If you caught the farewell musical guest for Steven Colbert’s Comedy Central exit you caught an epic ‘world premiere’ performance of the Compton native’s song “Untitled.” With the impeccably laid building-block lyrics, rich true to life storytelling, a grooving live band, live backing vocals, and a good helping of raw and controlled-yet ready to snap energy–the track definitely delivered and hit on all cylinders. Would it blow your mind then, to learn that Kendrick Lamar Wrote His ‘Colbert Report’ Untitled Song the Day Before the show???
Kendrick Lamar Wrote His ‘Colbert Report’ Untitled Song the Day Before according to saxophone player Terrace Martin, who spoke on the situation during an interview with NPR’s Microphone Check Show. Relaying Kendrick didn’t want to do anything of his then-year old “Good Kid, Maad City” debut, nor the “i” single.
Faced with a lack of material, they did what ‘true’ artists do. Vibe reports on Terrace’s description of the team rallying as Kendrick Lamar Wrote His ‘Colbert Report’ Untitled Song the Day Before, being so fresh they had to improvise:
“We came with that the day before at rehearsal,” said the L.A. native. “He didn’t want to do ‘i.’ Let’s just, you know, fly out to New York. Let’s rehearse in New York and get that energy and do something a little different.” Because the track was fresh from Kendrick’s mental oven, Terrace and beatsmith Thundercat found themselves forgetting the arrangement and freestyled their way through the song (that’s probably where the saxophone solo from Terrace was so raw).”
As Colbert noted, being the last performance in the show’s history meant iconic artists like Nas, Jack White, R.E.M. and Paul McCartney were his “opening acts, so no pressure.” Fitting Kendrick would meet that pressure head on and in his own lane with creativity–backing up his mainstay that he’s “a writer, not a rapper.” If you still need more of a sure up that Kendrick Lamar Wrote His ‘Colbert Report’ Untitled Song the Day Before, check the audio for Terrace Martin’s interview recapping the song’s creation:
…and check the vid to re-live the epic performance!!!: