Today has been another busy day for Kendrick Lamar. Throughout Monday afternoon, the California sensation has been dropping more extra curriculars surrounding the release of his sixth album GNX on Friday, November 22. One of those things includes physical copies of the record. He's launched three different vinyl variants, as well as a CD, cassette, and a digital version. They are all available for pre-order (except the digital version) and will ship at the beginning of March or soon thereafter. But that's not all, right around noon again, he shocked everyone. This time, it was with a music video for what is shaping up to one of the biggest hits on the record, "squabble up."
The snippet from the "Not Like Us" visual was highly anticipated and has been ever since. Fans have been extremely thankful that Kendrick wound up building out a full idea for the song and they are rewarding him handsomely for his efforts. Previous reports say that the song is trending toward a chart-topping debut on the Hot 100. We still have some time before that officially happens, but it's very likely. On top of streaming the song across numerous platforms a ton, the visual is getting similar love. As it stands, it sits at nearly two million views just four hours in to it dropping.
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This "Squabble Up" Shot Is Kendrick Lamar Paying Homage To Ice-T
As with most things Kendrick does, fans are trying to find connections, callbacks, and the like with this visual. Overall, it doesn't seem to be too deep, but it is a healthy homage to West Coast hip-hop and the culture at large in California. However, some fans are maybe reaching one particular shot in the music video and it's with the one above you. As you can see it's Lamar standing away from the wall with a half-naked woman standing and facing the green backdrop.
Some are likening this to Kanye West and his cover art for VULTURES 1. If you remember it's Ye facing the camera while his wife Bianca Censori is practically nude facing the opposite direction. However, this is actually not correct. Instead, this is a callback to one the OGs, Ice T. The New Jersey to L.A. rap act put out an album in 1987 called Power and it featured a woman of similar stature wearing a white jumpsuit/unitard on the cover. Some fans cleared up the confusion in the comments, but it just goes to show how much effort Kendrick puts into every artistic move.