Kendrick Lamar's Childhood Friend Drops A Bombshell Following Surprise Release

BYGabriel Bras Nevares34.5K Views
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2023 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE - JUNE 16: Kendrick Lamar performs during the 2023 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on June 16, 2023 in Manchester, Tennessee. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)
Let's hope that chosen family ties run deep.

After months of theorizing and celebrating for pgLang Stans, Kendrick Lamar is apparently (and finally) kicking his rollout into full gear. Whether this is first and foremost a rollout for his Super Bowl LIX halftime show or a potential new album remains a mystery. However, thanks to K.Dot's longtime friend Euro on Twitter, we have hope that it won't be long until we find out. "That's just a teaser watch the next s**t," he responded to a fan who tagged him in a post about Kendrick's new untitled song. As such, it seems like we might get a follow-up to this new release sooner rather than later.

However, it's still anyone's guess as to what this "next s**t" even means. Is it a new album, a new hot single, a compilation project, another Drake diss, or just more and more hype until the big New Orleans stage on February 9? Either way, it's clear that it's Kendrick Lamar season right now, and there are so many ways in which it could develop. Fans are even looking deeply into the eBay listing of some Black Forces that he used as his cover art.

Kendrick Lamar's Friend Says He's Just Getting Started

In addition, they also might be reading a bit too deeply into the new song itself, which has some references to Drake throughout. Still, these allusions are more factual and historical than they are straight-up disses, jabs, or re-instigations. It's more of a track in which Kendrick Lamar vents against the industry and the culture, using his recent victory as a jumping-off point. While some fans out there are criticizing him for seemingly contradicting his promise of "no Round 2s," it's also not accurate to call this a second round in the first place.

If this new song proved anything, it's that this narrative and thematic focus for Kendrick Lamar goes far beyond just Drake. If his friend Euro is right, then we will probably hear a lot more about this in the near future. But it's also possible that this is just a final vent for the Compton lyricist to speak on his enemies, haters, and problems once and for all before continuing a West Coast celebration, a pgLang/TDE renaissance, or whatever else he has in store. Whatever it is, it feels great to finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel... Or at least, that's what we hope.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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