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Kendrick Lamar releases pre-album track ‘The Heart Part 5’ & deepfaked video

Kendrick Lamar releases pre-album track ‘The Heart Part 5’ & deepfaked video

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Welcome to Kendrick week.

Ahead of the likely double LP Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers on Friday, Kendrick Lamar dropped the probable non-album track ‘The Heart Pt.5’, the latest in a series of pre-album loosies following on from ‘The Heart Pt.4’ which was released in the lead up to 2017’s DAMN.

The video directed by Dave Free along with Kendrick and sees the rapper turn into OJ Simpson, Kanye, Will Smith, Jussie Smollett, Kobe Bryant and the late Nipsey Hussle via deepfake effect.

The sample is a Marvin Gaye song from 1976 called ‘I Want You,’ which Kendrick references throughout.

Read the lyrics:

[Intro]
As I get a little older, I realize life is perspective
And my perspective may differ from yours
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

[Verse 1]
I come from a generation of pain, where murder is minor
Rebellious and Margielas’ll chip you for designer
Belt buckles and clout, overzealous if prone to violence
Make the wrong turn, be it will or the wheel alignment
Residue burned, missed at a inner-city
Miscommunication to keep homi’ detective busy
No protection is risky
Desensitized, I vandalized pain
Covered up and camouflaged
Get used to hearin’ arsenal rain
Analyze, risk your life, take the charge
Homies done fucked your baby mama once you hit the yard, that’s culture
Twenty-three hour lockdown, then somebody called
Said your lil’ nephew was shot down, the culture’s involved
I done seen ni**as do seventeen, hit the halfway house
Get out and get his brains blown out, lookin’ to buy some weed
Car wash is played out, new GoFundMe accounts’ll proceed
A brand-new victim’ll shatter those dreams, the culture

[Chorus]
(I want, I want, I want, I want)
But I want you to want me too (I want, I want, I want, I want)
I want the hood to want me back (I want, I want, I want, I want)
I want the hood
Look what I done for you (Look what I done for you)
Look what I done for you

[Verse 2]
I said I’d do this for my culture
To let y’all know what a ni**a look like in a bulletproof Rover
In my mama’s sofa was a doo-doo popper
Hair trigger, walk up closer, ain’t no Photoshoppin’
Friends bipolar, grab you by your pockets
No option if you froze up, always play the offense
Ni**as goin’ to work and sellin’ work, late for work
Workin’ late, prayin’ for work, but he on paperwork
That’s the culture, point the finger, promote ya
Remote location, witness protection, they gon’ hold ya
The streets got me fucked up, y’all can miss me
I wanna represent, for us
New revolution was up and movin’
I’m in Argentina wiping my tears full of confusion
Water in between us, another peer’s been executed
History repeats again
Make amends, then find a ni**a with the same skin to do it
But that’s the culture, crack a bottle
Hard to deal with the pain when you’re sober
By tomorrow, we forget the remains, we start over
That’s the problem
Our foundation was trained to accept whatever follows
Dehumanize, insensitive
Scrutinize the way we live for you and I
Enemies shook my hand, I can promise I’ll meet you
In the land where no equal is your equal
Never say I ain’t told ya, nah
In the land where hurt people hurt more people
Fuck callin’ it culture

[Chorus]
(I want, I want, I want, I want)
But I want you to want me too (I want, I want, I want, I want)
I want the hood to want me back (I want, I want, I want, I want)
I want the hood
Look what I done for you (Look what I done for you)
Look what I done for you

See Also

[Interlude]
Take the drums out
Phew, phew
Phew, phew
Phew

[Verse 3]
Celebrate new life when it come back around
The purpose is in the lessons we learnin’ now
Sacrifice personal gain over everything
Just to see the next generation better than ours
I wasn’t perfect, the skin I was in had truly suffered
Temptation and patience, everything that the body nurtures
I felt the good, I felt the bad, and I felt the worry
But all-in-all, my productivity had stayed urging
Face your fears, always knew that I would make it here
Where the energy is magnified and persevered
Consciousness is synchronized and crystal-clear
Euphoria is glorified and made His
Reflectin’ on my life and what I done
Paid dues, made rules, change outta love
Them same views made schools change curriculums
But didn’t change me starin’ down the barrel of that gun
Should I feel resentful I didn’t see my full potential?
Should I feel regret about the good that I was into?
Everything is everything, this ain’t coincidental
I woke up that morning with more heart to give you
As I bleed through the speakers, feel my presence
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
To my friends, make sure you countin’ them blessings
To my fans, make sure you make them investments
And to the killer that sped up my demise
I forgive you, just know your soul’s in question
I seen the pain in your pupil when that trigger had squeezed
And though you did me gruesome, I was surely relieved
I completed my mission, wasn’t ready to leave
But fulfilled my days, my Creator was pleased
I can’t stress how I love y’all
I don’t need to be in flesh just to hug y’all
The memories recollect just because y’all
Celebrate me with respect
The unity we protect is above all
And Sam, I’ll be watchin’ over you
Make sure my kids watch all my interviews
Make sure you live all the dreams we produce
Keep that genius in your brain on the move
And to my neighborhood, let the good prevail
Make sure them babies and them lead us outta jail
Look for salvation when troubles get real
‘Cause you can’t help the world until you help yourself
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
And though my physical won’t reap the benefits
The energy that carry on emits still
I want you


Lamar has stated that Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers will be his last with Top Dawg Entertainment.

In a blog post on August 20, 2021, Lamar announced the album with this note:

I spend most of my days with fleeting thoughts. Writing. Listening. And collecting old Beach cruisers. The morning rides keep me on a hill of silence. I go months without a phone. Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family. While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most. The life in which my words will land next. As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood. May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life’s calling. There’s beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown. Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. I’ve prayed for you all. See you soon enough.


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