The internet was a mistake: Here’s Kendrick Lamar rapping over the Backstreet Boys

We’re two weeks into the post-Damn era, and it is the gift that keeps giving. The only single may be “Humble,” but it’s hard not to hear every track rumbling from cars, popping up on the radio, their various bars or references emerging in conversations. The early-album track “Element” features a bunch of memorable moments—an early instance of Kid Capri yelling “Kung Fu Kenny,” the drop when Lamar says, “do it for Compton,” the whole damn hook proclaiming Kenny’s ability to make it look sexy, which is something to which we can all, each in our own way, aspire.

Even the Backstreet Boys? Sure, why not.

Look: This is a crime against god, eradicating the powerful way Lamar’s words fused in the original with James Blake’s beat. Sure, it all syncs up well enough, but this is not one of those mashups where we all marvel over how well it all works. This is one where we cower in terror before it.

Here’s a whole version, in case you hate yourself.

[via Digg]