Kendrick Lamar's 'We Cry Together' Short Film On Abusive Relationships

For the song, We Cry Together, from his latest album Mr Morale & the High Steppers, American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar has released a short film, in both censored and uncensored versions. The short film, which stars Lamar and Taylour Paige, is a horrifyingly realistic portrayal of an argument in an abusive relationship, according to Variety. She cries her way through a whole verse, which concludes with them having sex.

Produced by Lamar's creative team pgLang, the short film is based on the eighth track on the album, in which a quarrelling couple communicates both everything and nothing. It was shot in one take with live audio and no cuts.

We Cry Together Abusive Relationships

The rapper and the Zola actress play two people who are in a relationship in the video, which, like the song ">We Cry Together, shows them having a fight and then reconciling in a graphic but censored scene.

Paige is on her way to work, while Lamar is wearing a shirt from a menial job with the name tag "Dante S.," which could be a reference to the character of that name from Lamar's 2012 song Collect Calls, as they begin their argument in a modest apartment.

He hides her keys and locks himself in the toilet, and she enters through a different door as they act out the song's lyrics, which include the exchange of "Fuck you, b—h" and "Fuck you, n—a." as she gets ready for work. At least in the uncensored version of the song, she has taken off her shirt and they are having sex on the couch by the time the song ends, despite the fact that the intensity of their words has grown.

Then, gently pulling away, the camera reveals the film set, maybe making a statement on how much play-acting goes into a romantic relationship.

When asked about her opinion on what feels cinematic about the song, Taylour Paige said that beyond just being a short film, in her opinion, it's an experience; you get to peek into the private lives of this couple while also hearing how the rest of the world operates. Whether it be a disagreement with a sibling or others online... It just is, and she said that she doesn't believe there is a container for it.

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