Family Ties (song)

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"Family Ties"
Single by Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar
from the album The Melodic Blue
ReleasedAugust 27, 2021 (2021-08-27)
Recorded2021
Genre
Length4:12
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Baby Keem singles chronology
"Durag Activity"
(2021) 		"Family Ties"
(2021)
Kendrick Lamar singles chronology
"The Mantra"
(2018) 		"Family Ties"
(2021) 		"N95"
(2022)
Music video
"Family Ties" at YouTube

"Family Ties" (wrote 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 was the fourth single from Keem's first album, The Melodic Blue.[1] The song was also Lamar’s first song under PGLang, a production company he co-founded in March 2020.

"Family Ties" was Lamar's first single and new music since "Pray for Me" with Canadian singer The Weeknd, released in 2018. The song also was the first official collaboration between Keem and Lamar, who are real-life cousins, as well as the single’s cover art putting them in a family portrait, which pays homage to the album cover of Lamar's 2012 album good kid, m.A.A.d city. The music video has a cameo from singer Normani and won the 2022 BET Award for Video of the Year.

Accolades[change | change source]

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

Music video[change | change source]

The song's music video was directed by Dave Free, and has 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 around Keem and Lamar, with the two artists wearing orange clothes. Black ballerinas are also in the scene. In the second scene, Lamar raps about still being big in hip-hop despite taking a break. Near the end of the music video, Normani appears in a stretch limo SUV with the two rappers, before the rappers make their last lines. Throughout the video, clips of different sizes and themes are placed on top of the video, being above the ones below them. The video is put into two "scenes", with scene 1 having Keem's section, and scene 2 having Lamar's section.[4][5]

Critical reception[change | change source]

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

Charts[change | change source]

Weekly charts[change | change source]

Weekly chart number for "Family Ties"
Chart (2021) Peak

position

Australia (ARIA)[7] 44
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[8] 19
Global 200 (Billboard)[9] 25
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 32
Lithuania (AGATA)[11] 43
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 29
Portugal (AFP)[13] 65
South Africa (RISA)[14] 18
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 52
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[17] 23
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 18
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[19] 8
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[20] 19

Year-end charts[change | change source]

2021 year-end chart number for "Family Ties"
Chart (2021) Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[21] 66
2022 year-end chart number for "Family Ties"
Chart (2022) Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[22] 79

Certifications[change | change source]

Certifications for "Family Ties"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] 2× Platinum 160,000double-dagger
Portugal (AFP)[24] Platinum 10,000double-dagger
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Silver 200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[26] 4× Platinum 4,000,000double-dagger

double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ X. X. L. Staff. "Here Are the XXL Awards 2022 Nominees". XXL Mag. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  2. ↑ X. X. L. Staff. "Here Are the XXL Awards 2022 Nominees". XXL Mag. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  3. ↑ "Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar Share Video for New Song "Family Ties"". Pitchfork. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  4. ↑ "It's A Family Affair In Baby Keem And Kendrick Lamar's "Family Ties" Music Video". VIBE.com. 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  5. ↑ "Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar's Family Ties Review". Body of Work. Archived from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  6. ↑ Ritchie, Matthew. "Baby Keem / Kendrick Lamar 'Family Ties". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  11. ↑ "2021 37-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Local & International Streaming Chart Top 100: 27/08/2021 to 02/09/2021". The Official South African Charts. Recording Industry of South Africa. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 37". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". Music Canada. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Portuguese single certifications – Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  25. ↑ "British single certifications – Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  26. ↑ "American single certifications – Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
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