Many saw Kendrick Lamar's "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" remix as quite an event, but none as much as the rapper himself. Jay-Z lending a verse to Kendrick not only left the rapper with a sense of accomplishement, but also a pressure to bring his A-game to the track.
K-Dot spoke of his initial reaction to the feature. "It was one of them feelings where, you know, you finally reached that moment to where you're actually respected," he said. "Jay-Z don't have to [be on] nobody's track, so for him to actually hop on a record of mine just shows the level of respect he has for me as an artist. And as a true artist, that's what you want. You have all the money in the world and the awards, and accolades and stuff, you always want that respect. For him to do that, it's just one of them things. I felt like, 'OK, I finally accomplished what I sought out to do the moment I turned 13, and that's be respected by people I respect."
The Compton rapper then explained that after the initial euphoria he experienced, he realized he would have to step up his game for this big moment. "I felt like I had to try to at least come some type of correct because that was my moment," he said. "All them years of rapping and writing raps didn't mean nothing if I couldn't live up to that moment."
While working with Jay was always a dream of Kendrick's, there are still some other artists he's looking to get in the studio with. "An artist that I want to work with now, I would say it's Erykah Badu," he revealed, adding, "Sade. I haven't got a record with Snoop yet. That's kind of crazy. I really want to lock in with Snoop."
Watch the full interview below.
