RELATED: Kendrick Lamar – The Heart Part 4
If there’s anything all of Kendrick Lamar‘s “The Heart” series has in common is, an album is right around the corner. The first installation of the series may be the only one that didn’t correspond to a specific album drop, but it still came out before the Kendrick Lamar EP.
We’ve been here since the start of Mr. Duckworth’s rise to the top of the rap kingdom, so we have to refresh the ears of those who may still be catching up.
When “The Heart Part 1” came out, K Dot was still trying to make a name for himself. The video came out in 2010, a month after the song came out and you can see by the clip that Kendrick was still young, yet still hanging with his TDE brothers. It was more a lyrical exercise for him on the first edition, proving he had bars and that the flow was raw.
The potential was clear.
By the time Dot followed up with the sequel, it was O(verly) D(edicated) time and he was already establishing himself as one of the best young artists in rap. This might actually be the best from the edition catalog so far, and you can’t front on that intro being great. Kendrick switched the mood up for “The Heart Part 2,” getting some shit off his chest and using the track to let off thoughts he had on his mind at the time. Things got serious on this one.
This is when the series was really born.
On “The Heart Part 3” King Kendrick was about to be crowned and there was no denying his talent, star power or trajectory in the rap game. His major label debut album good kid m.A.A.d city was about to be released in two days, this song was clearly not going to be on there and he was thanking fans and urging them to not let hip hop die. Matter of fact, with his effort, he was keeping it alive and taking it to different heights for the new generation.
Now here we are four years, two major label albums, multiple GRAMMYs, Reebok deals and short films later and Kendrick is going for that No. 1 spot as the greatest rapper alive against his idols and peers. The evolution of “The Heart” and Dot himself continues with part four of the series and whether he’s going at Drake or Big Sean or whoever; it doesn’t matter.
K Dot is not afraid of going at anyone’s neck if need be. Because that’s what you have to do, sometimes, to be the best.
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