Squabble Up

Album

GNX

Label

Interscope Records

Genre

G-funk

Composer(s)

Kendrick Duckworth

Entered Chart

Jul 12, 2024

Peak Date

Jul 12, 2024

Released

November 26, 2024

"Squabble Up" is a West Coast-influenced party anthem that's equal parts chest-thumping bravado and cultural reflection. Kendrick Lamar wraps the song in an '80s-inspired groove. The title, "squabble up," is drawn from LA slang. It can mean squaring up for a fight or cutting loose on the dance floor, depending on the context. It's a duality that fits the song perfectly as Lamar tackles everything from industry critiques to personal evolution while throwing a few sharp elbows at the phoniness of his peers. "Squabble Up" subtly references LA gang culture. The doubled "bb" is a nod to the Bloods gang. The track, the second on Lamar's GNX album, follows "Wacced Out Murals," with its Crip-flavored "cc" in its title. These details aren't just wordplay - they're breadcrumbs leading to a larger unifying message, symbolized by Lamar's 2024 Juneteenth Pop Out concert. At this one-night-only event, he brought members of rival gangs together onstage at the Kia Forum in an act of communal solidarity. High-key, keep a horn on me, that Kamasi "Kamasi" is famed saxophonist Kamasi Washington. Washington played tenor saxophone on "U," the sixth track on Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. Washington also has a production credit on the GNX song "Luther." Lamar co-produced "Squabble Up" with: His regular beatmaker Sounwave. Jack Antonoff, known for his work with Taylor Swift, Lorde and Lana Del Rey. Charlotte, North Carolina producer Scott Bridgeway, who regularly collaborates with Lamar's cousin, Baby Keem. Report This Ad The production, which fuses G-funk and West Coast hip-hop, is spiced with a bouncy, '80s beach-vibe beat. The track's heartbeat is a funky bassline sample from Debbie Deb's 1984 freestyle song "When I Hear Music." Back in early July 2024, Lamar teased the song in his video for "Not Like Us," where he slipped in a brief snippet of a then-untitled track fans quickly dubbed "Broccoli." Snippets appeared three months later in a Mercedes AMG Formula One ad and on NBA broadcasts. These appearances helped "Squabble Up" go viral on TikTok, with fans eagerly demanding its release. Their wishes were granted when it was included on the surprise release of GNX. The accompanying video, directed by LA filmmaker Calmatic, shows Lamar dancing in a blue hoodie in a mostly empty ballroom against a backdrop of shifting imagery with a rotation of cast members. Calmatic also directed the visual for Lamar's Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers track "Rich Spirit." Kendrick Lamar gave "Squabble Up" its live debut at TDE's Christmas show on December 12, 2024, at the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects in Watts, California. Lamar's friend, the rapper Ab-Soul, joined him onstage for the performance along with a group of kids. Lamar included "Squabble Up" in his 2025 Super Bowl halftime show performance, which was narrated by Samuel L. Jackson as "Uncle Sam." After the song, Jackson broke in with mock indignation: "No, no, no. Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!"

God knows
I am
Reincarnated, I was stargazin'
Life goes on, I need all my babies (gyah, gyah)

Woke up lookin' for the broccoli
High-key, keep a horn on me, that Kamasi
IP, ownership, the blueprint is by me
Mr. Get Off, I get off at my feet
(When I hear music, it makes me dance)
(You got the music, now is your chance)
A yee nigga couldn't try me in the tri-state
Buddy pass, bet I get him splashed 'til he hydrated
Bounce out, know he spook town, eyes dilated
I got the money and the power both gyratin'

I feel good, get the fuck out my face
Look good, but she don't got no taste
I walk in, walked out with the safe
Mando, let me know what the play

What the fuck? I got hits, I got bucks, I got new paper cuts
I got friends, I got foes, but they all sitting ducks
Hit his turf and get crackin', double back like a deluxe
Fifty deep, but it ain't deep enough
Fuck a plea, there he go, beat him up
Fallin' from my money tree and it grow throughout the months
Spit a loogie at the camera, speed off, yeah, it's us

I feel good, get the fuck out my face
Look good, but she don't got no taste
I walk in, walked out with the safe
Mando, let me know what the play

Squabble up, squabble up
Squabble up, squabble up
Squabble up (mh-mh), squabble up (mh-mh)
Squabble up (mh-mh), squabble up

Hol' up (hol' up), where you from? (Where you from?)
Bye, bitch (bye, bitch), I'm finna go dumb (finna go dumb)
Sideways (sideways), bunk skunk (bunk skunk)
Fever (fever), I'm on one (I'm on one)

Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, baby rockin' it
Quid pro quo, what you want? 'Cause I'm watchin' it
Work on the floor, let me know if you clockin' it
Brodie won't go, but I know that he poppin' it
It was woof tickets on sale 'til I silenced it
Pipe down, young, these some whole other politics
Bitch with him and some bitch in him, that's a lot of bitch
Don't hit him, he got kids with him, my apologies
Ghetto child, it was Black & Milds with the Smirnoff
Yeehaw, we outside, whoadie 'bout to kill him off
Blaps on blaps, it's a fact, this a brick of raw
Tell me why the fuck you niggas rap if it's fictional?
Tell me why the fuck you niggas fed if you criminal?
"Ayy, Dot, can I get a drop?" I'm like, "Nigga, nah"
Ace boon coon from the Westside to Senegal
It's a full moon, let the (ah) wolves out, I been a dog

I feel good, get the fuck out my face
Look good, but she don't got no taste
I walked in, walked out with the safe
Mando, let me know what the play

Squabble up, squabble up
Squabble up, squabble up
Squabble up (mh-mh), squabble up (mh-mh)
Squabble up (mh-mh), squabble up