Kendrick Lamar - Somebody That I - Used To Know -...

For the uninitiated, a frantic search yields confusion. You find the Gotye track featuring Kimbra—the 2011 indie pop anthem about a bitter, dissolved relationship. You find the three-part rap epic Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst from Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city , which famously samples the phrase. But you do not find a studio recording of Kendrick Lamar rapping over the xylophone plucks of Gotye’s hit.

Listen closely. You can still hear him knocking. Kendrick Lamar - Somebody That I Used To Know -...

And in that sense, every single Kendrick Lamar song is a remix of "Somebody That I Used to Know." Because the only person he has truly, violently, and irrevocably cut off... is the person he used to be. For the uninitiated, a frantic search yields confusion

That song features a hook sung from the perspective of a ghost—a friend of Kendrick's who was shot and killed. The lyrics float in a reverb-drenched ether: "I wonder if I was a better person, would you be at my funeral? / I wonder if I was a better person, would you be at my funeral?" Then, Kendrick adopts the voice of the deceased’s brother, who vows revenge, only to be killed himself. Finally, Kendrick raps about "Keisha’s Song"—a prostitute he knows. But you do not find a studio recording

The track doesn't exist because two record labels couldn't clear the sample. But emotionally? It exists every time Kendrick Lamar turns a mirror on his audience and asks, "Do you love me? Are you playing a role? Or are you just somebody that I used to know?" So, the next time you open Spotify or YouTube Music and type in "Kendrick Lamar - Somebody That I Used to Know," you will likely find nothing official. You will be met with silence, a few reaction videos, and a fan-edit that sounds like it was recorded in a drainpipe.

But do not be disappointed. The absence of the track is the point.