With 'Humble,' Kendrick Lamar Unloads on a Culture That Isn't
"Wicked or weakness / You gotta see this"
Kendrick Lamar has released new music for the second time in a week in the form of a rad new video.
In “HUMBLE.” —a staccato, suspenseful head-nodder — Kendrick’s acting the opposite. He labels himself “the realest,” raps about Obama paging him, and brags, “Girl, I can buy your ass the world with my paystub.” He lies in a pile of money and stars as Jesus in a recreation of the Last Supper. It’s a helping of wry social commentary paired with a memorable hook. It is a dope track.
But then he’s all humility: He’s only one of many in a crowd of men with bowed heads and dons a priest-like robe beneath a ray of light in an empty room. (Kendrick recently hinted to The New York Times Style Magazine that his new music would feature religious themes.)
Leave it to K. Dot to first prompt you to an interpretation, and then immediately challenge it. Is “HUMBLE.” a comment on how easy it is to fall into egotism? A critique of rappers who aren’t appropriately humble? A critique of himself? You be the judge. Watch the video below, and look out for the new album he’s been teasing (the first since untitled unmastered.), which is expected to come out April 7.
