Justin Timberlake is the latest superstar to cover Kendrick Lamar’s smash hit, “Humble.” Using the hard-edged, West Coast banger to cap off performances of his own petty breakup anthem, “Cry Me A River,” he’s incorporated a perfect blend of the two that is a big hit with audiences, judging from the video above.
Timberlake has been tapped to perform at next year’s Super Bowl halftime show, which might be a fantastic venue for this excellent mashup, but even if he doesn’t perform this particular rendition of the hit single from his solo debut, Justified, that won’t stop “Humble” from being one of the biggest hits of the year.
When Kendrick Lamar surprise-released “Humble” in spring of this year, it became one of the most talked-about and covered singles of his to date. His own live performances have been incendiary and visually dynamic, featuring acrobatic, flaming ninjas, and even the folksy, parody-cover performed on South Park could almost stand on its own.
There was even a bit of a backlash over the video and a couple of lines in the song, but in the end that didn’t prevent “Humble” from hitting no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Damn from being one of Kendrick’s most successful albums in a career that hasn’t really seen anything less.
