The Heart Part 4
{{Short description|2017 promotional single by Kendrick Lamar}}
{{Infobox song
| name = The Heart Part 4
| cover = Kendrick-the-heart-part-4.jpg
| alt =
| type = Promotional single
| artist = Kendrick Lamar
| album =
| released = March 23, 2017
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Hip-hop
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=48}}
| label = {{hlist|Aftermath|Top Dawg|Interscope}}
| writer = {{hlist|Kendrick Duckworth|Joshua Scruggs|Axel Morgan|Dacoury Natche|Daniel Maman|Khalid Robinson{{cite web|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2017/03/who-produced-kendrick-lamar-heart-part-4/|title=Here's Who Produced Kendrick Lamar's "The Heart Part 4"|date=24 March 2017 |publisher=XXL|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}}}
| producer = {{hlist|Syk Sense|Axlfolie|DJ Dahi|The Alchemist{{cite web|url=http://2dopeboyz.com/2017/03/23/kendrick-lamar-the-heart-part-four-new-album-news/|title=Kendrick Lamar - The Heart Part 4|date=23 March 2017 |publisher=2DopeBoyz|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}}}
}}
"The Heart Part 4" is a song by American hip-hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 23, 2017, by Top Dawg Entertainment. The track features uncredited vocals from American singer Khalid.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefader.com/2017/03/24/kendrick-lamar-the-heart-part-4-khalid|title=Kendrick Lamar's "The Heart Part 4" Features An Uncredited Vocal From Khalid|publisher=The FADER|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2017/03/khalid-featured-kendrick-lamar-the-heart-part-4/|title=Khalid Is Featured on Kendrick Lamar's New "The Heart Part 4"|date=24 March 2017 |publisher=XXL|accessdate=March 24, 2017}} The song contains samples from "Don't Tell a Lie about Me and I Won't Tell the Truth on You" by James Brown and "I Love You" by Faith Evans. It was released in advance of his fourth album Damn (2017).
Background and release
On March 23, 2017, Lamar shared an Instagram post of the Roman numeral "IV" after deleting his prior Instagram posts.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/72436-listen-to-kendrick-lamars-new-song-the-heart-part-4/|title=Listen to Kendrick Lamar's New Song "The Heart Part 4"|publisher=Pitchfork|accessdate=23 March 2017}} That night, Lamar released the song through streaming services.
This is the fourth installment in Lamar's "The Heart" song series. "The Heart Part 1" was released as a loose track in April 2010, while "The Heart Part 2" was featured on Lamar's Overly Dedicated mixtape, released later that same year. "The Heart Part 3", featuring Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, preceded the release of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City in 2012. In 2022, "The Heart Part 5" was released as a promotional single to promote Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.{{cite web|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2017/03/23/new-music-kendrick-lamar-the-heart-part-4/|title=New Music: Kendrick Lamar – 'The Heart Part 4'|date=March 24, 2017|work=Rap-Up|accessdate=March 24, 2017}} Lamar continued the series with the inclusion of "Heart Pt. 6" as the tenth track of his 2024 GNX.
He finishes the song with the line, "Y'all got til April the 7th to get y'all shit together", hinting at the release date for his fourth album (the date turned out to be the day pre-orders opened and the release date was announced to be April 14).{{cite web|url=https://planetradio.co.uk/kiss-fresh/entertainment/music/kendrick-lamar-upcoming-album-release-date/|title=Kendrick Lamar's upcoming album HAS a release date|work=KISS FRESH |publisher=Planet Radio|accessdate=12 April 2017}} The song mentions Donald Trump, while media outlets perceived it as a diss track to rappers Drake and Big Sean.{{cite web|url=http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.42828/title.whos-kendrick-dissing-on-the-heart-part-4-big-sean-drake-donald-trump|title=Who's Kendrick Dissing On "The Heart Part 4"? Big Sean? Drake? ... Donald Trump?|work=HipHopDX|date=24 March 2017 |accessdate=March 26, 2017}}
A portion of the instrumental, produced by The Alchemist, is used on the song "Fear" from Lamar's fourth album Damn (2017).
Critical reception
On the day of its release, Pitchfork named it Best New Track.{{cite web|title="The Heart Part 4" by Kendrick Lamar Review {{!}} Pitchfork|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/18918-kendrick-lamar-the-heart-part-4/|website=pitchfork.com|accessdate=25 March 2017|language=en}} For Entertainment Weekly{{'}}s Eric Renner Brown, Lamar "infuses his boasts of success and wealth with a degree of lyrical nuance that elevates the track".{{Cite magazine |url=http://ew.com/music/2017/03/24/kendrick-lamar-heart-part-4-review/ |title=Kendrick Lamar's 'The Heart Part 4': EW Review |date=March 24, 2017 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=March 29, 2017}}
Charts
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Kendrick Lamar songs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heart Part}}
Category:Songs written by Kendrick Lamar
Category:Song recordings produced by the Alchemist (musician)
Category:Top Dawg Entertainment singles
Category:Aftermath Entertainment singles
Category:Interscope Records singles
Category:Songs about Donald Trump
Category:Songs written by Khalid (singer)