Kendrick Lamar has released the previously theatre-exclusive short film that accompanies ‘We Cry Together’, his collaborative track with actress Taylour Paige from ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ – making it available to view online nearly two-and-a-half years after it was shot.

The film was directed by Lamar himself alongside Jake Schreier and Dave Free, with Adam Newport-Berra serving as its cinematographer. It sees Lamar and Paige (best known for her starring role in Zola) take the role of a couple deeply immersed in an inflammatory argument, trading callous insults and personal attacks as they strut around their house, eventually losing track of their fight and having make-up sex on a couch.

The song itself notably eschews Lamar’s usual work by being framed solely around spoken-word slam poetry – as Billboard pointed out, those vocals were tracked live-in-camera for the film, which was shot in a single, continuous take on a soundstage.

Have a look at the film in its entirety below:

Originally filmed in March of 2020, We Cry Together screened theatrically in June, with seven showings – one each day between Friday June 3 and Thursday 9 – held at the Laemmle Royal Theater in West LA.

Each screening of the film reportedly took place under the watch of a security detail, and attendees were not permitted to enter the cinema with their phones. As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, most of those who sat in on the screenings were family and friends of the film’s crew, although tickets for each were also made available for around 20 members of the public.

Because it was screened theatrically, the film will be eligible for competition at next year’s Academy Awards, qualifying for nominations in the Best Live Action Short category.

‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’, Lamar’s fifth studio album, was released back in May. It earned a five-star review from NME, wherein Kyann-Sian Williams called it “a cathartic, soul-baring autobiography”. Meanwhile, the album has also received praise from the likes of Lorde, Pharrell Williams, Madonna, producer DJ Dahi, Eminem and Tyler, The Creator.

Last month, Sounwave – a collaborator and producer of Lamar’s – revealed that he and the rapper had begun working on the follow-up to ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’.

In the meantime, Lamar is currently underway with ‘The Big Steppers Tour’, with its North American leg wrapping up in two weeks. It will then head to Europe in October, where Lamar will perform 16 shows in the region, as well as 10 in the UK. Lamar will conclude the year by touring Australia and New Zealand in December. See the full list of dates here. Tickets are available for the American shows here, for Europe and the UK here, and for Australia and New Zealand here.