Kendrick Lamar has released his first single in five years, with the rapper’s music video using AI Deepfake technology to bring back Los Angelos Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
“The Heart Part 5” music video, directed by Dave Free and Lamar, features the rapper morphing into NBA great Kobe Byrant and several other iconic figures including OJ Simpson, Will Smith, Jussie Smollett, Kanye West, and Nipsey Hussle.
Deepfakes, as seen in this music video, use a form of artificial intelligence called deep learning to make images of fake events.
Kendrick Lamar appears in the video in a white shirt in front of a red backdrop, rapping while ‘deepfaking’ Byrant who tragically died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
The video credits its deep fake technology to Deep Voodoo, a studio founded by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
The song will be included in Lamar’s upcoming album, which is his first studio album since ‘Damn’ and lead single since 2018.
