

Historically, Lamar has shared these tracks as a prelude to a bigger project. "The Heart Part 5" is Lamar's newest material since his recent collaboration with cousin and artist Baby Keem, including the songs "Family Ties" and "Range Brothers," released in August and September of last year.Less than a week before the release of the new LP, Lamar dropped “ The Heart Part 5,” his first song as a lead artist since 2018 and the latest in his long-running “ The Heart” singles series. In the four years since releasing DAMN., Lamar's musical output has been relatively quiet, aside from the occasional collaboration. His audience, from loyal fans to award voting bodies, have treated Lamar as working in a genre all his own, whose releases command attention more than perhaps any other artist working in hip-hop. And most importantly, the Brotherhood," he wrote at the time.Īcross his decade-long career, Lamar has remained a singular voice in hip-hop, his body of work a passionate and political exploration of faith and Black art. "As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. In 2021 Lamar announced in an online letter that he was producing his final album for label Top Dawg Entertainment, where he has released all four of his albums, beginning with his critically acclaimed Section.80 in 2011. Rumors about Lamar releasing new music began to bubble up on social media in October of last year, when an unconfirmed song leak began to circulate online and eagle-eyed fans noticed the artist had briefly changed his profile photo on Spotify.


"Been writing my whole life, so to get this type of recognition, it's beautiful," Lamar said in his brief acceptance speech.īest Music Of 2017 The Prophetic Struggle Of Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN.' He later won the Pulitzer Prize for it, marking the first time the award was given to an artist outside of the jazz and classical genres. Lamar's last solo album, DAMN., earned him five Grammy awards and seven nominations overall after debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 chart in 2017. The album includes production by artists including Duval Timothy, Pharrell, Boi-1da, The Alchemist, while Florence Welch earns a writing credit on "We Cry Together" for its use of a sample from Florence & The Machine's song "June." The album also includes Eckhart Tolle, the author and spiritualist, as a narrator on several tracks, as well as Lamar's partner Whitney Alford on the song "We Cry Together." "Daddy issues, hid my emotions, never expressed myself," he raps on "Father Time." "Men should never show feelings, being sensitive never helped." Elsewhere, on "Auntie Diaries," he tackles issues of trans identity. On songs like "Die Hard" and "Father Time," he explores vulnerability, the challenges of newfound fatherhood and his marriage. "I've been going through something: be afraid," he begins on "United In Grief." Morale & the Big Steppers builds on DAMN.'s exploration of Lamar's Christianity and his bold cultural criticism, as the rapper bemoans the hold social media, celebrity and capitalism has on society. "As I get older, I realize life is perspective," Lamar mutters in the first verse, assuming theirs. Simpson and Kanye West to Will Smith and Jussie Smollett. The song, built around an interpolation of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You," is accompanied by a video consisting of a single shot of Lamar, using deepfake technology to morph him into Black male celebrities who have faced public scrutiny - from O.J.
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This past Sunday, Lamar foreshadowed that success and indicated the album was on its way by dropping a single and video titled "The Heart Part 5," the latest in a song series of Lamar's stretching back to 2010.
