A star-studded collaboration. In his first single as the main credited artist since 2015, Jay Rock links up with Future, James Blake and Black Hippy partner and label mate, Kendrick Lamar.
The track first appeared on the official soundtrack for Marvel’s Black Panther making it the third single released for the album featuring Kendrick Lamar, following “All The Stars” with label-mate SZA but preceding “Pray for me” with The Weeknd.
However the track is also the first single from Jay Rock’s album Redemption, the follow-up effort to his 2015 project 90059. The version that appears on Redemption however, omits the second half of the song.
Both Kendrick and Jay Rock would perform this song on each respective artist’s set at the TDE Championship Tour, while Jay Rock would appear during Kendrick’s set. Both performances did not contain the second half of the song.
The title refers to events in Black Panther, specifically to the supposed death of King T'Challa at the hands of the main antagonist, Killmonger. Kendrick makes direct reference to Killmonger, even rapping from his perspective and declaring himself king; an act Killmonger achieves following his fight with T'Challa. However the title might also refer to the actual death of King T'Chaka of Wakanda in the previous Captain America: Civil War.
Incidentally, the title of this song is a reference to the phrase “The king is dead, long live the king!,” which typically is used to mark the death of a previous king and celebrate the reign of the new one.
There are musical connections to the film in the song as well. The chanting heard at the end, for instance, can be heard throughout the movie. It is heard during the casino fight scene and again during the tribal battle at the end.