On Sunday night, a man we thought had tanked his career for good surprised us all with some truly transcendent hip-hop about his love for an almighty being and, uh, no, we aren’t talking about Kanye, since he has yet to drop Jesus Is King. We’re talking about Kendall’s rap for his dad in the latest episode of Succession. It was, as Kendall would put it, “imperial.”
Please, in the name of Roy, stop everything you’re doing and watch:
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Kendall has always reeked of James Murdoch—Rupert’s liberal-ish Cool Son who funded Rawkus Records in the 1990s and helped launch the careers of Mos Def and Talib Kweli—but by taking up the mic himself, Kendall has finally transcended his real-life counterpart. The bowtie! The fresh DJ Squiggle beat! The custom pinstripe jersey embroidered with his father’s name! Everything, from the first line when the horrified crowd realizes what he is doing to the final mic drop, is perfect. Even Cousin Greg starts to shake it at one point.
Here are the lyrics, in case you haven’t memorized them already by listening to the song on repeat each consecutive hour since the episode aired:
Born on the North Bank, king of the East Side
50 years strong, now he’s rolling in a sick ride
Handmade suits, raking in loot
Five-star general, y’all best salute
L to the OG
Dude be the OG
A-N he playing
Playing like a pro, see
A-1 ratings, 80K wine
Never going to stop baby, fuck Father Time
Bro, don’t get it twisted, I’ve been through hell
But since I stan Dad, I’m alive and well
Shaper of views, creator of news
Father of many, paid all his dues
So don’t try to run your mouth at the king
Pucker up bitch and go kiss the ring
L to the OG
Dude be the OG
A-N he playing
Playing like a pro, see
This is it, everybody. This is officially the song of the year. All apologies to Lil Nas X and whatever, but come on. What says “2019” like a sycophantic man-child cloyingly trying to please his father while his family gets rich off the spoils of a right-wing propaganda machine and tries to buy the silence of a whistleblower? Plus, Kendall has bars. Very, very, very awkward bars. All hail Ken-W-A.
