Since SZA appears to be one of the only people who can bring out Kendrick Lamar’s “inner teddy bear,” perhaps he decided it was high time to make a video for “Luther,” among the few “soft” songs (which includes another SZA collaboration, “Gloria”) on Lamar’s latest album, GNX. But for those who thought that Lamar was done trolling Drake as a result of pivoting toward his “sweeter” musical side, it wasn’t lost on anyone that the director tapped to help make the “film” (as it’s billed at the end) is Karena Evans. In other words, the same director who has worked on a slew of Drake videos. Namely, “God’s Plan,” “Nice For What,” “I’m Upset” and “In My Feelings.” Though Lamar might try to shrug off the pointed selection by mentioning that SZA had a previous working relationship with Evans via the “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” video. But, with everyone well-aware of Lamar’s artistic gift when it comes to being thorough with a vendetta, the choice of Evans hardly feels “coincidental.”
Whatever the “true” reason (apart from Evans’ talent), the resulting visuals of “Luther” are hard to forget. If for no other reason than the romance of it all (increasingly rare in a world that prefers to promote images of violence and destruction). And, while some might presume that SZA would be the one to play Lamar’s love interest in the sweeping video, instead, each artist gets their own separate “special someone.” Perhaps this is because Lamar and SZA’s relationship is just too “brother-sister” at this juncture to feign “goo-goo eyes”—after all, they’ve now collaborated on a total of seven songs together: “Babylon,” “Easy Bake,” “Doves in the Wind,” “All the Stars,” “Luther,” “Gloria” and “30 for 30” (eight songs if you include “Untitled 04 | 08.14.2014”).
And so, for Lamar, the love interest is model Annahstasia Enuke; for SZA, it’s model Geron McKinley. And yes, chemistry-wise, there’s a certain Justice (Janet Jackson) and Lucky (Tupac Shakur) vibe going on at times, aiding in the romantic tincture of the video, most of which is filmed at the Westin Bonaventure in Downtown LA (a milieu where Rihanna [a.k.a. another Kendrick collaborator], too, has shown her appreciation for its dramatic backdrops by having a Savage x Fenty show there).
To heighten the dramatic, wistful flair of the song, the video’s scenes alternate between B&W and color. At first, Lamar is in an elevator with Enuke in black and white (along with several other scenes showcasing the hotel), and, soon after, there’s a scene in color of him shooting a gun in front of a GNX (obviously) that’s concealed by a blood-red covering placed over it. As for SZA, her initial scene is shot in color from the get-go as she walks down the hallway (a briefly intercut white title card reading “[with sza]”) of the hotel and toward the room where McKinley will greet her and welcome her inside. Or, more accurately, he stands there gaping at her until she pushes him back into the room that she now joins him in.
Interwoven “vignettes” of the key players as individuals and in couple form continue to parade what amounts to a non-narrative that still tells a story (unlike, say, Cardi B’s “Enough [Miami]” video). Considering the song is named in honor of Luther Vandross (driving home the homage with heavy sampling from his version of “If This World Were Mine” [which was originally a Marvin Gaye song]), it’s only natural to play up his vocals even more in the video than they are in the song. Hence, a moment where Enuke is riding in the elevator alone, descending to a lower floor. Ironically, by playing the song here, Lamar’s intended “lauding” of Vandross comes across as being somewhat “offensive” by turning him into literal elevator music.
Even so, it’s clear that Lamar and SZA have worked diligently to create a love song of a Vandross-level caliber, complete with such earnest (and harmonizing) declarations as, “I can’t lie/I trust you, I love you, I won’t waste your time/I turn it off just so I can turn you on/I’ma make you say it loud/I’m not even trippin’, I won’t stress you out/I might even settle down for you, I’ma show you I’m a pro.” And then there is the bittersweetness of hearing the duo sing, “Better days comin’ for sure” (a phrase not unlike Ariana Grande’s insistence of Brighter Days Ahead). Which, indeed, there might be if more people could love one another, whether as described from a romantic viewpoint in this song, or even “just” a platonic one.
After the series of “slice of life” vignettes showing Kendrick and SZA with their respective cinematic boos, the final images of the couples (back in black and white) are punctuated by Vandross returning to the mic and singing (in that signature soulful voice of his), “If this world were mineI’d give you the flowers, the birds and the bees/And it’d be your love beside me/That would be all I need If this world were mine/I’d give anything.”
As for Lamar, he’d still give anything to stick it to Drake, even in the midst of showing off his “softer side.” Delivering his “subtle” dig at the famed Canadian by way of his director choice. And the donning, yet again, of a Canadian tuxedo during one of the most standout scenes shot in color (the very same ensemble he wore to the Grammys to collect five awards for his ultimate diss against Drake, “Not Like Us”).
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