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Music - 2 hours ago

Ahead of the release of his upcoming album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar has released another installment of his The Heart series. The Heart Part 5 debuted on Sunday; accompanying its release was a pretty surreal music video where Lamar, against a red backdrop, transforms into different Black celebrities as he performs the song. Through the use of deepfake technology (the use of AI to replace the likeness of one person with another in video and other digital media), Kendrick Lamar becomes O.J. Simpson, Kanye West, JussieSmollett, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle throughout the six-minute long video.

Now, deepfakes are inherently weird, and this is surely the first time weve seen them used in such a way by a mainstream rap artist. As inventive as it is, there is a bizarreness to the music video as Lamars face isnt just replaced with the faces of living (and dead) Black celebrities, but he raps some of his verses while donning those faces, too.

But which deepfakes were the most bizarre? How about the least? Well, rather than try and interpret every second of the music video (Kendrick fans on Twitter are already going above and beyond around that), weve done the real hard work of ranking the deepfakes used in The Heart Part 5 from least to most bizarre.

As with all six deepfakes, theyre all pretty accurate in their likeness, especially Jussie Smolletts. Although hes one of the most unexpected of the bunch, hes not the most bizarre.

Considering Kanye is actually a rapper, its not too unnerving seeing his face rapping Kendricks lyrics. However, Kendricks hair paired with Kanyes face might be the most bizarre if our ranking was based solely on that.

Is it just me or does the deepfake of Will Smith just look like a light skin Andr 3000?

The Kobe deepfake is one of two deceased figures used in the video, and that adds to the bizarreness of it all. But the likeness just feels too uncanny.

Its the one that starts everything off and its so unexpected. The moment Kendrick covered his face only for a deepfake of O.J. to appear, I had to scroll back a few seconds to make sure I wasnt losing my mind. That, paired with the fact that its O.J., is why this deepfake is one of the most bizarre ones from the video.

What makes the Nipsey deepfake the most bizarre is that not only is this the other deceased figure used in the video, but that Kendrick also raps from the perspective of the late rapper when he dons his face. As Nipsey, he directs a few lines at the Crenshaw rappers brother Sam Asghedom:

And Sam, Ill be watchin over youMake sure my kids watch all my interviewsMake sure you live all the dreams we produceKeep that genius in your brain on the move

And he also exonerates Nipseys killer (I forgive you, just know your souls in question) which, depending on how you view it, could be seen as taking ones creative license a little too far. But theres no denying how eerie it is to see Kendrick transform into Nipsey and essentially stay as him until the song comes to a close.

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Ranking Kendrick Lamars The Heart Part 5 Deepfakes From Least To Most Bizarre - Okayplayer