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10 songs that feel like Mortal Man

Matched to Mortal Man by Kendrick Lamar on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Mortal Man
The song you love
Mortal Man
Kendrick Lamar
moderate 40/100 intensity 85 BPM
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Magic and Loss — Lou Reed moderate 85 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same introspective pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

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Soulsville — Isaac Hayes moderate 82 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

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What's Going On — Marvin Gaye moderate 90 BPM

Keeps the same emotional pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Measured 95% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (90 BPM).

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Lie To Me — Tom Waits moderate 85 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Same layered texture.

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Lady Day and John Coltrane — Gil Scott-Heron moderate 85 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same reflective pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (40/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

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La Maza — Mercedes Sosa moderate 80 BPM

93% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Same layered texture.

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I Am a Patriot — Jackson Browne moderate 90 BPM

Keeps the same emotional pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Measured 93% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (90 BPM).

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Strong Enough — Sheryl Crow moderate 80 BPM

Measures 93% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Same layered texture.

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My Song — H.E.R. moderate 80 BPM

A 93% feel-match — carries the same emotional pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (38/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (80 BPM).

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Tonya Harding — Sufjan Stevens moderate 72 BPM

93% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (37/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Mortal Man is more than you want right now.

If I Were a Boy by Beyoncé
If I Were a Boy — Beyoncé safe 92 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 28/100, down from 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Die Hard — Kendrick Lamar safe 90 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 3 where the original climbs to 6, so it lands at 13/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Gloria by Kendrick Lamar (feat. SZA)
Gloria — Kendrick Lamar (feat. SZA) safe 70 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. Reads 23/100.

Speed of the Sound of Loneliness by John Prine
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness — John Prine safe 85 BPM

Holds the same feel while its dynamic range stays a gentler 4 where the original climbs to 6. 16/100, versus the original's 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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The Tree of Forgiveness — John Prine safe 90 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but nothing in it lurches or startles. Intensity 21/100, down from 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I Remember Everything by John Prine
I Remember Everything — John Prine safe 75 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 2 where the original climbs to 6, so it lands at 8/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Razon de Vivir — Mercedes Sosa safe 70 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while nothing in it lurches or startles. Reads 19/100.

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Joe Hill — Joan Baez safe 80 BPM

Holds the same feel while nothing in it lurches or startles. 20/100, versus the original's 40. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Mortal Man” by Kendrick Lamar?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Magic and Loss” by Lou Reed, “Soulsville” by Isaac Hayes, “What's Going On” by Marvin Gaye — the top match scores 99% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “Mortal Man” but calmer?

“If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé, “Die Hard” by Kendrick Lamar, “Gloria” by Kendrick Lamar (feat. SZA) keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Mortal Man”?

It measures 40/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild sudden shifts, and spoken word. Tempo is 85 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 34% of songs, calmer than the other 66%. Its intensity reading of 40/100 comes from a dynamic range of 6/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and spoken word. It shares this stretch of the spectrum with thousands of other tracks, so the finer fingerprint below is what really separates it.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 79% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep4/10
Focus8/10
Workout2/10
Dinner8/10
Party / hype3/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

2015 in context

The 373 songs we’ve measured from 2015 average a dynamic range of 6.3/10. At 6/10, this track is right in line with its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity40
Dynamics56
Tempo25
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force40
Trigger load0

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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