"The Heart Part 5" is a song by American rapper

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

. It was surprise released on May 8, 2022, through

pgLang PGLang (stylized as pgLang, an acronym for Program Language) is an American multi-disciplinary creative collective founded by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free. Launched on March 5, 2020, the collective houses a record label, a production company, a ...

Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's f ...

Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records. Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, ...

and Interscope Records, as a promotional single to help anticipate the release for Lamar's fifth studio album '' Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'', where it was later included as a streaming bonus track. It is the fifth part in his "The Heart" song series following "

The Heart Part 4 "The Heart Part 4" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 23, 2017, by Top Dawg Entertainment. The track features uncredited vocals from American singer Khalid. The song contains samples from "Do ...

" in 2017, and his first solo release in over four years. The song received five nominations at the

65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It will recognize the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2021, to September 3 ...

, including for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, Song of the Year,

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

and

Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...

, eventually winning the latter two.

Background

On August 20, 2021, Kendrick Lamar revealed through a blog post on his website that he was in the process of producing his upcoming fifth studio album; his final project under Top Dawg. He shared the album's name and release date through a pgLang-headed letter on April 18, 2022. Following the announcement, his website was updated with a new page entitled "The Heart", which contained 399 empty computer folders. News of the song's release was accidentally leaked by music streaming service

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

, who teased the song through a description of Lamar's playlists before being changed.

Lyrics and composition

"The Heart Part 5" is a conscious hip hop record driven by

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

influences. Lamar wrote the song alongside its producers Johnny Kosich, Matt Schaeffer and Jake Kosich (known collectively as Beach Noise).

Leon Ware Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy ...

and Arthur "T-Boy" Ross received posthumous songwriting credits for the interpolation of the 1976 single " I Want You", as performed by Marvin Gaye. Lyrically, "The Heart Part 5" follows in the footsteps of its previous parts, and Lamar's third studio album ''

To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the U ...

'' (2015), by offering

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

on the climate of African-American culture and

institutionalized discrimination Institutional discrimination is discriminatory treatment of an individual or group of individuals by society or institutions, through unequal consideration of members of subordinate groups. These unfair and indirect methods of discrimination are o ...

. The song also delves into personal themes of

empathy Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. Definitions of empathy encompass a broad range of social, co ...

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, and depression from different perspectives.

Music video

The music video for "The Heart Part 5", directed by Lamar and

Dave Free David Friley (born November 13, 1986), known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker, record executive, and former record producer. He is best known for his creative partnership with rapper Kendrick Lamar, with whom he founded the ...

, was released alongside the song on May 8, 2022. In the video, Lamar performs the song against a red wall, while using

deepfake Deepfakes (a portmanteau of " deep learning" and "fake") are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness. While the act of creating fake content is not new, deepfakes leverage powerfu ...

technology to transform himself into six modern Black American figures: in order, they are former football player and convicted felon O. J. Simpson, rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, actors

Jussie Smollett Jussie Smollett (, born June 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a child actor in 1991 debuting in '' The Mighty Ducks'' (1992). In 2015, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series ''Empire'', a ...

and

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

, former basketball player Kobe Bryant, and rapper

Nipsey Hussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...

. The deepfakes were made by '' South Park'' creators

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...

's studio Deep Voodoo. Each of the six deepfakes perform a verse from the song that reflects on their own perspectives. Simpson's verse, which addresses itself as being done "for the culture", mentions a "bulletproof rover" as a reference to his 1994 Ford Bronco chase. West's verse reflects on his battle with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

and how often he has been taken advantage of. Smollett's verse reflects on the hypocrisy surrounding the media coverage of his 2019 hate crime hoax and subsequent arrest. Smith's verse reflects on the backlash he received following his slapping incident of Chris Rock at the

94th Academy Awards The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The awards were scheduled after its usual late February dat ...

. After a moment of silence from Lamar, Bryant's verse reflects on being an influential figure through hard work and dedication. Hussle's verse, the longest in the video, takes the form of a soliloquy in the aftermath of his 2019 murder, saying that he forgives his killer but that his "soul's in question".

Critical reception

"The Heart Part 5" was met with widespread critical acclaim, with Lamar's tribute to Hussle, a lifelong friend, receiving universal praise amongst critics and his peers. Hussle's longtime partner, actress

Lauren London Lauren Nicole London is an American actress. London is known for her roles in films and televisions shows including '' ATL'' (2006), ''This Christmas'' (2007), '' Madea’s Big Happy Family'' (2011), ''Baggage Claim'' (2013), '' The Game'' (20 ...

, described the music video as "powerful art." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' crowned the song with its "Best New Track" honor, with Dylan Green writing, "The convincingness of the deepfakes is mixed, to say the least, but they amplify Lamar's words and serve to visualize a complicated lineage through Blackness and the pressures of celebrity. ..Perspective constantly changes the playing field of life and Lamar is preparing us for what feels like his biggest shift yet." In a five-star review, Ben Beaumont-Thomas of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called the song "a heartstopping call for uplifted humanity", adding that Lamar's "flow is as charged and acute as ever as he lays out a manifesto of radical empathy." Highlighting Lamar's "own love for his community", Beaumont-Thomas praised how he "divines" Marvin Gaye's "innate

social conscience A social conscience is "a sense of responsibility or concern for the problems and injustices of society". While our conscience is related to moral conduct in our day-to-day lives with respect to individuals, social conscience is concerned with th ...

, changing the title line from one of lust to one of hope, using the urgent disco rhythm to perfectly impart the seriousness of his feeling." Kyann-Sian Williams of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' writes that "In the final version of his form (he's said this will be his last album on the Top Dawg Entertainment label), Lamar – or Oklama – is taking ownership of his elder role in the rap world. He sees his influence and now wants to be a voice of reason and morality, not just a coveted rap star."

Awards and nominations

Personnel

Adapted from Jaxtsa. Musicians * Kendrick Lamar – vocals *

Bekon Daniel "Danny" Tannenbaum, known professionally as Bekon (sometimes stylized as Bēkon), previously known as Danny Keyz, is a singer, record producer and songwriter. Career As Danny Keyz, he collaborated closely with his mentor DJ Khalil, contri ...

– violin * Johnny Kosich (Beach Noise) – percussion * Kyle Miller (Aeris Roves) – violin, cello * Matt Schaeffer (Beach Noise) – guitar, mellotron, Rhodes, bass, drums Technical * James Hunt – recording engineer * Johnathan Turner – recording engineer * Johnny Kosich (Beach Noise) – recording engineer, mixer * Matt Schaeffer (Beach Noise) – recording engineer, mixer * Ray Charles Brown – recording engineer * Rob Bisel – recording engineer * Kaushlesh "Garry" Purohit – assistant recording engineer * Marco Echeverria – assistant recording engineer * Sedrick Moore II – assistant recording engineer * Thomas Warren – assistant recording engineer * Michelle Mancini – mastering

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heart Part 2022 songs Kendrick Lamar songs Songs written by Kendrick Lamar Songs written by Leon Ware Songs written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross Top Dawg Entertainment singles Aftermath Entertainment singles Interscope Records singles Sequel songs Deepfakes American soul songs Jazz rap songs Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance