Kendrick Lamar is back! The rapper dropped his new song, “The Heart Part 5,” on Sunday, his first solo single in nearly four years.
During the song Kendrick raps about “the culture,” but before getting into his lightning-fast rhymes, he prefaces with a message to his fans.
“As I get a little older, I realize life is perspective /And my perspective may differ from yours,” he says. “I wanna say thank you to everyone that’s been down with me /All my fans, all my beautiful fans /Anyone who’s ever gave me a listen, all my people.”
Along with single came the music video, which features Kendrick in front of a dark red background rocking a white tee with a black bandana tied around his neck. As he raps, his face morphs into notable Black men like OJ Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollett, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle, to seemingly drive home the meaning behind his lyrics.
Kanye’s face appears as Kendrick raps about his “friend’s bipolar,” while the late Kobe and Nipsey appear as he reflects on the legacy he leaves behind.
On social media, Kendrick promoted the track with the opening scene from his music video which is a quote attributed to Oklama that reads, “I am. All of us.”
“The Heart Part 5” comes ahead of Kendrick’s fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which is due out Friday, May 13. His last album, DAMN, was released in April 2017.
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