New Jersey-based rapper AK is accusing Kendrick Lamar of copying his concept on the music video of ‘The Heart Part 5’.
New Jersey-based rapper AK is accusing Kendrick Lamar of copying his concept on the music video of ‘The Heart Part 5’.
The music video for the latest instalment of Lamar’s acclaimed song series shows the rapper transform into the likes of Kanye West, Nipsey Hussle, Will Smith, OJ Simpson, Jussie Smollett, and Kobe Bryant using deepfakes.
Now, New Jersey-based rapper AK is saying that Lamar copied the concept of the music video from him. AK, whose real name is Austin Kassabian, says that he used first used deepfakes in the video for his song ‘Family Tree’, released in September 2020.
In a video posted on his Instagram, AK said: “Kendrick Lamar’s new music video is an exact copy of my video from 2020 of my song ‘Family Tree’. Maybe I’m fooling myself for thinking that Kendrick saw my video and was like, ‘Damn, that’s so good that I want to do it myself.’”
In the video in question, AK looks into the camera and raps while deepfake transforms him into Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kendrick Lamar.
In his Instagram video, AK noted the similarities between ‘Family Tree’ and ‘The Heart Part 5’. While the former is in black and white, the elements – the rapper performing against a simple backdrop – are allegedly similar.
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“But I was under Universal; he is under Universal. I did that video in 2020 with Universal. Obviously, the song didn’t do as good as if Kendrick was to do it, but the concept was so sick and I fucking don’t know, but it’s the same exact thing — it’s a backdrop, it’s him in front of it, it’s one take.” he said.
AK also went on to say that watching Lamar’s video was a ‘weird’ experience.
“And I want to make it clear, like, he’s an icon, I respect Kendrick. This is just very weird, bruh. That’s why I was like, ‘Damn, this is unique as fuck.’ And when I drop this, it’s gonna go stupid because nobody’s ever done this before.” He said.
“But as an independent artist, that’s the type of shit that you have to eat. And my whole message behind it is, keep going ’cause you gotta eat shit sometimes but eventually, you’ll be aiight.” He added.
Lamar or his team have yet to respond to AK’s claims.
For more on this topic, follow the Hip-Hop Observer.
Check out AK’s post on Instagram comparing ‘Family Tree’ and ‘The Heart Part 5’:
