Family Ties (song) explained

Family Ties
Cover:Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar - Family Ties.png
Type:single
Artist:Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar
Album:The Melodic Blue
Recorded:2021
Genre:
Length:4:12
Label:
Producer:
Chronology:Baby Keem
Prev Title:Durag Activity
Prev Year:2021
Family Ties
Year:2021

"Family Ties" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American rappers Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar. The song was released on August 27, 2021, by Columbia Records and pgLang. The song serves as the fourth single from Keem's debut album, The Melodic Blue.[1] The song also serves as Lamar’s first musical release under pgLang, a production company he co-founded in March 2020.

"Family Ties" marked Lamar's first single and new music since "Pray for Me" with Canadian singer The Weeknd, released in 2018. The song also marks the first official collaboration between Keem and Lamar, who are real-life cousins, hence the name of the song, as well as the single’s cover art depicting them in a family portrait, which pays homage to the album cover of Lamar's 2012 breakout album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. The accompanying music video features a cameo from singer Normani and won the 2022 BET Award for Video of the Year.

Accolades

The song received two nominations at the 2022 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, winning the latter award. It also received two nominations for Song of the Year and Video of the Year at the 2022 XXL Awards.[2]

Music video

The accompanying music video was directed by Dave Free, and features a cameo from singer Normani, alongside Baby Keem, and Lamar who is billed mid-video as Oklama.[3]

In the first scene, the music video begins with a moshpit of black men, who are wearing black bombers and sunglasses surrounding Keem and Lamar, with the two artists wearing orange attire. Black ballerinas are also featured. In the second scene, Lamar raps about still being relevant in hip-hop despite taking a hiatus. Near the end of the music video, Normani appears in a stretch limo SUV alongside the two rappers, before the rappers make their last proclamations. Throughout the video, clips of different sizes and themes are placed on top of the video, overlapping the ones below them. The video is divided into two "scenes", with scene 1 representing Keem's section, and scene 2 representing Lamar's section.[4] [5]

Critical reception

In a review for the track, Pitchfork wrote that "Kendrick's oddball raps and nonsensical flow switches express a newfound creative freedom. His future is his own."[6]

Awards and nominations

AwardsYearCategoryResultRef.
BET Awards2022Video of the Year[7]
Grammy Awards2022Best Rap Song[8]
Grammy Awards2022Best Rap Performance[9]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Lithuania (AGATA)[10] 43
South Africa (TOSAC)[11] 18
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 12

Year-end charts

Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[13] 66
Chart (2022)! scope="col"
Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[14] 79

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Caraan . Sophie . Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar Deliver First Collaborative Single "family ties" . Hypebeast . August 28, 2021.
  2. Web site: X. X. L. Staff. Here Are the XXL Awards 2022 Nominees. 2022-01-11. XXL Mag. January 10, 2022 . en.
  3. Web site: 2021-08-25. Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar Share Video for New Song "Family Ties". 2021-08-28. Pitchfork.
  4. Web site: 2021-08-27. It's A Family Affair In Baby Keem And Kendrick Lamar's "Family Ties" Music Video. 2022-01-11. VIBE.com.
  5. Web site: Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar's Family Ties Review. 2022-01-11. Body of Work. en-US. January 13, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220113093115/https://www.thebodyofworkblog.com/home/baby-keem-and-kendrick-lamars-family-ties-review. dead.
  6. Web site: Ritchie . Matthew . Baby Keem / Kendrick Lamar 'Family Ties . Pitchfork . August 28, 2021.
  7. Web site: Germain . Tabie . June 26, 2022 . BET Awards 2022: Full List of Winners and Honorees (LIVE UPDATE) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240225011723/https://www.bet.com/article/qu18bm/bet-awards-2022-full-list-of-winners-and-honorees . February 25, 2024 . February 24, 2024 . BET.
  8. News: November 23, 2021 . 2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231221222835/https://www.grammy.com/news/2022-grammys-complete-winners-nominees-nominations-list . December 21, 2023 . February 24, 2024 . Grammy Awards.
  9. News: Lipsky . Jessica . April 3, 2022 . Baby Keem Wins Best Rap Performance . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231128133718/https://www.grammy.com/news/baby-keem-wins-best-rap-performance-for-family-ties-feat-kendrick-lamar . November 28, 2023 . February 24, 2024 . Grammy Awards.
  10. Web site: 2021 37-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100). AGATA. Lithuanian. September 17, 2021. September 17, 2021.
  11. Web site: Local & International Streaming Chart Top 100: 27/08/2021 to 02/09/2021. The Official South African Charts. September 14, 2021. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210909213625/https://theofficialsacharts.co.za/charts/streaming-chart-20-08-2021-to-26-08-2021/. September 9, 2021.
  12. Web site: Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 37. Sverigetopplistan. September 17, 2021.
  13. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.
  14. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2022. Billboard. December 2, 2022.