MUMBAI: Taylor Swift has always been vocal about her admiration for Kendrick Lamar’s work. The 1989 singer has roped in Compton rapper, Kendrick Lamar for her next single. And this time, Lamar will not be seen doing what he is best known for! Instead the ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ rap icon will STAR in the music video for ‘Bad Blood’, the fourth single from Swift's 2014 pop album 1989. Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift’s fondness for each other has never gone unnoticed, but this is the first time they'll be working on a project together. Interestingly, Kendrick also happens to be the only male star to feature in the video.
The video will involve weaponry, slick outfits, dark emotions, death, violence, soft smirks under long eyelashes, long shadows, a high kick or two, a feel-good moment, a bad guy, city streets wet with dew, the glint of a knife in the moonlight, a howl, breezy hair, scowls, muscles, a smokey-voiced narrator and a starry ensemble. An excited Taylor Swift took to her Twitter account to reveal Lamar will be playing ‘Welvin the Great’ in the upcoming video, which is set to debut on Sunday May 17th at the Billboard Music Awards.
Each model/singer/actress/rapper in the video was allowed to choose their character’s name and persona. Lamar settled on “Welvin Da Great” for his character as he best related with the internet celebrity with a catchphrase— “Who don’t got no bitches?”—and more than 1 million Instagram followers. Also Welvin Da Great and Lamar are from the same hood in Compton. The others who have joined the Swift squad for the video are Hailee Steinfeld, Serayah McNeill, Lily Aldridge, Ellie Goulding, Lena Dunham, Jessica Alba, Gigi Hadid, Hayley Williams, Zendaya, Martha Hunt and Karlie Kloss.