Kendrick Lamar, with the live backing of the Roots, performed about five minutes of straight mellifluous bliss, while debuting a new untitled song on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday.
“Untitled 2″ (a follow-up to his previous untitled song from Colbert Report that he only performed once) is instant smooth; it’s Kendrick rapping a series of vignettes and vents about shortcuts to success, “fast money,” depression (“blue faces”), personal responsibility, credit card scams (Hello, Russell) and higher education, with the same layers of social depth that made To Pimp a Butterfly such a beautifully vexing listen.