Kendrick Lamar throws a fantastic wake for someone/something named, ahem, Molly in the new video for “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe.” The good kid, m.A.A.d city highlight was part of what made the Compton MC’s second full-length our favorite rap album of 2012, as it illustrates via narrative detail the effects that alcohol abuse can have on a family.
Booze indeed comes into play in the clip, directed by the Little Homies and OG Mike Mihail, but mostly as a source of levity when actor Mike Epps baptizes Lamar in a pool full of liquor — a reference to “Swimming Pools (Drank).” ScHoolboy Q and Juicy J make cameos, too, as guests at a beautifully stylish funeral that begins in a church and eventually proceeds outdoors.
It’s there, during the extravagant and ultimately celebratory wake, that we see the words: “Death to Molly,” presumably meant as a dis leveled at the powdered form of MDMA (ecstasy) as recently advocated by Rick Ross as a date rape device. Danny Brown, who frequently raps about the drug, walked away with the same impression:
I hope this new KDot video do make people stop fucking wit #Molly
— Danny Brown (@XDannyXBrownX) May 13, 2013
Playing above is the “director’s cut” version of the “Vibe” video, which includes nearly a minute’s worth of music from an unreleased ScHoolboy Q song.
