Kendrick Lamar is a man of many faces, including some very famous ones he features in his new music video … addressing the most infamous moments of the past few years.
KL dropped a song Sunday called ‘The Heart Part 5,’ where he talks about the culture at lightning quick speed, hopscotching through different scenarios and employing the monikers of celebs to make his point — including Will Smith, Kanye West and Jussie Smollett.
It’s true … the video shows Kendrick’s face change to all of these men at different points in the song, using some fancy technology that we suppose you could equate to a deep fake.
He also features O.J. Simpson briefly while bringing up a “bulletproof Rover,” seemingly referencing the Ford Bronco from way back when. Then, he transitions to Ye’s face while mentioning “friends bipolar,” and finally to Jussie as he says “the streets got me f***ed up.”
In the video for new song “The Heart Part 5,” @kendricklamar‘s face morphs into OJ Simpson, @kanyewest, Jussie Smollett, Will Smith, and the late Nipsey Hussle https://t.co/4HXPojyVMB pic.twitter.com/lKPT0i4lGh
— Stereogum (@stereogum) May 9, 2022
@stereogum
Eventually, his face becomes Will’s as he raps this … “In the land where hurt people hurt more people // F*** callin’ it culture.” Of course, he’s addressing the Oscars slap there.
There are two other stars he morphs into … the late Kobe Bryant and Nipsey Hussle. In both instances, he’s referring to death and reflecting on the legacy he leaves behind … praying it’s a worthy one.
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The Nipsey line is especially telling … Kendrick raps, “To my brother, to my kids, I’m in Heaven // To my mother, to my sis, I’m in Heaven// To my father, to my wife, I am serious, this is Heaven” … going on to say he forgives the killer who sped up his demise.
In this instance, he appears to be rapping as Nipsey … and addressing Nipsey’s alleged murderer, Eric Holder. Lots of food for thought in this one — K.Dot’s new album drops Friday.