Kendrick Lamar has been on the press circuit following the release of his latest single "i." In a new interview with Carson Daly (via Radio.com), the 27-year-old Compton rapper dishes on what he's learned since the release of his critically acclaimed good kid, m.A.A.d city in 2012, the story behind the "i" cover art, how he got the Isley Brothers to let him sample their track "That Lady," and his writing process on his highly anticipated upcoming yet-to-be-titled album, which Lamar expects to release by the end of 2014.
On the impact he has on his fans:
"When I first started doing music, I did a lot for myself, just for my enjoyment, but then I started doing these shows and I start seeing these kids saying my song saved their lives [because] they were going to commit suicide. It got a little bit deeper than me, you know? It got a little bit deeper than just going with a simple contemporary hit record cliché sound and I said I'm going to use my pedestal and speak about something much more and do it my way because I'd rather go out like that."
On the story behind the "i," cover art, which features two hands making hearts:
"Where I'm from, there's a lot of gang culture and things like that, so instead of throwing on up gang signs, which we used to, I put a Blood and I put a Crip together and we're throwing up hearts. Sparking the idea of some type of change through music or through me because I go back to the city now and people give me the honor and respect that, you know, this kid can change a little bit something different that's been going on in the community."
On obtaining his Isley Brothers "That Lady" sample:
"I was raised off the Isley Brothers. I actually had to go to St. Louis and get the blessing from Mr. Ronald Isley himself. He gave me his blessings and you can hear him on a few ad libs in the record."
On his writing process for the new album:
"When I go into creating an album or any type of song, I usually cut off everything from the radio because you can easily be influenced from songs that you like, songs that you may not like. So I said, 'I'm gonna go in the studio and I'm going to do what I feel organically without being confined to industry standards or what people assume that I should do' because at the end of the day, man, I'm an artist and I would hate to be stagnant."
In case you haven't checked out his latest track, listen to "i" below, and let us know what you think in the comments section!
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