New Music: Kendrick Lamar feat. Rihanna - 'LOYALTY.'
10-4. Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna’s highly-anticipated collaboration “LOYALTY.” arrived at midnight, along with K-Dot’s DAMN.. Produced by Terrace Martin, Sounwave, and DJ Dahi, the standout track allows Kung Fu Kenny and Bad Gal RiRi to address allegiance from a variety of angles.
“It’s a secret society, all we ask is trust,” they sing together, in a nod to Jay Z’s “Get Your Mind Right Mami” from 2000’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. “All we got is us / Loyalty.”
Then, Lamar and Fenty go back and forth with bars, trading boastful rhymes and flows. “Been a bad bitch way before any cash came,” raps Rihanna. “I’m established / Hundred carats on my name / Run the atlas, I’m a natural.”
From there, Cornrow Kenny arrives with some of his own self-reflection. “I’m a savage,” he admits. “I’m an asshole, I’m a king.” Later, he adds: “Tell your ni**a he can meet me outside / You can babysit him when I leave him outside.”
“LOYALTY.” — which also pulls inspiration from Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s classic 1995 single “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” — is Kendrick’s first collaboration with Rihanna, but it isn’t the only time she comes up on the album.
“FEAR.” also includes a reference to Rihanna’s infamous legal battle with a former accountant for allegedly mismanaging her finances, an issue that she was rumored to address in the bloody music video for “Bitch Better Have My Money.”
“What is an advisor?” asks Kendrick. “Somebody that’s holdin’ my checks? / Just to fuck me over and put my finances in debt? / I read a case about Rihanna’s accountant and wondered / How did the Bad Girl feel when she looked at them numbers? / The type of shit’ll make me flip out.”
In the past, Kendrick also referenced RiRi on 2012’s “Black Lip Bastard (Black Hippy Remix),” when he rapped: “Even fallin’ off, I land on the ass of Nicki Minaj / Eat that pink pussy like it’s Friday / Bust one, Roman Reload, then smoke to Sade / And somebody tell Rihanna too / I need that vagina too / Hey baby!”
In addition to Rihanna, DAMN. features U2 and Zacari, with production from Mike WiLL Made-It, Alchemist, 9th Wonder, and more.