On November 25, Kendrick Lamar dropped the music video for the single Squabble Up from his latest album, GNX. Midway through the video, the phrase, “Omnia Est Aliquid” appears scrambled across a signboard.
According to Google Translate, “Omnia Est Aliquid” in English means, “Everything is something.” However, fans of Kendrick Lamar began theorizing about the possible hidden meaning.
For instance, Reddit user @roccocobean took to the @r/KendrickLamar community page on the platform and shared a few possible messages denoted by the Latin phrase. The post titled, “Solved: ‘Squabble Up’ Message,” offered the following explanations.
“We now know the first part of the message “Omnia est Aliquid” is Latin for “everything is something. i.e. everything in this video is a clue. The remaining letters unscramble to “ANSWER KEY DT DT” which I’m taking to mean this video is an “Answer Key to Dot’s (release) Date,” it read.
It also states that the phrase refers to the “iconic Soul Train Scramble Board” and gives fans a hint as to when his deluxe album will be released.
Most deduce it as December 12, using other signs, phrases, and messages throughout the music video.
Many people joined the conversation and shared similar theories on the social media platform, X.
“The Latin phrase ‘Omnia est aliquid’ translates to ‘Everything is something’ or ‘Everything is something rather than nothing’ in English. It reflects the philosophical idea that everything in existence has some value, significance, or identity, no matter how small,” a person wrote.
“The scrambled words in the ‘Squabble Up’ MV meaning: in Latin, it says: ‘Omnia est aliquid’ which means ‘Everything means something’ – maybe alluding to all the references & clues in the music video. The board itself might be a nod to the Soul Train scramble board,” one person wrote.
“‘Omnia est aliquid.’ ‘Everything is a liquid.’ Kendrick might drop a 2nd album about how his life is constantly changing and how he’s been adapting…” wrote another.
Others continued to weigh in.
“’Everything is key a steady path forward is the way.’ Telling us to pay more attention to detail maybe,” a fan wrote.
“‘Omnia Est Aliquid’ is ‘Everything is something’ in Latin. The scrambled letters spell out ‘Stand ready, two – K.’ Better credit me for this,” another fan wrote.
“‘Omnia est a liquid,’ everything is fluid or able to change, nothing is permanent,” a netizen wrote.
“I know that ‘Omnia est aliquid’ means anything is something/ everything is something in Latin, but I’m not sure what he’s trying to tell us lol,” wrote another.
So far, neither Kendrick Lamar nor his representative has explained the message he wanted to offer through the Latin phrase.
All you need to know about Kendrick Lamar’s latest MV
On November 22, Kendrick Lamar dropped his sixth studio album GNX through PGLang and Interscope Records. The surprise album featured 12 songs. Three days later, he also released the music video for the album’s second track, Squabble Up, written by Duckworth.
In this MV, Kendrick Lamar is “repping” for his hometown Compton in California. He is seen wearing a blue hoodie and his signature cap dancing to the song, accompanied by backup performers.
Besides the ‘Omnia Est Aliquid’ sign, the music video also features other signs such as a 105 Freeway traffic banner and a “Jesus Saves Gangsters Too” sign. The Calmatic-directed visual also reveals K-Dot sitting down for a second and reading “How to Be More Like Kendrick for Dummies” book.
The Squabble Up music video also showed Kendrick Lamar promoting the upcoming December 14 Compton Christmas Parade and contained imagery inspired by Isaac Hayes’ Black Moses, Menace II Society, Nate Dogg’s G-Funk Classics, Tupac’s All Eyez On Me, and Ice T’s 1988 album, Power.
Squabble Up debuted at number 3 on the Billboard and is expected to top next week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has been co-produced by Soundwave and Jack Antonoff and was previously previewed by Kendrick Lamar over the summer. However, back then, the fans thought the title would be, “Broccoli.”
Edited by Prem Deshpande