Was it written? Probably.
But that doesn't mean Kendrick Lamar didn't spit hot fire on Power 106 this week. In the studio to talk about his new single, 'i,' King Kendrick unleashed a quick story over — as they say in school — a lunch-table beat.
Watch K-Dot flash his skills (via World Star):
Every rap head has been waiting on pins and needles for Kendrick to drop the follow-up to 2012's good kid m.A.A.d city, and we finally got the first taste this week when K dropped 'i.'
"I think music is universal," Lamar told Power 106 in the same session as his freestyle. "It's an expression. No matter how it comes across, as long as it always remains you, that's how they're gonna respect it and they're gonna have a connection with it."
The Compton rapper also said he received Ronald Isley's blessing to sample The Isley Brothers' "That Lady" on "i."
"I got a chance to meet him and even got him on the ad libs for the record," he said. "You can hear him."
This month also marks the one-year anniversary of Kendrick's "Control" verse. Big Boy asked K-Dot if he thought that song — which called out several rappers, including J. Cole and Drake — would make such an impact.
"I didn't know until after you see the 'hooray' and 'hoorah' about it," Lamar said. "The fact that hip-hop hasn't been shaken up in a long time. You know when I went in and did the verse, I thought I was just having fun. These cats, you know, I was just having fun.
"But I see how the world took it and flipped the media. I realized, OK, it has been 10, 15 years before there's been some type of shaking up in the game."
The Compton rapper reiterated that verse was not a hate track.
"It's all love from the moment I did the verse until after the verse," he said. "I think hip-hop is a sport, so you're gonna have these little spits and spats, and it's all good because personally I respect these dudes as people, you know what I mean? So outside of that, it's really nothing.
"I think what the media tries to do is insane because they take these black young brothers and really try to clash and make 'em bump heads. That's not right."
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.