Kendrick Lamar's short film for 'We Cry Together' song delves into abusive relationships

Sep 02, 2022

Washington [US], September 2 : American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar has dropped a short film, in both censored and uncensored versions, for the song, 'We Cry Together', from his new album 'Mr. Morale & the High Steppers'.
According to Variety, the short film is a horrifyingly realistic depiction of an argument in an abusive relationship that finds Lamar and actor Taylour Paige saying absolutely horrible things to each other. She delivers an entire verse while sobbing, and culminates with the two of them having sex.
It starts with the two of them arguing in a small apartment, with Paige on her way to work and Lamar in a menial-job shirt, with 'Dante S.' on the name tag, possibly a reference to the character of that name in Lamar's 2012 song 'Collect Calls',
He also wears a backward baseball cap bearing the combined logos of the Los Angeles Dodgers and his own company, pgLang.
The two enact the song's lyrics, the chorus of which finds them exchanging "F**k you, b--h" / "F**k you, n--a," getting in each other's faces as she tries to get ready for work, he hides her keys and locks himself in the bathroom.
She walks in through another door and even as the intensity of their words builds, their tones and body language soften, and by the end of the song (at least in the uncensored version), she's stripped off her shirt and they're doing it on the couch.
As per Variety, the camera then pulls away slowly, exposing the film set, a statement in itself, possibly, about how much play-acting goes into a romantic relationship.
Kendricks' 'Mr. Morale & the High Steppers', which was eagerly awaited by the fans, had released in May, 2022.
Previously, in 2018, Kendrick's album 'DAMN' earned a Pulitzer Prize in music. To date, the rapper has appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart 50 times, scoring eight top 10 entries and two No. 1 hits -- with his solo track 'Humble' and his feature on Taylor Swift's tune 'Bad Blood'.