Kendrick Lamar has dropped a new track, “The Heart Part 5”, days ahead of the release of his new album.
The rapper, 34, is scheduled to share Mr Morale & The Big Steppers on Friday 13 May.
“The Heart Part 5” was released along with a music video directed by Dave Free and Lamar, in which the rapper’s face alters into several deepfakes including OJ Simpson, Will Smith, Jussie Smollett, Kobe Bryant, Kanye West, and Nipsey Hussle.
The lyrics of his song align with the person he’s resembling in the video at the time: discussing bipolar disorder when he’s depicted as West, and murder when he’s Hussle, who was shot and killed in 2019.
The song also appears to sample Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You.”
“King Kendrick stays undefeated, league of his own,” wrote one fan, responding to the track.
Another added: “There are artists who pay over six figures for a Marvin Gaye sample, so for Kendrick Lamar to use it as his comeback is everything.”
“From starting the verse with ‘I do this for the culture’ to ending it with “f*** doing it for the culture’. The song slaps hard,” one fan said.
Last week, many fans thought that Lamar has unveiled further clues about his forthcoming new album.
The Compton-born rapper added a new link to his Oklama website. This led fans to a folder titled “Master”, in which is a photo of a hand holding a book bearing Lamar’s name and the title of his new album – Mr Morale & The Big Steppers – on the cover.
Two compact discs were also featured, one titled “Morale” and the other “Steppers”, with each marked as a “master copy”.
Many fans started suspecting this means Lamar might be preparing to drop a double album, which comes after his acclaimed 2017 record, Damn.
Lamar has kept a relatively low profile since the release of the record with notable exceptions for the 2018 Black Panther soundtrack and an appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show earlier this year.
