A Kendrick Lamar fan on Twitter has uncovered the hidden meaning behind a lyric from ‘N95’ after being given a clue from the music video.
Kendrick Lamar’s fans are meticulous in analyzing his work and are willing to dissect it frame-by-frame. The tweet in question, which uncovered the hidden meaning behind a lyric from ‘N95’, analyzes a snippet from the music video for ‘N95’ in which Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem are hunched over, shoulder to shoulder, creeping down a hallway. In the final seconds, Keem kisses Kendrick’s cheek before Kendrick pulls away and looks at his cousin with incredulous eyes.
The lyric, directly before this moment, ‘Would you sell your bro for leverage?’ is the cue that tipped off the eagle-eyed fan to pick up the easter egg within this moment. The fan says that Judas kissed Jesus before he sold him to the Roman soldiers, who would go on to kill him. This mirrors the same moment from the video in which Keem kisses Lamar’s cheek.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Judas/Jesus kiss has been referenced in pop culture, as a similar moment plays out in The Godfather II when Michael kisses Fredo on the cheek before betraying him. This connects back to yet another moment in hip-hop, as Pusha T recently referenced the same scene/moment in his new album It’s Almost Dry: Pharrell vs. Ye on the song ‘Brambleton.’
It seems Kendrick and Push might have been in the same headspace while writing these bars which led to this particular thread tying their albums together.
“It was sad watchin’ dude in Vlad interviews
Really it’s ’bout me, he channeled it through you
Had a million answers, didn’t have a clue
Why Michael kissed Fredo in Godfather II”
“‘Would you sell your bro for leverage?’ Keem proceeds to kiss Kendrick’s cheek
Love Hip Hop?
Get the latest Hip Hop news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
Judas kissed Jesus before he sold him out to the Roman soldiers
Kendrick’s a genius man”
‘Would you sell your bro for leverage?’ Keem proceeds to kiss Kendrick’s cheek
Judas kissed Jesus before he sold him out to the Roman soldiers
Kendrick’s a genius man 😂 https://t.co/PGS37yv0ia
— michael (@MysticFook) May 14, 2022