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Kendrick Lamar and SZA
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Out of all of the acts to come from Top Dawg Entertainment, Kendrick Lamar and SZA are easily the most recognizable, not just within the West Coast powerhouse but across the globe. Given their overlapping circle of collaborators, fans naturally want them to link up, and fortunately, they deliver each and every time.
The two artists’ genius was even more obvious during their Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performance, where Lamar brought her out for “luther” and “All The Stars” in front of over 100 million viewers. Thankfully, we’ll get to see more of that on their joint “Grand National Tour” in April, which, by the way, will be both of their first time doing all stadiums. The pair are slated to sweep through cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit up until June.
For the sake of consistency, we’re leaving out “u” and “For Sale? (Interlude)” since the St. Louis native only contributed background vocals. Without further ado, here are the best Kendrick Lamar and SZA collaborations to date, ranked from worst to best.
8. “gloria”
Another entry from GNX, “gloria” might seem like it’s about a person at first, but that’s not necessarily the case. Instead, Kendrick Lamar uses the nearly five-minute offering to unpack the highs and lows of his “right hand” — aka the pen. “My baby boo, you either heal n**gas or you kill n**gas/ Both is true, it take some tough skin just to deal with you,” the pgLang founder spat while reflecting on the dual nature of love, both musically and in real life.
Unfortunately, for all the magic Lamar and SZA have made together, this is where their chemistry feels the weakest. There’s no lyrical tug-of-war, no harmonizing, no playful push-and-pull, just the St. Louis native holding down the chorus and outro while the rapper does his thing.
7. “untitled 04 | 08.14.2014”
Kendrick Lamar’s untitled unmastered. doesn’t get nearly as much recognition as it should. The project is, after all, a collection of leftovers and demos from his To Pimp a Butterfly era. “untitled 04 | 08.14.2014,” in particular, saw him link up with SZA once again to remind fans that “head is the answer, head is the future” — both when it comes to gaining knowledge and in a more physical sense too. SZA carries much of the track, with TDE labelmate Lance Skiiiwalker assisting on the bridge, but with another verse or two, “untitled 04 | 08.14.2014” could’ve easily ranked higher.
6. “Easy Bake”
For once, Kendrick Lamar and SZA aren’t just featured on each other’s albums. In 2015, the two linked up for Jay Rock’s “Easy Bake,” where the Watts rapper brought some much-needed Cali grit to their usual love-laced collaborations. The production, courtesy of TDE’s in-house producers ThankGod4Cody and The Antydote, is just as impressive, between the piercing snares and beat switch about three minutes in. When you think about it, any time Jay Rock and Lamar join forces, it’s a guaranteed hit, as evidenced by their Grammy-winning “King’s Dead” and “Wow Freestyle.”
5. “Babylon”
Serving as the pair’s first song together, “Babylon” originally dropped without Kendrick Lamar’s guest verse, though he ended up being a stellar addition to SZA’s honey-hued vocals. Though she mostly questions if it was all worth it and the cycle of making amends with a former lover, K. Dot snuck in a few nods to Napoleon and J. Cole’s Born Sinner, among other things. Still, for this being one of their earliest collaborations — and, honestly, very early in her career — “Babylon” lacks the fuller production and chemistry we see in the pair’s work a decade later.
4. “30 for 30”
“30 for 30” opened with a spoken-word sample courtesy of Switch’s Bobby DeBarge on “I Call Your Name,” which, fun fact, the LANA standout itself sampled “Throw Some D’s” by Rich Boy. In a time where interludes and storytelling feel practically on life support, the intro naturally laid the foundation for another solid SZA and Kendrick Lamar duet. She opened with a verse about finding solace in that one person when loneliness creeps in, with the “i” rapper subsequently emphasizing she’s all that and then some.
Then there’s the “You f**kin’ with n**gas that’s thinkin’ they cuter than you, oh” line, which felt like a shot at a certain someone (*cough*, Drake) given SZA’s earlier “wipin’ ’em down” reference on the chorus. As their eighth and most recent collaboration, “30 for 30” only serves as further proof the duo’s chemistry is just as strong as ever.
3. “Doves In The Wind”
Easily one of the stronger tracks from Ctrl., “Doves in the Wind” is definitely one you probably don’t want to blast around your grandmother. Between the endless sexual innuendos and “p**sy” being said a staggering 28 times over the course of 4 ½ minutes, Kendrick Lamar and SZA made no effort to censor themselves, not that they needed to for a song “dedicated to vaginas.” K. Dot’s guest verse broke down how men — and, in some cases, even women — become so consumed by sex that they’ll wine and dine, kill, or even die for it. It’s not exactly Super Bowl-friendly, let alone radio-ready, which probably makes it even more of a guilty pleasure.
2. “All The Stars”
For a song written for 2018’s Black Panther, a soundtrack Kendrick Lamar executive produced himself, “All The Stars” is about as close as the film gets to a true happy ending. The track first played over the closing credits, with both the Pulitzer Prize winner and SZA slipping in references to T’Challa and Killmonger, whom viewers found out was actually the Black Panther’s cousin toward the film’s end. “A small percentage who I’m buildin’ with/ I want the credit if I’m losin’ or I’m winnin’/ On my mama, that’s the realest s**t,” Lamar spat on the Sounwave-produced cut.
1. “luther”
The moment Luther Vandross sang, “If this world were mine,” we knew we were in for something different. “luther” is noticeably more stripped down, put simply, than what fans are used to hearing from Kendrick Lamar, which is probably why it clicks so well even for the most picky ears. “Hey, Roman numeral seven, bae, drop it like it’s hot/ If this world was mine, I’d take your dreams and make ’em multiply,” he rapped in the opening verse before teaming up with SZA on the chorus.
In the fuller context of GNX, which saw Lamar screaming “Mustard!” on “tv off” and getting active on “squabble up,” “luther” is a surprisingly gentle listen — and a sample done right, if you ask us. It’s easily one of their best collaborations in a sense where neither artist’s contributions drown out the other, albeit SZA doesn’t exactly get her own verse or moment to shine alone.
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