July 23, 2024
Anthony Behar/Sipa USA
Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan says he and Kendrick Lamar 'lightly' know one another. The rapper made direct nods to Shyamalan's movie 'The Sixth Sense' in two of his recent songs.
Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has had a busy year with the release of his movies "The Watchers" and "Trap," but one thing he didn't expect was a couple of references to his most praised film from rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Appearing on the show "Way Up With Angela Yee," Shyamalan addressed the references to his 1999 film "The Sixth Sense" in Lamar's tracks "Euphoria" and "Not Like Us," which dropped in April and May, respectively.
Both of Lamar's songs were "diss tracks" aimed at Drake as part of a highly publicized feud between the rappers.
In "Euphoria," Kendrick raps: "Am I battlin' ghost or AI? / N— feelin' like Joel Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called A.I. / And my sixth sense tellin' me to off him," namedropping Shyamalan's film and making a dual reference to "The Sixth Sense" actor Haley Joel Osment (who also starred in "A.I.") and televangelist Joel Osteen.
A more direct reference to "The Sixth Sense" – the movie's iconic phrase "I see dead people" – begins "Not Like Us."
Shyamalan acknowledged Lamar's allusions to Yee, who asked Shyamalan if he knew Lamar was a fan of his work. "We kind of lightly know each other, and I did know (that he was a fan)," Shyamalan said. "He was very gracious with me, and I love him."
The Philly-area filmmaker clarified that he was not given notice of the references and that someone at his office pointed them out. Shyamalan was on the show with his daughter Saleka, who appears in "Trap" as the fictional pop star Lady Raven.
Yee joked that Saleka won't be able to work with Drake after Lamar's songs. Shyamalan replied, "We love everybody." "Trap," which Shyamalan pitched as "The Silence of the Lambs" at a Taylor Swift concert, releases in theaters on Aug. 2. His movie "The Watchers" came out in June.
