Kendrick Lamar released one of the most anticipated records of the year last week with “i”, and ever since then, his sophomore album is all we can think & talk about. With every little detail being reported, we now have some more insight to the upcoming project thanks to “i” producer Rahki.
In a new interview with MTV News, Rahki talks about the record "i", and how the two linked up. He says he first started sending K. Dot beats for the new project right after good kid m.A.A.d. city dropped and once K. Dot came off tour this summer, the two got right back in the studio together and got to work. Mind you, Rahki already had a previous relationship with K. Dot as he produced the gkmc bonus cut "Black Boy Fly".
“We started really building. We got in. We talked about life. I was just with him like every day all summer. He told me the idea of what he was looking for for the album, and so we just started building ideas that way. So everything we did for "i" was built solely based off of us [conversing]. I didn’t have those records or that beat done beforehand.”
Rahki acknowledges that it was actually Kendrick’s idea to use “Who’s That Lady?”, which actually isn’t sampled on the song, but is in fact replayed by live musicians.
“We wanted it to sound exactly like the record,” adding that Kendrick flew Rahki’s musicians of choice in from out of state to create the sound he was looking for. “The musicians that I chose to play on this record, I felt like they would be able to knock it down and give it that feel that Kendrick wanted, and they did an exceptional job…Everything you’re hearing is a replay; nothing is sampled to the actual master.”
Rahki later explains that he’s worked with Kendrick on more records than just “i”, and that he has high praise for the music that’s being created. He says,
“What Kendrick is doing, and what he’s about to do — he’s an artist, he has a vision in mind. There’s nothing like that record on radio right now. He’s a genius. What he’s doing is really gonna change up a lot. The album is incredible.”
