WRITTEN BY: ZACHARY BUENAVENTURA
Rated by Author: 5/5 "The Heart Part 5" by Kendrick Lamar is the fifth installment of Kendrick’s “The Heart” series. Throughout his career, he releases these “The Heart” songs leading up to each album. These songs often signify a new era or new sound to Kendricks' music. All five songs feature long, intricate verses, which give us a first look at the overall vibe of what the album is going to be like. These songs provide an image of what has been occupying his mind. For example, "The Heart Part 5" focuses on the idea of perspective and the culture right now. This song is expressive, reflective, meditative, and perceptive. It and its accompanying video show him rapping from various angles, and Lamar makes full use of deepfake technology ("a deep fake is a photo, audio, or video that has been manipulated by Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to make it appear something it is not" Aware.com) to change his appearance to resemble celebrities like Kanye West, OJ Simpson, and the late Nipsey Hussle. The first verse talks about the risk of growing up as an African American in the "hood" and living in such a hostile environment. The second verse talks about the dangers of culture and how he is the spokesperson for his culture. He claims to represent infidelity, incarceration, gun violence, and poverty. Kendrick refuses to accept these facets of life as an inevitable part of the culture. These kinds of contradictions are what Kendrick experienced during his life and are now what he's expressing through his music. The third verse talks about Kendrick Lamar focusing on himself. He talks about what it’s like to be an affluent and influential celebrity, and his understanding of what that means. However, now he wants to take things to the next level. He says that he's ready to “‘sacrifice his personal gain over everything” in order to uplift his people. Kendrick then concludes the final verse, continuing to speak and express to those who have passed on from this life but died for “the culture”. From this song alone, I fully understand why it took Kendrick Lamar 5 years to release a new album. If I were to go fully in-depth about this song down to the wire, this article would be ten pages long. I’m grateful enough to be writing this review in the first place: a review of a song that talks about some of the most powerful and important topics of our generation, all spoken through rhythm and poetry. Rap. Comments are closed.
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