Kendrick Lamar Releases Short Film ‘We Cry Together’ About Abusive Relationships

Intense. That’s a word that describes the short film Kendrick Lamar released for his single “We Cry Together.” The video clocks in at 5 minutes and 30 seconds and features Lamar and Taylour Paige as a couple who start out arguing with their dialogue represented as the lyrics from the song — both Lamar and Paige rap them. By the end of the song — which is a bit not safe for work — the pair appear to have worked out their differences.

“We Cry Together” peaked at number 16 on Billboard’s Hot 100, but quickly dropped to the 84th spot. Some have described the song as difficult to listen to given its depiction of an intense spat between a couple — complete with insults and cruel putdowns. Perhaps in an attempt to give visuals to the already vivid imagery of the song’s lyrics, Lamar felt a video was what was needed. Variety describes the video as “a horrifyingly realistic depiction of an argument in an abusive relationship that finds Lamar and actress Taylour Paige saying absolutely horrible things to each other, with her delivering an entire verse while sobbing.” The video is just too “real” enough that the rapper had to release two versions of the video, a censored one and another that isn’t. Both are available on YouTube.