Watch Kendrick Lamar's deepfake Kanye and Will Smith in video for “The Heart Part 5”
Kendrick Lamar is back with a new video that takes deepfake to a disconcerting – if catchy – new level. “The Heart Part 5,” a continuation of the 34-year-old rapper's series of one-off records, is the first lead single he's released in four years — and trust us, it doesn't disappoint, combining Latin verve with the upbeat spirit of disco.
Plus: K Dot morphs into a number of different famous men throughout the video using notorious deepfake video technology. It's all thematically appropriate: at one point, as he rhymes about a “bulletproof rover,” the rapper turns into OJ Simpson. Turning to bipolar disorder, he becomes Kanye West. Whew.
It's all very Kendrick, at once subversive and in keeping with his signature style, taking on new sonic influences and folding them into some great narrative storytelling. How much of the new album can we glean from “The Heart Part 5," I hear you ask? It's a good question — with the answer being “probably not much,” as historically the songs across the “Heart” stable have been markedly different from the albums they precede.
Lamar's next album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, is pegged for release on 13 May, just a few days from now. Hilariously enough, he announced the album by way of responding to a fan tweet accusing Lamar of being “officially retired,” by dint of having not released anything for half a decade (I mean, come on).
We know barely anything about the album at present, and it wouldn't shock if “The Heart Part 5” is in no way akin — Kendrick has loved dropping misleading hints in the past. Whatever the case, thank god for an artist so consistently refreshing, imaginative and unique.
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