--- title: Kendrick Lamar DNA Music Video: Don Cheadle Lip Syncs description: Kendrick Lamar's latest music video features acclaimed actor Don Cheadle lip syncing the lyrics to Lamar's song, 'DNA.' canonical: https://time.com/4745314/don-cheadle-kendrick-lamar-music-video-dna/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-18T21:22:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:42:55.780Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Don Cheadle Stars in Kendrick Lamar's Music Video for 'DNA' og:description: The actor lip syncs Lamar's song og:url: https://time.com/4745314/don-cheadle-kendrick-lamar-music-video-dna/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fec5d5a951e959f/6988c3732dce017a939ed1a0/kendrick-lamar-dna-music-video.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-ENTERTAINMENT-MUSIC-FESTIVAL-COACHELLA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Don Cheadle Stars in Kendrick Lamar's Music Video for 'DNA' twitter:description: The actor lip syncs Lamar's song twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fec5d5a951e959f/6988c3732dce017a939ed1a0/kendrick-lamar-dna-music-video.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Don Cheadle Lip Sync Kendrick Lamar's 'DNA' in the Rapper's Latest Music Video  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Apr 18, 2017 9:22 PM CUT  Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs at the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on April 16, 2017, in Indio, California. / AFP PHOTO / VALERIE MACON (Photo credit should read VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images) Rapper Kendrick Lamar performs at the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on April 16, 2017, in Indio, California. / AFP PHOTO / VALERIE MACON (Photo credit should read VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)VALERIE MACON—AFP/Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Apr 18, 2017 9:22 PM CUT As if [headlining Coachella this Sunday](http://time.com/4741238/kendrick-lamar-damn-review/ "undefined") wasn’t show-stopping enough, Kendrick Lamar dropped an electrifying new music video for “DNA,” a track off his latest studio album, [_DAMN._](http://time.com/4739698/kendrick-lamar-damn-listen/ "undefined")_,_ on Tuesday. Directed by Nabil Elderkin and the Little Homies, the music video opens with actor [Don Cheadle](http://time.com/4143871/climate-change-conference-don-cheadle/ "undefined") interrogating Kendrick, who’s handcuffed to a table, dressed as his alter ego, Kung Fu Kenny. Cheadle then powers up a lie detector test that malfunctions in tandem with an audio [clip of a Fox News segment](https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-dna-lyrics "undefined") criticizing [Lamar’s lyrics about police brutality](http://time.com/3747392/kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly-review/ "undefined"). The lie detector’s breakdown electrocutes Cheadle, who then perfectly raps the lyrics of “DNA” back to Kendrick and instigates a mini rap battle before unlocking the rapper’s handcuffs. Once Kendrick is free, he meets up with his friends (including fellow TDE rapper ScHoolboy Q), and they play dice in the street and watch a group of beautiful women go for a joyride in the neighborhood. Watch the full video below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4745314/don-cheadle-kendrick-lamar-music-video-dna/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4745314/don-cheadle-kendrick-lamar-music-video-dna/"},"headline":"Watch Don Cheadle Lip Sync Kendrick Lamar's 'DNA' in the Rapper's Latest Music Video","datePublished":"2017-04-18T21:22:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:42:55.780Z","description":"Kendrick Lamar's latest music video features acclaimed actor Don Cheadle lip syncing the lyrics to Lamar's song, 'DNA.'","url":"https://time.com/4745314/don-cheadle-kendrick-lamar-music-video-dna/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Music","Kendrick Lamar","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fec5d5a951e959f/6988c3732dce017a939ed1a0/kendrick-lamar-dna-music-video.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7fec5d5a951e959f/6988c3732dce017a939ed1a0/kendrick-lamar-dna-music-video.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-ENTERTAINMENT-MUSIC-FESTIVAL-COACHELLA","caption":"US-ENTERTAINMENT-MUSIC-FESTIVAL-COACHELLA","creditText":"VALERIE MACON—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4745314/don-cheadle-kendrick-lamar-music-video-dna/","name":"Watch Don Cheadle Lip Sync Kendrick Lamar's 'DNA' in the Rapper's Latest Music Video"}}]}] ```