The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Kendrick Lamar, and talked his Grammy nomination, his controversial “Control” verse, and his new album he has in the works.
On his next album:
I got ideas, I haven’t really locked in the studio yet. Really challenge myself to do something better. I mean, of course you want to do better than your last. But creatively, I want to be in another space. That’s the challenge, if anything.On “Control”:
It wasn’t pre-meditated, it just came to me when I was writing that bar,” says Lamar. “The crazy part is, I didn’t think it would ever go to where diss records were coming at me. I thought people would be like… he threw some challenges out there… that was dope.Kanye taught me to never to downplay your ideas. I learned to always stay as creative as possible and never have any boundaries. Those things that people called ‘rants’ on-stage are real conversations that we had behind closed doors — about business and how when you get to a certain level people won’t want to see you break through because they only see you as a rapper.
On his Grammy nominations:
I was actually on stage, so I had no idea. Everybody else knew but me. By the time I got off I kinda got the news late. It was a great feeling, everybody was happy, excited. We celebrated in that dressing room.