Kendrick Lamar threw out another curveball on Wednesday (September 11) when he released a combative new track by surprise.
K. Dot shared the untitled track, which fans have begun calling “Watch the Party Die,” exclusively on his rarely-used Instagram account, just as the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (where Kendrick was up for two awards) were kicking off.
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The song is the Compton rap star’s first release since “Not Like Us,” his chart-topping diss track that landed the knockout blow in his beef with Drake, and also arrives shortly after he was announced as next year’s Super Bowl halftime show headliner in New Orleans — news that has ruffled a few feathers.
Though the song isn’t an explicit diss like his previous 2024 releases, there are still plenty of clues and Easter eggs that have left rap fans buzzing. Not least its cover art: a low-res photo of beaten up black Nike Air Force 1s, which is the universal code for choosing violence.
Check out the song below, and read on to decode who exactly Kendrick Lamar might be addressing.
Drake?
“Watch the Party Die” may not be an explicit shot at Drake, but after Kendrick Lamar subliminally jabbed him in his Super Bowl halftime show announcement video, it’d frankly be surprising if the song didn’t at least touch on their feud.
In the first verse, Kendrick appears to reference their recent battle, rapping: “Just walk that man down, that’ll do everyone a solid / It’s love, but tough love sometimes gotta result in violence.”
“Walk the man down” could be interpreted as a reference to his crushing defeat of Drizzy, while Kendrick certainly showed his rival some “tough love” on “Meet the Grahams,” in which he meticulously dismantled his entire personality and life choices while urging him to “strip the ego from the bottom” and “take that mask off” to reveal his true self.
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In the second verse, K. Dot takes a shot at an unnamed enemy who is “dirty macking bitches because your spirit is insecure / The flashy n-gga with nasty decisions, using money as a backbone / I want his head cracked before he’s back home.”
That, too, could be about Drake, with “nasty decisions” possibly relating to Kendrick’s previous claims about the 6 God’s alleged pedophilic nature.
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The Entire Music Industry?
“Watch the Party Die” appears to be largely aimed at the rap game, if not the wider music industry, if not society as a whole.
The track is loaded with warning shots like: “I think it’s time to watch the party die / Street n-ggas and the corporate guys, the rappers that report the lies / I need they families mortified / We can do life without ’em, get they bodies organized, tell me if you obliged.”
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If Kendrick were to go after the entire music industry, what better time to drop the song than as the MTV VMAs are about to begin? If that was his aim, then he was successful as “Watch the Party Die” forced people to pull people away from their TV screens and listen to his latest lyrical sermon.
One listener said of the song on social media: “It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that Kendrick dropped his new song the exact minute the VMAs started. He’s talking about watching ‘the party’ die. He sounds frustrated with the direction of the music industry and culture. He talks about ‘burning it down.’ He’s upset about what commercial artists (like Drake) represent. Now we’re all sitting here breaking down his lyrics instead of talking about the big glitzy industry party (VMAs).”
It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that Kendrick dropped his new song the exact minute the VMAs started
He’s talking about watching “the party” die
He sounds frustrated with the direction of the music industry and culture
He talks about “burning it down”
He’s upset about what…
— Eric Skelton (@ericskelton) September 12, 2024
Akademiks?
While Kendrick seemingly has plenty of targets in his crosshairs on “Watch the Party Die,” one specific figure who appears to catch shots is Akademiks.
Lamar previously mentioned the controversial media personality by name on “6:16 in LA” and he seemingly takes aim at him again on this latest track, rapping: “The radio personality pushing propaganda for salary / Let me know when they turn up as a casualty.”
He also says: “If you parade in gluttony without giving truth to the youth, the graveyard is company […] Influencers talk down because I’m not with the basic shit / But they don’t hate me, they hate the man that I represent/ The type of man that never dick ride because I want a favor.”
Akademiks has been a vocal Drake supporter throughout the feud, even going so far as to claim that the 6 God came out on top, contrary to popular opinion.
In a post following the release of Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” video, he made no attempt to hide his allegiances by tweeting: “All u n-ggas who been acting like Drake finished… bookmark this tweet for 6 months from now. We dont want u n-ggas no where near us……Remember that.”
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His Super Bowl Halftime Show Haters?
“Watch the Party Die” clocks in at precisely five minutes and four seconds, which some have suggested is a subtle nod to the 504 area code of New Orleans, where Kendrick will be headlining the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.
Despite K. Dot’s worthy credentials, many Lil Wayne supporters have taken issue with the selection given Weezy’s status as a NOLA legend and the fact that he had openly coveted the opportunity.
Nicki Minaj, Birdman, Cam’ron, Juvenile, Master P and Boosie Badazz have all voiced their disapproval with Wayne’s perceived snub, with some directing their anger towards JAY-Z, who along with Roc Nation has helped organize the halftime show since 2020.
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Given “Watch the Party Die” is Kendrick’s first statement since the uproar over his Super Bowl announcement, the “party” in question could also be referring to those who have rained on his parade.
While the 504 connection feels like a reach, Kendrick is no stranger to burying such Easter eggs in his art. Take, for instance, all the subliminal shots fired at Drake in his Super Bowl ad and “Not Like Us” video. Or how Kendrick’s To Pimp a Butterfly unfolded into a poem addressed to 2Pac, and eventually a staged conversation with the late rap legend, with the album originally being called Tu Pimp a Caterpillar (or Tupac, for short).
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Lamar also designed his 2018 LP DAMN. to be played in reverse order, telling MTV News: “It plays as a full story and even a better rhythm. It’s one of my favorite rhythms and tempos within the album. It’s something that we definitely premeditate while we’re in the studio.”
He added: “Many of my fans know that my albums get real intricate and there’s always details in there. For the most part, they usually have a good listening ear to figure out what’s going on.”
Who the Hell Knows?
As always seems to be the case with King Kendrick, he might just be playing chess while we’re busy playing checkers. The cover art, a clue no one has yet to solve, came from an eBay listing that sold on the same day the song was dropped. Why? The answer remains unclear. Knowing Kendrick Lamar, though, there’s a reason for everything.
The cover for Kendrick Lamar's new song comes from an eBay listing that sold today 😳 pic.twitter.com/akdPrtSkaM
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) September 12, 2024
