Kendrick Lamar & SZA Went More Commercial But Remained Authentic With “All The Stars”

Rapper and singer duos are some of the best types of tandems in music. There are tons of great ones out there like any Sampha and MC collab, Travis Scott and The Weekend, as well as Kanye West and Rihanna. Those are just a few, but you cannot forget to throw Kendrick Lamar and SZA into that mix. They may not have the most instantly recognizable collabs out there. However, when they link, it’s never a miss. Their history traces back to SZA’s first project Z back in 2014 on “Babylon.” You then have “Doves in the Wind” off of Ctrl and after that, it’s “All The Stars.”

This Black Panther soundtrack lead single was the one that showed off their pop crossover ability. It’s easily their most commercial-sounding release yet. After all, it was made for a movie. However, it doesn’t come off as tacky or as a money grab. SZA’s vocals on her verse and the chorus are some of her most stunning and emotion-filled of her career. Kendrick keeps it more lowkey, but when you read into the lyrics, they cut deep and are extremely relatable. Especially with the track being about how scary it can be to chase after what you want/deserve. It’s up to you where you feel this effort of theirs should be ranked amongst the rest, now with “luther” and “gloria” in the mix. But this cut deserves its flowers due its incredible impact on a massive blockbuster, as well as listeners of all ages.

Quotable Lyrics:

Tell me what you gon’ do to me (Do to me)
Confrontation ain’t nothin’ new to me (New to me)
You can bring a bullet, bring a sword, bring a morgue
But you can’t bring the truth to me (Truth to me)
F*** you and all your expectations (Expectations)
I don’t even want your congratulations (Congratulations)