“All characters in this visual are entirely fictional. The events that occur are purely symbolic and should not be taken literal,” reads the title card for Kendrick Lamar’s “Poetic Justice” video. So: No one actually died, and Drake does not actually use an old-school cordless phone IRL. Don’t read into things. (One more note: Kendrick tried his best to get Janet Jackson as a co-star — the song samples her “Any Time, Any Place” — but no dice. The video is still pretty, though.)
