Kendrick Lamar dropped his first new solo single in nearly four years on Sunday night, called “The Heart Part 5.” 

With just days to go until the release of new album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar surprise dropped a new song Sunday night (May 8).

The video begins with Lamar rapping by himself in front of a red screen, but occasionally has the faces of other rappers, and controversial or deceased Black men photoshopped over his: Kanye West, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, OJ Simpson, Jussie Smollett and finally Nipsey Hussle.  

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Lamar’s fifth studio album, follows his Pulitzer Prize and Grammy-winning project DAMN., which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2017.

Throughout the video, Lamar’s face takes the shape of other celebrities, and as Lamar’s face swaps to that of West, he spits the line “friends bipolar” at the 1:55 mark. 

The Nipsey portion of the video features Kendrick spit the line “and Sam I be watching over you,” as he raps from the perspective of the late rapper, and throws out an apparent ode to his brother Samiel Asghedom, a.k.a. Blacc Sam.

“The Heart Part 5” marks the first time a solo K-Dot track has been listed as a pgLang release, in conjunction with TDE, on streaming services.

Deep Voodoo’s team of technicians and artists have lent their talents to the many startlingly realistic face swaps in “The Heart Part 5.”