The first full-length video fans have received from Kendrick Lamar’s surprise sixth studio album is directed by Calmatic.
Kendrick Lamar is starting the new week on a positive note. The Grammy Award-winning musician revealed the visual companion for “squabble up” on Monday (Nov. 25).
The video, which lasts almost three minutes, starts with a hand touching a chandelier before the music by Sounwave starts playing. A large part of the focus is on Lamar positioned in the center of the room, whether sitting or standing, while chaos ensues around him. He is spotted at a certain moment reading a book titled “How to Be More Like Kendrick for Dummies” and holding a sign that reads, “Jesus saves gangsters, as well!”
Lamar rapped on the second verse of the record, stating that he has both friends and foes who are all vulnerable targets. He mentioned hitting someone’s territory and taking action, then circling back like a deluxe version. Despite being with a group of 50 people, it still wasn’t deep enough. He went on to say, “Forget pleading, there he is, beat him up / Money keeps falling from my tree and it continues to grow each month / Spit at the camera, drive off quickly, yeah, it’s us.”
Fresh off of Friday’s (Nov. 22) GNX, the video directed by Calmatic made its debut. The album with 12 tracks was unexpectedly released on streaming platforms at noon, featuring notable songs like “wacced out murals,” “reincarnated” and “tv off,” where the Compton rapper humorously yelled out Mustard’s name.
Apart from Roddy Ricch and SZA, who contributed vocals to the Luther Vandross-sampling tracks “luther” and “gloria,” the rest of the guest features are mostly made up of smaller, local artists. Dody6, Lefty Gunplay, AzChike, YoungThreat, Hitta J3, Siete7x and Wallie the Sensei all featured on tracks such as “dodger blue,” “peekaboo” and “hey now,” among others.
The initial complete visual project fans saw from GNX was “squabble up.” Before, he gave viewers a sneak peek of the album by sharing a short video of the main song, starting with a shot of a large room. Within the space, two vehicles – both of which were the Buick Grand National Experimental referenced in the album’s title – were parked on either side.
