"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" on YouTube

"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

Awards Year Category Result Ref.
BET Awards 2022 Video of the Year Won [7]
Grammy Awards 2022 Best Rap Song Nominated [8]
Grammy Awards 2022 Best Rap Performance Won [9]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Family Ties"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 44
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 19
Global 200 (Billboard)[12] 25
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 32
Lithuania (AGATA)[14] 43
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 29
Portugal (AFP)[16] 65
South Africa (RISA)[17] 18
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 52
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[20] 23
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 18
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[22] 8
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[23] 19

Year-end charts

2021 year-end chart performance for "Family Ties"
Chart (2021) Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[24] 66
2022 year-end chart performance for "Family Ties"
Chart (2022) Position
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[25] 79

Certifications

Certifications for "Family Ties"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[27] Platinum 10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[29] 4× Platinum 4,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Caraan, Sophie. "Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar Deliver First Collaborative Single "family ties"". Hypebeast. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  2. ^ X. X. L. Staff. "Here Are the XXL Awards 2022 Nominees". XXL Mag. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  3. ^ "Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar Share Video for New Song "Family Ties"". Pitchfork. August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "It's A Family Affair In Baby Keem And Kendrick Lamar's "Family Ties" Music Video". VIBE.com. August 27, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  5. ^ "Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar's Family Ties Review". Body of Work. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  6. ^ Ritchie, Matthew. "Baby Keem / Kendrick Lamar 'Family Ties". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  7. ^ Germain, Tabie (June 26, 2022). "BET Awards 2022: Full List of Winners and Honorees (LIVE UPDATE)". BET. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  8. ^ "2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List". Grammy Awards. November 23, 2021. Archived from the original on December 21, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Lipsky, Jessica (April 3, 2022). "Baby Keem Wins Best Rap Performance". Grammy Awards. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  10. ^ "Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  12. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  13. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "2021 37-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. September 17, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  16. ^ "Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 37". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  20. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  21. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  22. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  23. ^ "Kendrick Lamar Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  24. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  25. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  26. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". Music Canada. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  27. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  28. ^ "British single certifications – Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  29. ^ "American single certifications – Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar – Family Ties". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
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