Kendrick Lamar released his first track since being announced as the Super Bowl 59 halftime performer … and the theme isn’t exactly a stadium-rocker that’ll need crowd control … he’s calling for the hip hop culture to change for the better!!!
The unnamed track clocks in at 5:06, which is pretty long by current standards. But Kendrick has a lot to say about the materialism and drug abuse that passes so easily in today’s music.
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Fans are convinced the song is named “Watch The Party Die.” The lyrics say “I think it’s time to watch the party die … Street n***** and the corporate guys, the rappers that report the lies I need they families mortified!!!”
Kendrick never mentions Drake by name but does dance around their historic beef — and possibly his “grave” a bit — when he raps, “Just walk that man down, that’ll do everyone a solid. It’s love, but tough love sometimes gotta result in violence.”
The song’s cover art depicts a pair of worn down, all-black Air Force 1’s … a common footwear choice for shooters in the hood … indicative of the song’s theme that he had to do the dirty work in order for the culture to cleanse itself.
DJ Akademiks also took issue with K. Dot’s lyrics — “The radio personality pushin’ propaganda for salary / Let me know when they turn up as a casualty, I want agony / Assault and battery” — and he live-streamed for a couple hours to avenge his reputation.
Drake hasn’t responded to the song or Dot’s SB LIV announcement, but Baka Not Nice — the guy Kendrick roasted on “Not Like Us” for allegedly having a weird case — still feels some type of way, and declared the track belongs in a burning dumpster!!!
Kendrick didn’t use all his lyrics to immolate … he also shines a spotlight on Christian hip hop stars Dee-1 and Lecrae for their cultural stances — “Sometimes I wonder what Lecrae would do?” before rapping, “I wanna be empathetic, my heart like Dee-1.”
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Dee-1 thanked Kendrick for the shout-out with a throwback of them together, and Lecrae says his phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since the song dropped … we’ll take some of the blame for that!!! 😎
Moral of the story: Kendrick says a cultural shift had to happen at the expense of Drake’s reign … but then again, there’s still this mysterious “Round 2”!!!