohort,Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate, and fellow AmericanrapperKendrick Lamar. The song has since peaked at number 92 on theBillboard Hot 100 and number 36 on theUK R&B Chart. It was met with generally positive reviews frommusic critics.
Schoolboy Q spoke toMTV about the song saying, "This is like the introduction to the album. This is just getting people excited and getting people ready for what's about to happen."[3] The song's theme is based around smokingmarijuana, even though the featured artist Lamar does not smoke.[2][4]
During the process of Lamar writing his verse he spoke to aPeruvian man who worked at Interscope Studios and they came up with a few bars in theSpanish language that he included in his verse, along with a few inFrench.[2] Q admitted to MTV that he didn't understand Lamar's verse and that he had no idea he was going to include a multilingual verse in the song.[3]
"Collard Greens" was met with generally positive reviews frommusic critics. David Amidon ofPopMatters said, "Collard Greens" "is a fantastic single, blending the irreverent wordplay of thePharcyde orCamp Lo with the reggae-tingedg-funk ofDJ Quik orWarren G."[5] David Jeffries ofAllMusic called the song brilliant.[6] Stephen Weil ofTiny Mix Tapes praised the song's production and said, "Collard Greens" has a flashy guest verse by Kendrick Lamar and a terrific hook that makes it the most fun, replayable song on the album.[7] Lizzie Plaugic ofCMJ stated, the song "could’ve been just another easily forgotten earworm jam with a looming expiration date. But with TDE labelmate Kendrick Lamar lending his nasal-clogged flow to a rapid-fire Spanish-riddled verse and Q’s staccato stutter, the track still has legs. The only difference is that now, that plucking, hollow water-drop beat is instantly recognizable."[8] Jason Lipshutz ofBillboard stated, "the truly addictive component of "Collard Greens" is the subtle bounce of [Schoolboy Q's] cadence in the first half of his verses. The bisyllabic screech drives the thudding beat forward, and the technique is even more effective when Q returns after his pal Kendrick Lamar pops up to playfully spit bilingual game."[9]
Craig Jenkins ofPitchfork Media praised the song's production.[10] Richard Perry of No Ripcord said the song is, "a bouncy number defined by its bleeps, rubbery bass, Kendrick's multilingual spitting and Q’s penchant for getting wasted and bedding women."[11] Joe Sweeney ofSlant Magazine praised the "fresh-sounding" production of the song.[12] Sam Kriss of TheLineOfBestFit called the song excellent.[13] Michael Madden ofConsequence of Sound said, ""Collard Greens" bustles like a multilingual block party."[14] Omar Burgess ofHipHopDX said the song has, "all the earmarks of a single but an execution that feels forced. A melodic hook and an intricate enough rhyme pattern power it, but the actual content isn’t particularly inventive."[15]
Complex ranked "Collard Greens", number 28 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2013. Dave Bry elaborated saying, "It's like theOdd Couple. Kendrick is the neatnik Felix Unger to ScHoolboy's slovenly Oscar Madison. The studio is like the apartment they shared on the show—can't you just see Kendrick following a stumbling ScHoolboy around, trying to hold an ashtray under his blunt. Anyway, they both handle the throbbing, bouncy beat that producers THC and Gwen Bun made for them with aplomb, proving why the TDE formula works so well."[16]
On August 7, 2013, Schoolboy Q appeared onBET's106 & Park to premiere the music video for "Collard Greens".[17][18] The video was directed by JeromeD, and featurescameo appearances from fellow American rapperMacklemore and production duo Nez & Rio.[19][20] Thepsychedelic video features Lamar and Q at a massive house and pool party, accompanied by an abundance of beautiful women.[21][22][23] It features the artists mirrored in and out of special effects, such as being seen through akaleidoscope and the picture being changed tonegative.[24][25][26] Schoolboy Q credits the video as being his first major record label, big budget music video.[3] He also said he had shot a different video for it, but was unhappy with the final project and chose to shoot a new video.[27]
The week of its releaseXXL named the video one of the best new hip hop music videos.[28]XXL would also name the music video one of "The 15 Best Hip-Hop Videos Of The Summer".[29]
On September 16, 2013, Schoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar performed "Collard Greens", in New York forVitamin Water andThe Fader's Upcapped concert series. They also performed "Hands on the Wheel" and "Blessed", and featured their new TDE label-mate SZA.[30] The next day they also performed the single onThe Arsenio Hall Show.[31] On October 15, 2013, Schoolboy Q and Lamar performed "Collard Greens" in a medley with Lamar's song "Money Trees" at the 2013BET Hip Hop Awards.[32] On January 28, 2014, Schoolboy Q performed the song, along with "Break the Bank" and "Man of the Year" on the season finale ofDJ Skee'sSKEE Live.[33] Kendrick Lamar has performed "Collard Greens" at every show onthe Damn tour.[34] On June 19, 2024, During Kendrick Lamar'sPop Out performance at theKia Forum, he brought out Schoolboy Q and performed the song together, with rappersJay Rock andAb-Soul also on stage.[35]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Collard Greens" (featuringKendrick Lamar) |
|
| 5:01 |
| Chart (2013–2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[36] | 184 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[37] | 36 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[38] | 92 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[39] | 28 |
| USHeatseekers Songs (Billboard)[40] | 9 |
| USRhythmic (Billboard)[41] | 35 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[42] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[43] | 3× Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[44] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[45] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | June 11, 2013 | Digital download[46] | |
| July 18, 2013 | Mainstream urban radio[47] | ||
| August 27, 2013 | Rhythmic contemporary radio[48] | ||
| Urban contemporary radio[49] |
