ESSENCE Fest headliner and Compton native, Kendrick Lamar may have just hit a new plateau of mainstream fame as America’s latest sweetheart Taylor Swift tapped him to be the featured rapper on her highly anticipated single, Bad Blood.
During the 2015 Billboard Awards, the 1989 singer debuted the new video for her single, Bad Blood. In it, Swift and her team of high energy action fighters (played by the Mariska Hargitay, Ellen Pompeo, Selena Gomez, Cindy Crawford and way too many talented people to name) prepare to go to war while the world explodes in the green-screens behind them.
If the description sounds like the latest installment of a Marvel film, that’s pretty much how epic it was.
Still, one of the best parts of this entire video and song was (and is) Kendrick Lamar’s two verses. For a long time, Taylor Swift has publicly admired Kendrick for his work and has been a huge fan of his music. In fact, at the end of 2014, she celebrated her album sales by lip-synching Backseat Freestyle from his debut album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City on Instagram. Now, the unlikely duo may prove to be a match made in music heaven.
If you loved his verses, you will definitely love seeing him live at ESSENCE Festival, this July! Buy your tickets to see his close-out performance, today!
What did you think of the video? Let us know on Twitter, @ESSENCEFest.