Kendrick Lamar is set to release his long-awaited new album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, this Friday, May 13th. As a prelude, Compton’s hip-hop poet laureate has unveiled a new single called “The Heart Part 5.”
In both the song and its corresponding video, Kendrick raps from the perspectives of various Black men, including O.J. Simpson, Will Smith, Jussie Smollett, Kanye West, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle. The video begins with Kendrick, but his face soon morphs into deepfakes of each of these individuals. Watch it below.
The video was directed by Kendrick and Dave Free, and Kendrick gives a special thanks to South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker in the credits. (Kendrick, Free, Stone, and Parker are all collaborating together on an upcoming film.)
“The Heart Part 5” is the fifth entry in Kendrick’s “The Heart” song series. It remains to be seen whether it will appear on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, but past entries have been released as non-album singles.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is Kendrick’s fifth album to date and first since 2017’s DAMN. The forthcoming project also marks his final release with Top Dawg Entertainment. Last August, the rapper announced that he would be leaving his longtime record label in favor of pgLang.
So far, Kendrick has two live appearances on the books in 2022: at Miami’s Rolling Loud in May and at Glastonbury in the UK in June.