This morning, Kendrick Lamar broke his musical silence for 2024, and he did so in a major way. The Compton, California superstar appears on Future & Metro Boomin’s WE DON’T TRUST YOU album. The tracklist, which does not include guests, finds K-Dot confronting his biggest peers on the song “Like That.”

The song samples two West Coast Rap classics in Eazy-E’s “Eazy-Duz-It” from 1989 and Rodney-O & Joe Cooley’s 1987 independent classic “Everlasting Bass,” anchored by a Barry White classic. That same ’87, Kendrick Lamar was born. Now 36 years old, “Kung Fu Kenny” instigates with J. Cole and Drake as he dismisses the idea of a Hip-Hop “Big 3” with a lot more to say. Notably, the verse happens on a project with Future (who released a chart-topping mixtape with Drake in 2015) and Metro Boomin (who has produced Drake songs for years, including last year’s Young Thug collaboration “Parade On Cleveland”).

After Future starts the song in his trademark style and subject matter, Kendrick Lamar begins his verse on the offensive. At first, he appears to be commenting on broader misinformation. “These n___as talkin’ out of they necks / Don’t pull no coffin out of your mouth, I’m way too paranoid for a threat / Ayyy, let’s get it, bro / D-O-T, the money, power, respect / The last one is better / Say, it’s a lot of goofies with a check.” At a time when Drake and J. Cole are dominating commercially, including a tour together, Kendrick Lamar emphasizes that respect is the most valuable and perhaps, the hardest to earn and maintain.

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