Of all the albums that have yet to drop, Kendrick Lamar's upcoming follow-up to 2017's DAMN. has to be one of the most anticipated. And though news surrounding the project has been scarce -- save for an off-hand comment indicating that Kenny was experimenting with a "rock-influenced" sound -- Reason recently teased that TDE would be coming out swinging in 2020. " To give some foreshadowing to it, I feel like the Warriors are going to be the best team in the league next year, and I feel the same way about us," declared the New Beginnings emcee.
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While concrete news surrounding Kenny's next album has yet to be released, perhaps a rollout is about to kick off as the year winds to a close. Today, it has been confirmed that both Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem would be the focus of the upcoming i-D magazine's 40th-anniversary cover story. Featuring a music-centric conversation between K. Dot and his young protege, the legendary rapper takes a moment to briefly reflect on what fans can expect from his new project. "I spend the whole year just thinking about how I’m gonna execute a new sound, I can’t do the same thing over and over," he muses. "I need something to get me excited."
He also reflects on the pressures of following up Good Kid, mAAd City, an album many fans still deem to be his finest body of work. "I remember the sophomore jinx of Good Kid M.A.A.D City; it was for that year and for that time," says Kendrick. "I was in a different space in my life. I already knew off the top I can’t make Good Kid M.A.A.D City Part Two. The second I’m making that, it’s corny bro. That takes the feeling away from the first. I need that muhfucka to live in its own world. Then boom, To Pimp A Butterfly. Some people love it to death, some people hate it."
For more from Kendrick and Baby Keem, be sure to check out the full interview right here. Are you excited to see the new sound Kendrick has been sitting on?
