More than 10 million cumulative views in less than 24 hours: the song The Heart Part 5 published on streaming platforms on Sunday May 8 achieves the best start to the career of Californian rapper Kendrick Lamar.
On a sample of the song I Want You by Marvin Gaye, the child of Compton, a disadvantaged suburb of Los Angeles, evokes social themes that are dear to him such as racism and poverty. He does this by taking on several faces, using the morphing technique, as the clip kicks off with the words “I am. All of us” (“I am. All of us“), obviously meant to take on the controversial backstories of these characters.
The Heart Part 5 is intended to be the fifth installment in a series of titles that Kendrick Lamar, known to be the only Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, began releasing in 2010. Five is also the number of years that have passed since the release of his last album DAMN. “I felt the good, I felt the bad, and I felt the worry. But overall, my productivity remained strong,” reassures the artist in the third verse of the piece released from the press.
The series of clips is an outlet in which Kendrick is used to emptying his bag and teasing the release of an album at the same time. “You have until April 7 to pull yourself together”he slipped to his rivals in 2017 at the end of the previous part, revealing in passing the release date of his project.
2022, Kendrick Lamar is doing it again but the recipe has changed somewhat because no date is given in the title. No need, the mystery had already been lifted in mid-April. The rapper responded to a tweet from a user announcing the artist’s early retirement with a link to an obscure document. “Album: Mr Morales & The Big Steppers. Release date: May 13. A knowingly thought-out communication stunt that had turned the twittosphere upside down.
https://t.co/YVE5bZOBL2 https://t.co/UywGGKExb1
—Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) April 18, 2022
So what’s in this latest clip? Each subject treated in his piece corresponds to a personality. Kendrick Lamar begins by transforming himself into OJ Simpson, former glory of American football accused then acquitted of double murder in the 1990s, after a trial which had stirred up racial tensions in the country“I said I’d do this for my culture, to let y’all know what a nigga look like in a bulletproof Rover”. In his words, the rapper basically says: I did this for my culture, to let everyone know what a black man looks like in a luxury armored 4×4. Winking at the classic Izzo (HOVA) of Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar may also refer to the white 4×4 in which OJ Simpson had fled in 1994.
Then he takes the figure of rapper turned businessman Kanye West: “Bipolar friends, they grab you by your pockets”, he sings, paying homage to the title Real Friends of the artist, referencing ccertainly also to the bipolar disorder from which he would be suffering. He continues with actor Will Smith, in turmoil since he slapped comedian Chris Rock on the Oscars stage. “In the land where hurt people hurt more other people / Fuck calling it ‘culture'” It’s hard not to make the connection.
Also appearing actor Jussie Smollett, sentenced in March to prison for having staged a racist and homophobic attack of which he claimed to be the victim, as well as basketball legend Kobe Bryant, tragically disappeared in a helicopter accident at the beginning of 2020. Common thread of the song, the computer modeling of Californian rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was shot dead in 2019, speaks directly to his wife, children and little brother. “I don’t need to be flesh and blood to hug you all /
Memories live on because you celebrate me with respect”. He pursues : “And Sam, I’m gonna watch over you / Make sure my kids watch all my interviews / Make sure you make all your dreams come true.”
Kendrick Lamar, 34, has already won 14 Grammy Awards, the awards of the American music industry. He is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time.