Kendrick Lamar, from Compton, CA, poet and 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner for Music, recently released a video for "Count me out," that is certain to be nominated, if not win, an Oscar.
The visuals and aesthetics in this three minutes and 36 seconds long video are as vulnerable and inviting as the stories to be narrated; the first minute and 20 seconds is a scene between two people in a room.
Tick-tock clicks the clock, black screen, a flash of a watch, black screen, a voice, "Kendrick." Lamar, dressed in matching shades of black, is sitting on the left side of a bench in front of a beautiful piano, the cover to the keys closed, pensive, seemingly unaware of his surroundings, and deeply present in himself.
The disembodied voice repeats, "Kendrick. Did you hear that, Kendrick?" Lamar, concentrating, perhaps writing, lifts his head, and as he turns to face the person hailing him, he says, "Yes, my apologies, I thought my time was up." As he turns, the camera clarifies the blurred image in the distance, a person, a woman, his therapist, played by Helen Mirren, as reported in Rolling Stone. She asks him how he feels about an interaction over a spot with the "lady in the parking structure?"
Lamar is sitting in a vehicle with the driver's door open, and a white lady growls, "You took my damn parking spot!" Lamar, looking her in the eye, then quickly up and down, says, "I didn't take your damn parking spot."
Therapist: "And how did that make you feel, reacting that way?"
Lamar: "I felt descent."
Therapist: "Oh (a bit surprised), how come?"
Lamar: "Because I did take her parking spot."
They both laugh, and when the odd moment of shared humor subsides, she takes off her glasses, obviously concerned, and says, "you texted me at 2 o'clock in the morning -'I feel like I've fallen.' As the camera stays on Lamar, the woman asks, "why do you feel that way?"
Lamar takes a deep breath. Then begins, "Life…."
The music enters, anticipating Lamar's poetry, with the screen split in three. Lamar on the right is sharing his story, the therapist on the left intently listening, overcome at moments, and in the middle, montage images narrating living.
The harmonizing chorus, "And I'm tripping and falling," that accompanies the breathtaking musical arrangements astound the surround they create, your eye choosing which screen to focus on, each with their unique details representing the communication and connection between two people, a therapist and their patient.
This might be the first ever Hip Hop video that is a (scripted) therapy session. It reminds me of Pharoahe Monch's 2014 album, PTSD, particularly the songs "Losing my mind" and "Broken Again."
