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

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

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

PGLang PGLang (stylized as pgLang, an abbreviation for "program language") is an American independent multidisciplinary creative communications company headquartered in Los Angeles. Founded and owned by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free, it specializes in ...

Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief exec ...

Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre in 1996. It operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed through Interscope Records. The label's roster includes artists ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

, 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" 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 was held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year – October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 – as de ...

, 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 re ...

, Song of the Year, Best Music Video, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, 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 Entertainment. 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 List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

, 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 Political hip hop (also known as political rap and conscious hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the 1980s as a form of political expression and activism. It typically addresses sociopolitical issues through lyrics, aiming t ...

record driven by

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

influences. Lamar wrote the song alongside its producers Johnny Kosich, Matt Schaeffer, and Jake Kosich (known collectively as Beach Noise). Leon Ware and Arthur "T-Boy" Ross received posthumous songwriting credits for the interpolation of the 1976 single " I Want You", as performed by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

. Lyrically, "The Heart Part 5" follows in the footsteps of its previous "The Heart" song series, and Lamar's third studio album ''

To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by the 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 ...

'' (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 African-American culture, also known as Black American culture or Black culture in American English, refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. African-American/Bl ...

and

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

. The song also delves into personal themes of

empathy Empathy is generally described as the ability to take on another person's perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. There are more (sometimes conflicting) definitions of empathy that include but are ...

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, and depression from different perspectives.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

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

Dave Free David Isaac Friley (born November 13, 1986), known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker and record producer. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, he is best known as the manager and creative partner of fellow California ...

, 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 and ) are images, videos, or audio that have been edited or generated using artificial intelligence, AI-based tools or AV editing software. They may depict real or fictional people and are considered a form of ...

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

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

, rapper Ye, 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). From 2015 to 2019, Smollett portrayed musician Jamal Lyon in the Fox drama series '' ...

and

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

, former basketball player

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

, and rapper

Nipsey Hussle Ermias Joseph Asghedom (born Airmiess Joseph Asghedom; August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle, was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip-hop scene in the mid-20 ...

. The deepfakes were made by ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' creators

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative part ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his cre ...

'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. Ye's verse reflects on his battle with what was believed to be

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

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 Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He first gained prominence for his stand-up routines in the 1980s in which he tackled subjects including race relations, human sexuality, and obse ...

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 their 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 A soliloquy (, from Latin 'alone' and 'to speak', ) is a speech in drama in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, typically while alone on stage. It serves to reveal the character's inner feelings, motivations, or plans directly to ...

in the aftermath of his 2019 murder, saying that he is in heaven and 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 (born December 5, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films and televisions shows including ''ATL (film), ATL'' (2006), This Christmas (2007 film), ''This Christmas'' (2007), ''Madea's Big Happy Fami ...

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

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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"

's "innate

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

, changing the title line from one of lust to one of hope, using the urgent

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

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, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' 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 – 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 * Emerson Mancini – mastering

Charts

References

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