It’s been a good week for Kendrick Lamar, and an even better week for Kendrick Lamar fans. On Sunday, Kung-Fu Kenny won five Grammys, including Best Rap Album, Best Music Video, and Best Rap Performance. Then, he shared the Top Dawg Entertainment-heavy soundtrack for Black Panther. We’ve already heard “King’s Dead” with Jay Rock and Future, and “All the Stars” with SZA. Now here comes “Pray For Me,” a collaboration between Lamar and The Weeknd.
The track kicks off with The Weeknd vowing that he’s “ready for a war again” and “always ready to take a life again” before wondering if anyone will pray for him. It’s the hero’s burden, to sacrifice your own needs for the greater good. He might be alone, but “If I’m gon’ die for you / If I’m gon’ kill for you / Then I’ll spill this blood for you, hey.” That’s when Kendrick jumps in, as vigorous as ever:
“Mass destruction and mass corruption
The souls are sufferin’ men
Clutchin’ on deaf ears again, rapture is comin’
It’s all prophecy and if I gotta be sacrificed for the greater good, then that’s what it gotta be.”
“Pray for Me” is about suffering, and the acceptance of it, something Kendrick knows about all too well after not winning Album of the Year at the Grammys yet again. The Black Panther soundtrack comes out February 9th.
