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    How Did ‘We Cry Together’ By Kendrick Lamar And Taylour Paige Come About?

    We very less often come to know the emotions and vulnerabilities of the artists. The normal folks as well conceal it. The social media era helps us to put ourselves out there, but do we do it? Put ourselves out? Kendrick Lamar called out himself in his fifth album ‘Mr. Morale And The Big Steppers’. He went through the emotional gamut processing unlearning and learning and gave us an album to ponder and question life.

    One of the songs that stand out in the album is ‘We Cry Together’. Lamar and Taylour Paige from ‘Zola’ have this spoken word song infused with jazz riffs and the theme of confrontation. It is a couple confronting one another but never concluding. Venting out anger, but displaying insecurities. Arguing, and yet contemplating. The Nobel Prize-winning artist came five years after his last album ‘DAMN’. Along with the song, K-dot released a short film that is now eligible for an Oscar nomination. The artists sat down to break down the origin and why they felt important to put out the visuals.

    Also Read: “I’m Speechless”- Eminem Shares His Opinion After Listening To Kendrick Lamar’s New Album

    Kendrick Lamar Wanted This To Be A Visual Before Putting It On The Album

    Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige in 'We Cry Together'
    Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige in ‘We Cry Together’

    The ‘We Cry Together’ short film starring Kendrick Lamar and Taylour Paige premiered at Laemmle Royal Theater in June 2022. Kendrick directed the film along with his long-time collaborator and friend Dave Free, and Jake Schreier. The rapper played the six-minute short film for 20 people per day. The shots in the film are inspired by Hype Williams’ “Belly” and Quentin Tarantino’s films.

    The cast and crew of the film sat down with the actress Tessa Thompson to break down the Oscars-qualified short film. During the interview, the Grammy-winning artist revealed that he was keen on making it into a film even before the music and putting it on the album. He said, “The crazy part about this joint is that it started with the film first and the music — putting it on the actual album — came after

    The idea was always to capture this writing, not no song, [but] the writing and the film and the texture and the cinematography of it to get the full experience out.”

    This one-take film was conceived before the 2020 lockdown. The goal for Dave was to put out things that “we as a society kind of shy away from”. Kendrick said, “I always had trust in Dave, and vice versa, to trust all of our ideas as a collective. And I think the energy that we bring, and the groundwork that we put forth brought us individuals like Taylour and Jake to come and say, ‘OK, this is a collective I want to be a part of and not be blocked in by the margins of what people perceive is OK”.

    Also Read: Kendrick Lamar Announces ‘Big Steppers’ Tour

    What Triggered The Rapper To Convert The Song Into Conversation?

    Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free
    Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free

    The video contains visuals of a couple arguing in a closed space, but later it is revealed that it is the production set. For the creatives, Lamar wanted to show how people have “layers of performance”. For the ‘DNA’ artist, the main trigger was how he was frustrated that the cultures, social, and political systems could not agree. K-dot said, “The main trigger for writing the dialogue was basically the state of the world within the last five years for me and seeing my frustrations about how nobody, and none of our cultures or belief systems, can ever come to an agreement”.

    He continued, “So, in writing that I say, ‘OK, how can I make this feel personal but also holding up a mirror as a collective concept, rather than just a personal concept?’ “

    He continued, “I wanted to do that with all the emotions involved … I wanted to bring that drama, because at the end of the day, whether we like it or not, the good, bad and the ugly, the pros and cons, that’s what makes everything evolve. Being able to put that in our face allows us to accept that, in order for us to evolve as humanity.”

    After releasing the short film, Dave and Kendrick-owned pgLang will in the future create more diverse ideas due to the opening of the creative floodgates. Dave said, “It sparked a lot of other ideas for us. And now we have a lot more things we’re pursuing in the space. This was one piece that felt like it was a marriage of the world that we are coming from and the world we would go into.”

    Also Read: Grammys 2023: Why People Are Fuming Over Jack Harlow Nomination For ‘Best Rap Album’?

    Nishant Bhise
    Nishant Bhisehttps://firstcuriosity.com/
    Nishant Bhise is a Sub-Editor at FirstCuriosity. He has more than 2 years of experience in Entertainment content writing with the organization. Besides being a journalist and humanist, he loves cinema and intersectionality, basically everything that screams love, hope, and of course, Lady Gaga. Nishant loves and breathes popular culture, music, especially hip-hop and pop, and the royal family drama. Along with that, he takes great interest in the happenings in the technology world and politics. He is an LGBTQIA+ ally. Approach him with an apple juice to discuss Modern Family, Pose, and Schitt’s Creek.
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