Kendrick Lamar : Blood

I started this project to pay homage to the opening track "Blood" from Kendrick Lamar's "Damn" album. Since the first listening of the song, back in 2017, I was obsessed by the mood, the meaning of the lyrics and the different interpretations I could find on internet (Genius, Reddit, ...etc.). So I wanted to create this unofficial music video to decode the mysterious meaning of the song and share my personal vision of it.

I'd really love to see an official music video for this song, but I think it will never happen. In the Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe, Kendrick didn't want to speak on the deeper meaning of this skit, opting instead to let the art speak for itself. When Zane asked whether it represented 'the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning,' he refused to answer, but confirmed it is the right question to ask. 'Damn' album can be played back and forth depending on whether you start from the beginning ('Blood') or from the end ('Duckworth')and the storytelling is radically different, which let the listener decide whether he wants a happy or tragic ending.

Since the first listening of the song, I felt red images and tried to reach this monochromatic blood-ish red and foggy mood. Red is associated with strong emotional feeling like power, violence or danger, which fits perfectly the storytelling of the song.

From my point of view, the blind lady is clearly referring to Lady Justice who give justice without a sense of partiality, but it can also refer to America or the Police that is an extension of the Law which can sometimes tragically pull a trigger without looking.

I modeled this pair of shoes for the occasion of the film, based on the Reebok Club C Acid Wash model designed by Kendrick himself. When I realized that Kendrick was no longer collaborated with Reebok but with Nike, I decided to transform my 3D model on a generic no branded sneaker.

The song seems to be a reflection on the choices that life offers us in the world we're living in, and the different paths our life is taking through them. From our social background, skin color, or beliefs, we can be trapped in this world, like in Hell. Even if you have justice by your side and escape from police brutality, you can still die in a gunfight from gang warfare (as mentioned in the "Duckworth" song).