Kendrick Lamar celebrated his 35th birthday Friday morning by teaming up with Spotify for a gorgeously shot mini-documentary, which follows the Compton rapper around for a day in Ghana’s capital city, Accra.
“I couldn’t even tell you what day it is,” Kendrick says in the beginning of the video, revealing it’s his first time in the country. “I’m just being in the moment.”
In the short clip, which is soundtracked by passages of “Crown” and “We Cry Together”—both off his latest album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers—K-Dot kicks back with the locals, plays soccer and foosball, discusses the crucial challenge of therapy, and relishes in getting “away from shit for a minute” amid his much-publicized record. When asked by Carl Chery, Spotify’s Head of Urban Music and Creative Director, if Mr. Morale is his most personal record, Kendrick says it’s his “most present.”
Kendrick and company also spend time in the skate park launched in December by Off-White, Daily Paper, and Surf Ghana. The first-of-its-kind space honors the late Virgil Abloh, who a year before the opening was announced as one of the minds behind the vision. When asked what he’s been chatting with the local kids about, Kendrick mentions Abloh.
“Virgil,” Lamar says at the 1:18 mark above. “What he means to them, you know, as far as letting them have this creative space for them to enjoy themselves. That’s special.”
Back in December, Daily Paper co-founder Jefferson Osei spoke about his intent to make the park a creative hub for the youth of Ghana. “With this initiative we hope to evolve the skate culture in Ghana to the next level and give locals a platform to grow their talents within a space that will hopefully become their biggest training ground to date,” Jefferson said in a statement. “More than board sports, the park will be a creative hub for young Ghanaians to come together, exchange ideas, inspire each other, and build their futures through recreational activities. They now have a place where they can be themselves, freely develop their skills together with likeminded people, and reach their true potential. Hence the name, Freedom Skate Park.”
Watch Kendrick spend a day in Ghana in the video up top.
