Kendrick Lamar shares first new single in four years, ‘The Heart Part 5’

Kendrick Lamar has shared ‘The Heart Part 5’, the first single to be lifted from his fifth studio album ‘Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers’ ahead of its release this Friday (May 13).

The song serves as Lamar’s first solo single since 2018’s ‘All The Stars’, which featured SZA and served as the lead single from Lamar’s curated Black Panther soundtrack. As its title suggests, ‘The Heart Part 5’ is the latest instalment in a series of tracks Lamar has released across his career – parts one and two were released in 2010, part three was released in 2012 and part four was released in 2017.

An accompanying music video has been shared for the single, co-directed by Dave Free alongside Lamar himself. Lamar raps the song in front of a red background, before his face is transformed via deepfake technology to resemble people such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Will Smith. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are given “special thanks” in the video’s credits.

Watch the video for ‘The Heart Part 5’ below:

Lamar made his return to music following a nearly three-year absence in late 2021, appearing on two tracks by his cousin Baby Keem – ‘Family Ties’ and ‘Range Brothers’ – that featured on Keem’s debut album ‘The Melodic Blue’. The pair performed ‘Family Ties’ and ‘Vent’ together at Coachella last month.

‘Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers’ – the follow-up to 2017’s ‘DAMN.’ – was announced last month. In a follow-up teaser post, Lamar was pictured holding two CDs and a book adorning the album’s title – indicating that the release may be a double album, as well as potentially including an accompanying written piece.