Kendrick Lamar Wears The Face Of Five Black Male Stars In New Music Video, 'The Heart Part 5'
By Favour Adegoke on May 10, 2022 at 8:45 PM EDT
After a five-year break, 34-year-old rapper Kendrick Lamar surprised fans with a new song release. The five-minute song titled "The Heart Part 5" was released on Sunday evening and accompanied by a music video that saw Lamar's face change into five famous black men who have been in the news or plagued with controversy.
Celebrities he morphed into included Nipsey Hussle, O.J. Simpson, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, and recently sentenced Jussie Smollett.
Keep reading to learn more about the video and Lamar's upcoming studio album.
The Music Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAPUkgeiFVY
The video opened with the line "I am. All of us." at the beginning. It then showed Lamar rapping as his actual self with a maroon backdrop behind him before he revealed different faces. He first morphes into O.J Simpson, then Kanye West and then switches into Jussie Smollett and then Will Smith. The rapper takes a moment before morphing again into late basketball icon, Kobe Bryant, and finally late rapper Nipsey Hussle.
Each face change had a significant lyric or line specific to the experience of the black celebrities identity he was wearing at that moment.
For O.J Simpson, the rapper sings about a black man living a quite privileged life, safe from the experiences that a lot of black people go through. He sings, "I said i'd do this for my culture, to let y’all know what a n---a look like in a bulletproof rover."
When he switches into rapper Kanye West, he references the rappers alleged bipolar disorder.
It is noted that the last two face changes he does in the music video are of two stars who have passed away.
Fans believed the song lyrics at the end showed Lamar rapping from Hussle's point of view with his style and rap flow as a major tribute to the rapper.
Lamar morphs into Hussle twice in the music video and also sings about events relating to the late rapper, with lyrics alluding to his death and the well-being of young black children who references as future leaders.
"And to my neighborhood, let the good prevailMake sure them babies and them leaders outta jail.."
"...And I can't blame the hood the day that I was killed.Y'all had to see it, that's the only way to feel..."
In the video, Lamar stood on the left side of the screen and danced in a hoppy manner. Fans on Twitter believed that Lamar was representing a heartbeat by this move since the song was titled "The Heart." They also applauded his creativity.
This surprise song arrived before the release of "Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers," Lamar's album, which is scheduled to drop in a few days. It will also be his fifth studio album and is highly anticipated by his fans.
Kendrick Lamar Announced His Album
Before releasing "The Heart Part 5," Lamar previously told fans that he planned to release his long-anticipated album last month. This was seen in a document he posted on "Oklama," the star's cryptic website.
The document read, "The following statement was released today by oklama, through his company pgLang at 11:00 a.m. PT in Los Angeles, CA." The document came from "The Language Enterprises" and revealed the release date and title of the album. It continued, "All factual information for this release will come directly from this source only."
Lamar also thanked fans for waiting so long to hear the album by adding "Appreciate your patience" to the bottom of the document. This website was the same one Lamar posted news about his forthcoming and then-untitled project in August 2021. He explained to fans that this record would be the last one with Top Dawg Entertainment, his long-time label. This followed the start of phLang, his own company, which he co-founded with his manager, Dave Free.
He Was Proud Of TDE
The star was proud to have worked with TDE, as he expressed to fans about the album in his address. He explained that there were ups and downs, but the best part was forming a "brotherhood" with the record label members.
"As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years," he said. "The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood," he continued. He then added a word of prayer by calling on "The Most High" to "continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators," "as I continue to pursue my life's calling," he added.
"There's beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown," he continued in his letter. He ended by thanking fans for sticking with him. "Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I've prayed for you all. See you soon enough."
Kendrick Lamar's Last Project Earned Him Five Grammys
"Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers," is almost here and fans can not hide their excitement for the project as the rapper has been off the scene for some time now.
Lamar's last studio album was DAMN five years ago in 2017. When it was released, several songs from the album, including "DNA," "Humble," and "Loyalty," topped music charts for many weeks.
It earned Lamar a Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first non-classical or jazz work to receive the award. He also won a Grammy award for Best Rap Album in 2018 and awards in four other categories.
His chart-topping song "Humble" also held the record for being the only rap song to sell more than a million digital copies in 2017. It was also certified seven-times platinum in the US.
