"The Recipe" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar. It was released on April 3, 2012, as his commercial debut single and the first single from his major label second studio album good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012). The song, produced by West Coast record producer Scoop DeVille, features a guest appearance from Lamar's mentor, renowned record producer and fellow rapper Dr. Dre, who also mixed the record alongside TDE's engineer MixedByAli.

On March 30, 2012, after speaking on his newly signed joint venture deal, which brought Top Dawg Entertainment under Interscope Records, Lamar announced on Big Boy's Neighborhood that he would premier his debut single “The Recipe”, to the morning radio show on April 2. The song heavily samples "Meet the Frownies" as performed by Twin Sister.

The song's production was handled by Scoop DeVille, who has produced a number of songs for West Coast rappers, including Snoop Dogg's "I Wanna Rock"; a slow, West Coast hip hop inspired tune with heavy vocal samples. "The Recipe" features a constant, looping sample from the song "Meet the Frownies" by Twin Sister. The sample is backed up by various drums - most of them are very heavy and follow a medium-tempo pattern. The other drums are more miscellaneous and less apparent. The first verse is performed by Dr. Dre, with Lamar following him by singing the chorus (with minor aid by Dre) and rapping the second verse. After his verse, Lamar performs the chorus once more and Dr. Dre returns, with another verse. This time, Lamar picks up rapping immediately after Dre finishes his verse, without a chorus. The vocal portion of the song finishes with the last chorus and then proceeds into an instrumental section with minor scratching and a switch in the drum pattern.

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