In about a fortnight, many within the Black community and beyond will celebrate this year’s Juneteenth holiday, which, in 1865, marked the day that tens of thousands of African-Americans in Texas had been emancipated — more than two years after then-President Lincoln declaring this during the Emancipation Proclamation. This past weekend, Apple Music decided to honor that moment in history by releasing a compilation titled Juneteeth: Freedom Songs, a 20-track offering that sees contributions from Kirk Franklin, Tobe Nwigwe, Terrace Martin, D Smoke, H.E.R., Chloe x Halle, Black Thought, and more.
Added to that release is a new visual for the project’s standout “Back In Traffic,” a song by Hit-Boy that features additional production from Audio Anthem and sees the Cali talent rapping about his well-deserved success and the struggles that came before it:
“Roll the pack, push the McLaren through Ocean Ave, mint color millionaires, gon’ take out the soldier rags, shit been off a big load, pinky and my wrist froze, then thought it was Kenpo, my dawg pull in, kick doors, met a plug from Maryland, air ‘em out, I’m arrogant, clear stones, rare shit, back in traffic yet again…”
In addition to a hook assist from KIRBY, Hit-Boy also revealed that the chorus was written by none other than Kendrick Lamar, an individual who fans haven’t heard much from on wax since his appearances on 2 Chainz’s “Momma I Hit A Lick” and SiR’s “Hair Down” in 2019:
“Lyrics/melody written by Kendrick Lamar. Brought to life by @singkirbysing … can’t thank y’all Enough.”
“Back In Traffic” also comes with a matching visual, which comes courtesy of Axel Kabundji and shows Hit-Boy performing the track while joyriding in an old-school BMW and loitering around in the middle of a motel parking lot.
Viewers can enjoy “Back In Traffic” in full here.