Verified archive entry

The Heart Part 4

By Kendrick Lamar · Targeting Big Sean, Donald Trump, Drake

The Heart Part 4 is a diss track by Kendrick Lamar targeting Big Sean, Drake and Donald Trump. The performance uses direct name-checks and competitive challenges that were widely treated as calls to other prominent rappers.

Released2017

Annotated3

ExplicitYes

CONNECTED RECORD

Where this track sits

Timeline: Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar

Addressable transcript

Lyrics & breakdown

01
[Chorus]
02
Don't tell a lie on me
03
I won’t tell the truth 'bout you
04
Don't tell a lie on me
05
I won’t tell the truth 'bout you
06
[Verse 1]
07
Thirty millions later, my future favors
08
The legendary status of a hip-hop rhyme savior
09
Travel 'round the atlas in this spaceship
10
Candy-coated, my day shift's
11
Been devoted to fuckin' up bundles of paper
12
Pi equals three-fourteen
13
The devil's pie is big enough to justify the whole thing
14
Wait up, lampin' in Jamaica
15
The clouds turnin', my thoughts turnin’
16
Burnin’ castor oil, yo I been determined to make an earnin'
17
This seed in this soil is classified
18
I’m satisfied when I strategize my kid's future
19
I ain't sanctified enough to say that I won't shoot ya
20
I done vandalized the industry full circuit
21
The earthiest slash thirstiest nigga you know versus this
22
Scum of a land that transcend two surfaces
23
The richer the poorer, the bigger the picture
24
The more blood pours, but—
25
[Chorus]
26
Don’t tell a lie on me
27
I won't tell the truth 'bout you
28
Don't tell a lie on me
29
I won't tell the truth 'bout you
30
[Verse 2]
31
My fans can't wait for me to son ya punk-ass
32
And crush ya whole lil' shit
33
I'll Big Pun ya punk-ass, you a scared lil' bitch
34
Tiptoein' around my name, nigga, you lame
Block noteCalls the target's toughness an act
TargetBig Sean
MeaningWhat it means: In “I'll Big Pun ya punk-ass, you a scared lil' bitch,” Kendrick Lamar portrays Big Sean as frightened or unwilling to stand behind the aggression shown in public. Why it was said: The performance uses direct name-checks and competitive challenges that were widely treated as calls to other prominent rappers. A diss threat depends on the audience believing the speaker will confront the opponent; calling Big Sean afraid is designed to empty that threat of force.
ContextThe performance uses direct name-checks and competitive challenges that were widely treated as calls to other prominent rappers.
35
And when I get at you, homie
36
Don't you tell me you was just playin'
37
"Oh, I was just playin', K-Dot
38
C'mon, you know a nigga rock witchu, bro"
39
Shut the fuck up, you sound like the last nigga I know
40
Might end up like the last nigga I know
41
Oh, you don't wanna clash? Nigga, I know
42
I put my foot on the gas, head on the floor
Block noteSays the target's identity is borrowed
TargetBig Sean
MeaningWhat it means: In “Shut the fuck up, you sound like the last nigga I know,” Kendrick Lamar presents Big Sean's style or work as imitation rather than an original contribution. Why it was said: The performance uses direct name-checks and competitive challenges that were widely treated as calls to other prominent rappers. The accusation strips Big Sean of artistic ownership: success looks less impressive when the sound, image, or idea is framed as somebody else's first.
ContextThe performance uses direct name-checks and competitive challenges that were widely treated as calls to other prominent rappers.
43
Hoppin' out before the vehicle crash, I'm on a roll
44
Yellin', "One, two, three, four, five
45
I am the greatest rapper alive"
46
So damn great, motherfucker, I've died
47
What you hearin' now is a paranormal vibe
48
House on the hill, house on the beach, nigga (Facts)
49
A condo in Compton, I'm still in reach, nigga (Facts)
50
I'm fresh out the water, I'm 'bout to breach, nigga
51
The five-foot giant woke up out of his sleep, nigga
52
Oh yeah, oh yeah, mo' cars, mo' lears
53
Mo' bars, no peers, no scars, no fear—fuck y'all, sincere
54
I heard the whispers, I curved the whispers
55
You know what the risk is
56
Earthed in ditches, your body revertin' to stiffness
57
The whole world gone mad
58
Bodies is addin' up, market's about to crash
59
Niggas is fake rich, bitches is fake bad
60
Blacks that act white, whites that do the dab
61
Donald Trump is a chump
62
Know how we feel, punk—tell him that God comin'
Block noteMakes the confrontation explicit
TargetDonald Trump
MeaningWhat it means: In “Donald Trump is a chump,” Kendrick Lamar addresses Donald Trump directly and makes the situation described in the quoted line the point of confrontation. Why it was said: The performance uses direct name-checks and competitive challenges that were widely treated as calls to other prominent rappers. Naming or plainly addressing Donald Trump removes the safety of a subliminal and makes the quoted claim something the target can either answer or leave standing.
ContextThe performance uses direct name-checks and competitive challenges that were widely treated as calls to other prominent rappers.
63
And Russia need a replay button, y'all up to somethin'
64
Electorial votes look like memorial votes
65
But America's truth ain't ignorin' the votes
66
It's blasphemy, how many gon' blast for me?
67
I prophesized on my last song, you laughed at me
68
But when the shit get brackin', don't you ask for me
69
How many leaders gon' tell you the truth after me?
70
G Malone, big bro, kudos to him
71
I was two O's from a M, tryna be big as Em
72
Thirty millions later, my future favors
73
The legendary status of a hip-hop rhyme savior
74
Salmon and capers, fame and lawsuits
75
You lookin' at me in Chucks, I'm lookin' at y'all suits
76
Me and Top Dawg playin' rock-paper-scissors in court
77
A real hustler lose money just to go get some more
78
I said it's like that, dropped one classic, came right back
79
'Nother classic, right back
80
My next album, the whole industry on a ice pack
81
With TOC, you see the flames
82
In my E-Y-E's—it's not a game
83
And the whole world is goin' mad, daddy, it's sad, daddy
84
My only advice? Go and get you a bag, daddy
85
Lee Baca on trial tryna portray a boxer
86
Beatin' up on my niggas while the CO's watch him
87
Tables turned, lesson learned, my best look
88
You jumped sides on me, now you 'bout to meet Westbrook
89
Go celebrate witcha team and let victory vouch you
90
Just know, the next game played I might slap the shit out you
91
Technical foul, I'm flagrant, I'm foul
92
They throwin' me out, you throw in the towel
93
Look at the crowd, they— (Naw, I don't like that)
94
Look at my smile, I'm smirkin'
95
Calm but urgent (That ain't the style, fuck!)
96
So many verses, you live in denial (Fuck!)
97
So many verses, I never run out (What?)
98
You makin' him nervous, the music is loud
99
Ho, JAY-Z Hall of Fame, sit yo' punk-ass down!
100
(Sit yo punk-ass down)
101
So that means you ain't bigger than rapping (What else?)
102
So that means no more playin' the back scenes (What else?)
103
My spot is solidified if you ask me (What else?)
104
My name is identified as "That King"
105
I'll let y'all worry 'bout a list, I'm on some other shit
106
A difference between accomplishments and astonishments
107
You know what time it is, ante up, this is in forever
108
Y'all got 'til April the 7th to get y'all shit together
109
[Outro]
110
Let's get it!
111
Look, look!
112
On foenem