Kendrick Lamar Accused Of Copying ‘The Heart Part 5’ Video Concept From New Jersey Rapper [WATCH]

Kendrick Lamar, AK

Kendrick Lamar Accused Of Copying ‘The Heart Part 5’ Video Concept From New Jersey Rapper

Kendrick Lamar has made his return with the release of new music that previews his upcoming album “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.”

On Sunday (May 8), rapper Kendrick Lamar released his new song titled “The Heart Part 5.” The song is a continuation of “The Heart Series,” which began in 2010 with “The Heart Pt. 1.”

After debuting the accompanying video on Sunday night, Kendrick Lamar can be seen morphing into different pop culture figures including Kanye West, Nipsey Hussle, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, OJ Simpson and Jussie Smollett.

In the nearly six-minute video directed and produced by Kendrick and longtime collaborator Dave Free, the latest visual offering finds Kendrick rapping what corresponds with each person. While fans are pleased with the return of the Compton rapper and his powerful narration of his life, some individuals are not fond of Kendrick’s latest video concept.

Shortly after the video made its debut on YouTube, a New Jersey rapper by the name of AK took to social media and alleged that the MC stole the concept from his “Family Tree” video. Independent artist AK, born Austin Kassabian, released his visual back in September 2020, scoring in over 600,000 views on YouTube. In the black-and-white visual for “Family Tree,” AK stands in front of a black backdrop as his face morphs into the likes of rappers including Eminem, Snoop Dogg, JAY-Z, Lil Wayne and ironically, Kendrick.

Early Monday (May 9), AK uploaded a video to his Instagram account reacting to his former label mate‘s latest visual. He said,

“Kendrick Lamar’s new music video is an exact copy of my video from 2020 of my song ‘Family Tree.’ Maybe I’m fooling myself for thinking that Kendrick saw my video and was like, ‘D*mn, that’s so good that I want to do it myself.”

He continued,

“But I was under Universal; he is under Universal. I did that video in 2020 with Universal. Obviously, the song didn’t do as good as if Kendrick was to do it, but the concept was so sick and I f*ck*ng don’t know, but it’s the same exact thing — it’s a backdrop, it’s him in front of it, it’s one take.”

He added,

“And I want to make it clear, like, he’s an icon, I respect Kendrick. This is just very weird, bruh. That’s why I was like, ‘D*mn, this is unique as f*ck.’ And when I drop this, it’s gonna go stupid because nobody’s ever done this before.”

AK concluded,

“But as an independent artist, that’s the type of sh*t that you have to eat. And my whole message behind it is, keep going ’cause you gotta eat sh*t sometimes but eventually, you’ll be aiight.”

See the full post below.

According to reports, “The Heart Part 5” was temporarily removed from YouTube on Monday morning (May 9) after bringing in over five million views. The video is back up and running on YouTube, reaching nearly ten million views as of now. Although Kendrick has yet to respond to AK’s accusations, his anticipated album “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” is set to release this week on Friday, May 13.

What are your thoughts on the accusations against Kendrick Lamar? Let us know in the comments below! 

[Sources: 1, 2]