Kendrick Lamar’s latest music video is for “For Free? (Interlude)?,” one of many brisk, virtuosic stretches on To Pimp a Butterfly in which the rapper unspools a thread of spoken-word brilliance while his band supplies some jazzy accompaniment. The video, which was directed by Joe Weil and the Little Homies, sees Lamar cavorting around a palatial estate, alternating between costumes and personas while pursuing a frustrated lover.
It’s a very entertaining watch, one pitched at a loonier, more playful level than Lamar’s video for “Alright”. But the rapper’s way with visual metaphor is still sharp: His late transformation into Uncle Sam, as well as the many slave statues scattered around the mansion, betray the song’s darker undertones.
