Kendrick Lamar raps about a “psychedelic fuse” and “infinity pools” on “Hair Down,” a new track by his Top Dawg labelmate, R&B singer SiR. “Baby, I’m just trying to let my hair down,” sings SiR against a light trap beat and echoey, surfy guitars. Midway through, he raps a short bridge until Lamar steps in with his verses with a list of anxieties and how he tackles them before SiR sings the chorus again.
“[Lamar] did exactly what he’s supposed to do, man,” SiR said in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “The song is about being confident in yourself, and he’s living his life and he definitely let it be known in that verse.”
SiR went on to say that he was a huge fan of Lamar’s so it was an honor for him to get to collaborate with the rapper. “You should’ve seen me in a session when he was recording his verse, I’m sitting there like a kid,” he said. “I was just trying to soak it all in, man. … I’ve had to adjust and get used to the thought that I’m supposed to be here. You know what I mean? So it’s a blessing and it’s definitely a lot to take in, but at the end of the day I think we got it done man, and I can’t wait to share more music and keep going.”
In 2018, SiR put out his debut studio album November; “Hair Down” is earmarked for the singer’s next LP. “This time around I didn’t hold any bars, I kind of went for, you know what I mean, what I knew and it felt great,” SiR told Lowe of his upcoming album. “I kind of set my own personal, you know what I mean, like to the side and kind of just was writing songs and stuff like that, but this album is very personal, you know what I mean. And I hope it connects like November did.”
“Hair Down” also marks Lamar’s second cameo in as many months; in July, the rapper contributed to “Nile” on the Beyonce-curated The Lion King: The Gift.