Kendrick Lamar’s 2024–2026 feature run is a reminder that “versatility” is more than just rapping on different beats.
In order:
▫️Future & Metro Boomin — “Like That” (2024) Pure attack mode. Walked onto a trap record, detonated the entire conversation and changed the direction of rap for the year.
▫️SZA — “30 For 30” (2024) Completely different pocket. Conversational, playful, melodic and perfectly comfortable inside SZA’s world.
▫️Playboi Carti — “MOJO JOJO” (2025) Barely even a traditional feature. Kendrick is essentially there for the ad-libs and texture.
▫️Playboi Carti ft. Jhené Aiko — “BACKD00R” (2025) Now he’s singing. No attempt to turn it into a “Kendrick song” — he melts into Carti and Jhené’s record.
▫️Playboi Carti — “GOOD CREDIT” (2025) Back to rapping, but completely inside Carti’s universe: strange cadences, voices, pockets and energy.
▫️Clipse — “Chains & Whips” (2025) An entirely different animal. Elite penmanship, layered writing and that ridiculous extended “gen” scheme. Just Kendrick reminding everybody what happens when you ask him to RAP rap.
▫️Baby Keem — “Good Flirts” (2026) Loose, funny, flirtatious and melodic. Kendrick having fun instead of trying to outrap the room.
▫️Baby Keem — “House Money” (2026) Another switch. Melodic hook work and vocal texture rather than some giant “look at me” guest verse.
▫️Dahi ft. Amber Mark — “How To Pray” (2026) Alternative/R&B Kendrick. Reserved, vulnerable, singing and harmonizing instead of chasing bars.
And now…
▫️Jhené Aiko — “So Good” — 9/11 ▫️AZ Chike — new collaboration — 9/18
That’s the part of Kendrick’s artistry people sometimes undersell. One record he’s putting together elite rhyme schemes. The next he’s adapting completely to another artist’s world and leaving Earth in THEIR style. Then he’ll sing, harmonize, give you a hook, play with his voice or show up for nothing more than a few perfectly placed ad-libs. He doesn’t need every feature to prove the same thing. The range IS the flex.
Jhené Aiko x Kendrick Lamar previous collabs:
▫️Growing Apart (To Get Closer) (2010)
▫️Stay Ready (What a Life) (2013)
▫️BACKD00R by Playboi Carti (2025)
We’re in for something special 👀