Over three months after releasing his double album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar has just dropped a visual to an unlikely song. “We Cry Together” is one of the most dramatic parts of the Mr. Morale album, centered around a relationship argument and breakdown. In a short film directed by K-Dot, Dave Free, and Jake Schreier, that dispute comes to cinematic life.

Kendrick appears to plays a character. He wears a shirt with “Dante S” on it. Smoking while the couple has a verbal domestic dispute, the song’s collaborator Taylour Paige plays the woman. Words escalate to pointing and more swearing. The camera follows the two partners as the tensions flare, and both clearly want static that nears something dangerous. Each movement, line, and reaction is choreographed—like a play.

Explaining Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers Albums

Three and a half months after the song dropped, the video shows just how the MC envisioned the music playing out. Viewers can watch as the barbed words settle in on their target. Taylour goes from the initial victim to the person breaking down her male counterpart. Finger-pointing becomes repeated wrapping a fist on his head to make the insults sink in. In its lyrics, the argument becomes a microcosm for a bigger battle of the sexes that draws from political trends, celebrities, and the state of Hip-Hop and R&B music.

Within seconds, the argument gives way to raw sexual energy, as Taylour loses her shirt and the couple looks to re-channel their frustrations for harmony. One of Hip-Hop’s legends removes his pants (both naked bodies are obscured) to make the moment raw, real, and incredibly vulnerable.

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Curiously, the video ends with the distinct revelation that this is on a sound-stage—despite the two albums’ perceived thematic ties to Kendrick Lamar’s real life. This video follows May’s visual for “N95.”

Songs from Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers are currently featured on the official Ambrosia For Heads playlist.

#BonusBeat: Ambrosia For Heads’ What’s The Headline podcast offers a comprehensive breakdown of Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, including meanings, themes, and additional context.