Don Cheadle Talks Kendrick “DNA” Video

Yesterday, after releasing his new album DAMN. and delivering a huge headlining set at Coachella, Kendrick Lamar dropped the stunning new video for “DNA.” The clip, directed by Nabil and the Little Homies, stars Don Cheadle as a police officer who interrogates Kendrick before rapping the song. Throughout the video, Kendrick is dressed in a Kung Fu Kenny costume—an homage to Cheadle’s character from the 2001 movie Rush Hour 2. Today, Cheadle spoke to Pitchfork over the phone about his appearance in the video, how he had two days to learn the lyrics, the ad-libbed dialogue from the video, his text conversations with Kendrick, the time he offered Kendrick an acting job, and how he only just figured out that he’s the inspiration behind Kung Fu Kenny.

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