In May 2022, Kendrick Lamar shocked the music world with his groundbreaking music video for “The Heart Part 5,” which seamlessly transformed his face into various Black celebrities using deepfake technology.
Released ahead of his highly anticipated album “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,” the video featured Lamar morphing into O.J. Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollett, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle while performing against a simple red backdrop.
The revolutionary visual effect was created by Deep Voodoo, a studio founded by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who specialize in deepfake artistry.
This creative application of AI technology, which typically uses two machine learning models—one creating facial data while another detects if the video is fake—demonstrated how deepfakes could be used for artistic expression rather than deception.
The video, which has garnered millions of views, sparked converstions about the positive potential of a technology often associated with misinformation and privacy concerns.
By using deepfakes to enhance storytelling and create layers of meaning, Lamar’s video represents a significant milestone in how digital technology can be integrated into music videos to create powerful art that resonates with audiences while raising awareness about the technology itself.
The Heart Part 5: A Visual Masterpiece
Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” dropped like a bomb in the music world, just days before his highly anticipated album “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” hit the streets.
This visual masterpiece took everyone by surprise, showcasing Lamar’s innovative approach to storytelling through music and video.
The video’s setup is deceptively simple: a single camera focused on Lamar against a plain red backdrop. However, what unfolds is anything but ordinary.
Using cutting-edge deepfake technology created by Deep Voodoo, the studio run by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Lamar’s face seamlessly morphs into various iconic figures throughout the performance.
As Lamar raps, his face transforms into O.J. Simpson, Kanye West, Jussie Smollett, Will Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle.
Each transformation is timed perfectly with the lyrics, adding layers of meaning to Lamar’s already powerful words.
The visual effect is both unsettling and mesmerizing, forcing viewers to confront complex issues of identity, celebrity, and racial dynamics in America.
The single-camera approach enhances the impact of these transformations, keeping the focus squarely on Lamar’s performance and the uncanny facial shifts.
This stripped-down visual style allows the deepfake technology to shine, creating a hypnotic effect that draws viewers deeper into the song’s themes.
By releasing this groundbreaking video just before his album drop, Lamar not only built anticipation but also set the stage for the thought-provoking content to come in “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers”.
The video’s innovative use of technology and its powerful visal storytelling approach have cemented “The Heart Part 5” as a landmark moment in music video history.
Celebrity Transformations in the Video
Kendrick Lamar “The Heart Part 5” video stunned viewers with its remarkable deepfake transformations, creating a powerful visual commentary on Black identity and culture.
Released in May 2022, the video showcased Lamar morphing into several iconic figures while maintaining his clothing and setting against a simple red backdrop.
When Lamar transforms into Kanye West, he delivers lines about bipolar disorder with the lyrics “Friends bipolar, grab you by your pockets/ No option if you froze up, always play the offense,” directly referencing West’s public struggles with mental health. This transformation highlights the exploitation West has faced throughout his career.
The Will Smith deepfake appears as Lamar raps “In a land where hurt people hurt more people, fuck callin’ it culture,” a pointed reference to Smith’s infamous slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. This moment examines how trauma perpetuates cycles of harm within communities.
Perhaps most poignant is Lamar’s transformation into Nipsey Hussle, where he speaks from beyond the grave: “To my brother, to my kids, I am in Heaven.”
This powerful segment delivers a message of forgiveness and community healing, urging listeners to “look for salvation when troubles get real.”
The O.J. Simpson deepfake appears during lyrics about “bulletproof rovers,” referencing the infamous 1994 Ford Bronco chase. This segment examines how “the culture” both condemns and elevates controversial figures.
Finally, Lamar becomes Kobe Bryant while reflecting on legacy and impact: “Paid dues, made rules, change outta love/ Them same views made schools change curriculums.”
This transformation honors Bryant’s dedication to excellence and his cultural influence before his tragic 2020 death.
