Kendrick Lamar releases 'Squabble Up' music video, announces Compton Christmas parade

Compton native Kendrick Lamar is showing love to the West Coast in the music video for his new song, "Squabble Up."

The single is off of his new album "GNX," which he released by surprise on Friday.

Fans may recognize the song from the beginning of the music video "Not Like Us," as Lamar featured a snippet of the soon-to-be-released track.

On Monday morning, Kung Fu Kenny dropped another surprise for his fans: a music video for the song.

Filmmaker Calmatic directed the nearly three-minute video, which highlights elements unique to California.

The video shows Lamar sporting a blue hoodie and Dodger baseball hat in an empty room as a woman dances to his right and a person behind him posts a sign to L.A.'s 105 freeway showing Central Avenue, Wilmington Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard.

Compton street gangs are represented as Crip Walks, aka C, walks, around Lamar, and three men are holding up red bananas.

In another scene, the rapper is seated as African-American flags are raised as two men ride scraper bikes, paying homage to the bike riding culture made famous in Oakland, California. Alongside them are dancers "going dumb," a dance trend from the San Francisco Bay Area's hyphy movement, which was highly popular in the early 2000s. The camera zooms into Lamar reading a book titled "How to be Kendrick for Dummies."

The scene changes, and hip-hop historians will note that a scantily clad woman wearing a skimpy white bodysuit holding a shotgun is the rapper giving a shoutout to Ice-T's 1988 album "Power." The album went on to become certified platinum in 2006 and solidified Ice-T as a significant voice in West Coast hip-hop.

A man and woman are then seen around a scramble board, made popular on the '70s dance show "Soul Train," where host Don Cornelius would give contestants 60 seconds to figure out the name of a notable Black figure.

From there, a group of women are seen taking a photo in front of an airbrushed background, a trend popular with teens and young adults in the late '90s and early '00s.

Los Angeles Latinos are represented in the video's party, showing a group sporting flannels, sunglasses, pulled-up white socks, Ben Davis shirts and Nike Cortez sneakers. A large Nate Dogg CD then hangs in the middle of the room from a beautiful chandelier honoring the famous West Coast singer and rapper who passed away in 2011.

A young boy is seen on a tricycle, paying tribute to the famous film "Menace II Society," as Lamar is crouched down in front of over a dozen candles mourning someone who has passed away.

The scene shifts to three women dancing in front of a Buick Regal GNX, which is what Lamar named his latest album after. The vehicle bounces off hydraulics as the party continues. The vehicle is special to Lamar because his father drove him home from the hospital in a GNX, he told Complex in 2012.

Towards the end of the video, a man dressed as soul singer Isaac Hayes from his "Black Moses" stands in the room as a poster rolls out reading "Compton Christmas Parade."

While it's not known if Lamar will appear at the parade, it will be taking place on Dec.14 on Compton Boulevard and Bullis Road from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The new music and video have fans of the "m.A.A.d city" rapper ready for his big Super Bowl halftime performance next year. This will be the second time he's performed during the big game. His first time was in 2022 as a part of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's performance alongside Mary J. Blige, Eminem and 50 Cent.

Super Bowl LIX takes place on Feb. 9, 2025.