Kendrick Lamar's Video For 'LOVE.' Brings Us All Down To Earth

Love and ego. On DAMN., considered by many (including you and us) to be the year's most arresting and accomplished album, Kendrick Lamar microscopically examines the tangles and warring expectations, wants and disappointments he has for and with himself and those closest to him. As is always the case, even when a singular person like Kendrick does a chemical analysis of his heart(s) and soul(s), parallels with everyone else reveal themselves. Long story short: The G.O.A.T.'s not the only one to live in a between-space of confidence and doubts and accomplishments and fears.

The video for "LOVE." (like the other four crisp and beautiful videos from DAMN., co-directed by Dave Free and Lamar, a.k.a. the little homies) lives across worlds, too. Photo-shoot Kendrick, fighting-at-the-dinner-table Kendrick, worried, contemplative, relaxed Kendrick. It brings the same high-fashion palette — remember the flames of "HUMBLE."? — but to the simplest, and most complicated, of things.

All this self-questioning and analysis may be best summed up in a line Lamar delivers quickly — it's one everyone's felt: "Am I in the way?"

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