Technical Aspects of the Deepfake Implementation
Behind Kendrick Lamar’s mind-bending “The Heart Part 5” video stands Deep Voodoo, a specialized studio founded by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
This team of roughly 20 deepfake artists and technicians brought the rapper’s vision to life, seamlessly transforming his face into various celebrities throughout the performance.
The technology powering these transformations relies on sophisticated generative neural networks.
Specifically, the process uses two machine learning models working in tandem – one creates new facial data based on sample videos of the target celebrities (Kanye West, Will Smith, O.J. Simpson, Kobe Bryant, and Nipsey Hussle), while the second model attempts to detect if the video is fake.
This approach, known as a generative adversarial network (GAN), works alongside autoencoders to manipulate visual content with remarkable realism.
Deep Voodoo had previously developed their expertise through projects like the satirical Sassy Justice web series featuring deepfakes of Donald Trump, Al Gore, and Mark Zuckerberg.
For Parker and Stone, deepfake technology represents “a new form of animation” offering shot-by-shot control over every actor and voice.
The production required extensive facial mapping and data processing to achieve the seamless transitions between identities while maintaining Lamar’s clothing and setting against the simple red backdrop.
What makes this implementation particularly noteworthy is how the technology serves the artistic narrative rather than existing merely as a technical showcase.
Each transformation occurs at precisely the right moment to complement Lamar’s lyrics, creating a powerful commentary on Black identity and culture that has garnered millions of views since its release in May 2022.
Artistic Intent Behind the Technology
When Kendrick Lamar dropped “The Heart Part 5” video, he did more than just use cool tech – he created a powerful artistic statement.
The genius lies in how perfectly each deepfake transformation aligns with the lyrics being delivered at that exact moment.
As Lamar’s face morphs into Kanye West, he raps about bipolar disorder, directly addressing West’s public mental health struggles.
Similarly, when he becomes Will Smith, the lyrics shift to “hurt people hurt more people,” a clear reference to the infamous Oscars slap incident that happened just months before the video’s release.
The selection of these specific Black icons was no accident. Lamar carefully chose figures who represent different aspects of Black experience and controversy in America.
From O.J. Simpson to Nipsey Hussle, each transformation adds layers of meaning to the song’s exploration of “the culture” – which in this context refers to America’s culture of violence and exploitation that shaped Hip Hop itself.
Perhaps most moving is when Lamar becomes Nipsey Hussle, speaking from beyond the grave with a message of forgiveness and community healing.
The video opens with text reading “I am. All of us,” setting up the technological transformations as more than visual tricks.
Through the deepfake technology created by Deep Voodoo (the studio founded by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone), Lamar literally embodies these cultural figures to tell a complex story about identity, perspective, and the shared experiences that connect them all.
This innovative use of technology doesn’t just enhance the storytelling – it becomes the story itself, allowing Lamar to step outside himself and speak through multiple voices and experiences.
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Kendrick Lamar use of deepfakes raises fascinating legal questions that affect artists everywhere. When it comes to copyright law, the use of celebrity likenesses through deepfake technology exists in a gray area.
Currently, if someone creates a deepfake using a celebrity’s face, like Will Smith or Kanye West in Lamar’s video, the original person may have limited legal recourse under existing copyright frameworks.
This is because courts typically require human authorship for copyright protection, as seen in the Thaler v. Perlmutter case where AI-generated content was denied copyright registration.
The concept of fair use might protect some artistic deepfakes. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, transformative uses that add new expression or meaning may qualify as fair use.
Kendrick Lamar video could be considered transformative because it uses celebrity faces to make cultural commentary. However, this broad application of fair use might not adequately protect the original celebrities whose likenesses are used.
Consent requirements represent another crucial consideration. Many jurisdictions now require explicit consent before using someone’s likeness in synthetic media.
The Screen Actors Guild recently negotiated an agreement requiring companies to obtain consent before creating digital replicas of actors, including disclosure of intended use and fair compensation.
Without such consent, deepfakes can violate privacy laws and right of publicity protections, which allow individuals to control commercial use of their persona.
This is especially important as over 96% of deepfake content today involves non-consensual use of individuals’ likenesses, often for exploitative purposes.
