Hip-Hop sensation Kendrick Lamar released a new album after 5 years, name dropped Kyrie Irving, questioning his vaccine stance
Known for his thoughtful and lyrical style, Kendrick Lamar last dropped an album in 2017. His album Damn won the Pulitzer prize, the first instance of a hip-hop artist winning the same.
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Today marked the release of Kendrick Lamar’s new studio album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers. The album was highly anticipated and has 18 tracks. There are collaborations with various artists, including Baby Keem, Kodak Black, and more. Merely hours after the launch, however, the album was trending in NBA circles.
With basketball and hip-hop being intrinsically linked historically due to the cultural influence they share, this was no surprise. Kendrick’s track “Savior” featuring Baby Keem and Sam Dew is the latest in a list of songs referencing NBA players. The song has Kyrie Irving mentioned, and his stance on the COVID-19 vaccination was brought up.
How is Kyrie Irving referenced in Kendrick’s latest release?
Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets star, is no stranger to controversy and media coverage. During the season, a major narrative around the Nets was with respect to Kyrie’s vaccination status. Kyrie was unvaccinated. The State laws of New York prevented unvaccinated athletes from taking the floor, and Kyrie missed a majority of the season as a result.
The Nets, despite having multiple all-stars including Kevin Durant on their roster had to endure the play-in tournament. This was partly due to their star point guard missing a majority of their season.
With this being sensationalized, Kyrie became a poster boy for anti-vaxxers. It is this association with the anti-vax movement that led Kyrie to be name-dropped in Lamar’s new album.
In his song “Savior”, Kendrick says
“Seen a Christian say the vaccine mark of the beast
Then he caught COVID and prayed to Pfizer for relief
Then I caught COVID and started to question Kyrie”
Lamar drops this line to indicate his confusion with faith. The entire verse points to his doubts regarding religion and medicine.
Kyrie is often associated with such controversies, instead of being remembered for his generational talent. With Kendrick rapping about it too, it is difficult to escape the fact that Kyrie’s biggest contribution as a Brooklyn Net has been to the theories surrounding vaccination and the aversion to it.
With the vaccine mandate removed now, it remains to be seen how Kyrie contributes to the Nets. The 2022-23 season looms as a legacy decider for Kyrie and is interesting to see how Irving responds.
