Well, it’s here. The likely lead single for his forthcoming new album due to the world next week, Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.” is an exercise in lyrical rope-a-doping. Set against a slightly more than minimalistic Mike WiLL Made-It beat, Kendrick weaves in and out of spits of humility, quickly bouncing from his own humble beginnings to putting pretty much the rest of the rap world in his rear view. Is it his best song? Obviously not. It’s uncharacteristically not as nuanced as about 98% of the rest of his catalog, but at this point it doesn’t have to be. It’s a fun beat, a seemingly slight jab at the state of hip hop today, and serves as a nice amuse-bouche for what we can hopefully dig into in a week’s time.
Plus, much like Kendrick’s own head about a minute and a half into it, the video is fire. It’s as viscerally appealing as it is schizophrenic—he literally goes from center of attention to just one in the crowd, and back again, throughout the entire thing. But it’s great! Except for that golf swing.
Come on with that golf swing.