Industry Impact and Precedent
Kendrick Lamar groundbreaking use of deepfake technology in “The Heart Part 5” has sent ripples through the entertainment industry, opening doors that many artists have since walked through.
Since its 2022 release, we have witnessed a surge in AI-powered creativity across music videos and beyond.
Just look at how Drake later jumped on the bandwagon with his controversial “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which used AI-generated voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg to target Lamar in their ongoing feud.
This musical chess move shocked fans and even surprised Snoop himself, who questioned, “They did what? When? How?”
The mainstream entertainment world has increasingly embraced this technology. Disney now uses high-resolution deepfake technology to de-age characters and even revive deceased actors, saving significant production costs while creating convincing visual effects.
Meanwhile, Netflix has begun experimenting with AI-generated scores for documentaries, pushing creative boundaries in both visual and audio realms.
Even Lucasfilm hired a YouTube deepfake expert to improve visual effects for de-aging Mark Hamill in The Mandalorian.
Beyond music and film, we have seen David Beckham use deepfakes to deliver anti-malaria messages in nine different languages, and Val Kilmer, who lost his voice to throat cancer, speak again through Sonantic’s deepfake technology.
These applications demonstrate how AI has evolved from a novelty into a legitimate artistic medium. What Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame helped pioneer with their Deep Voodoo studio has now become a powerful new form of expression that, as Parker noted, gives creators “control over every single actor and voice” in ways previously unimaginable.
Public and Critical Reception
When Kendrick Lamar dropped “The Heart Part 5” in May 2022, the internet nearly broke. Critics and fans alike were stunned by the innovative use of deepfake technology that transformed the rapper’s face into various Black celebrities.
The Guardian awarded the song a perfect five-star review, with critic Ben Beaumont-Thomas calling it “a heartstopping call for uplifted humanity” and praising Lamar’s flow as “charged and acute.”
Meanwhile, Pitchfork honored the track with its coveted “Best New Track” distinction, noting how the deepfakes “amplify Lamar’s words and serve to visualize a complicated lineage through Blackness.”
The video sparked immediate reactions across Twitter, with fans dissecting every detail of the visual masterpiece.
One user pointed out how “Kendrick Lamar is placed slightly on the left of the video (similar to where The Heart is located in the human body) and his constant bounce representing The Heart beat. ART.”
Many viewers were particularly moved by the Nipsey Hussle deepfake, which Okayplayer ranked as the most powerful transformation in the video. The late rapper’s partner, actress Lauren London, described the music video as “powerful art.”
Beyond the technological innovation, critics praised the song’s artistic merit. NME writer Kyann-Sian Williams noted that Lamar was “taking ownership of his elder role in the rap world” and becoming “a voice of reason and morality.”
The video’s seamless blend of technology and stoytelling established a new benchmark for visual artistry in hip-hop, with Datzcoo calling Lamar “an all-around artistic genius” whose work transcends mere music.
Conclusion
Kendrick Lamar groundbreaking use of deepfake technology in “The Heart Part 5” has forever changed how we view AI in artistic expression.
By working with Deep Voodoo, the studio founded by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Lamar helped legitimize a technology often associated with misinformation and turned it into a powerful storytelling tool that garnered over 5.5 million YouTube views within 24 hours of its release.
The critical acclaim was overwhelming, with Pitchfork awarding it “Best New Track” and The Guardian giving a perfect five-star review.
The video’s artistic merit was further validated when it won two Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song while receiving three additional nominations.
Looking ahead, the intersection of AI and music videos continues to evolve rapidly. Tools like Kaiber.ai and Midjourney now allow artists to create stunning visuals without massive budgets, as seen in Disturbed’s “Bad Man” video featuring 10,000 frames of AI-generated images.
The lasting impact of Lamar’s work extends beyond music. By showing how deepfake technology can create meaningful art rather than deception, he opened doors for creative applications across entertainment while simultaneously raising public awareness about the need to question visual evidence in our digital age.
