Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna Put Trust Above All Else in “LOYALTY.” Visual
Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty. As a whole, DAMN. is an impressive body of work, but there was no doubt in most listeners minds that “LOYALTY.” was one of the album’s standout tracks. The Rihanna-assisted track featured the vocalist trading line for line with Kung Fu Kenny as they performed their rendition of a duet centered on the topic of loyalty. Today (July 28), Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna have finally released a visual component for the song and it’s lit!
The two seem to be involved in a myriad of tests throughout the video where each of them take turns to see the other prove their loyalty.
The video begins with Kendrick where we see the Compton rapper in a room illuminated with red lights surrounded by a plethora of scantily clad women. He sits on what appears to be a throne, but although he is surrounded by temptation, seems unfazed by it. He is blindfolded, ignoring all of the lust around him.
In another scene, Rihanna enters and starts her rap dressed to the nines in a body-hugging number. She is bent over at the passenger’s side window of a car, and proceeds to ignore the stranger’s advances in front of her lover Kendrick. After he sees her deny the guy, he comes to her rescue to fight the guy. It is another test of loyalty for the both of them.
In a visually spectacular sight, during a performance shot, K.Dot can be seen in the middle of a road by his lonesome. Other guys come forward to try to reach him, but quickly disappear and are swallowed by black quicksand. Rihanna later joins him to show that they are both islands together and alone, separated from the rest of the world while having each other’s backs. They eventually sink into the quicksand too in a cutaway that plays throughout the visual, but it feels more gentle and loving as the two are holding each other as well as their gazes.
For a brief interlude, the “LOYALTY.” song stops to make way for “PRIDE.” to play. The director captures beautiful close-ups of Kendrick and Rihanna while the beginning of the song plays, and then cuts away to another shot that shows the two at the top of a ledge on a building and Kendrick questioning RiRi, “Do you trust me?”
“LOYALTY.” starts up again and we see the pair share a knowing look as he prevents her from falling to her death and she shows him that she truly trusts the rapper with her life.
“LOYALTY.” is the fourth single from Kendrick’s double platinum album DAMN. The album has spawned its fair share of successes and has even garnered Kung Fu Kenny a leading number of nominations in the forthcoming MTV VMA Awards.
Watch the beautifully shot music video in full below.
Photo Credit: Screengrab from “LOYALTY.”/KendrickLamarVEVO
