The stage is set for Kendrick Lamar to dominate the Grammy Awards in a way few hip hop artist have been able to. His 11 nominations are the most for a hip hop artist in a single year, and publications like Billboard have taken note. He appears on this month’s cover of Billboard magazine.
In the cover article, Kendrick Lamar explains why he wasn’t too upset by losing to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ The Heist in 2014. He says, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is great work, but it’s not my best work. To Pimp a Butterfly is great. I’m talking about the connection the record made. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City made a connection. But To Pimp a Butterfly made a bigger connection.”
He’s also acutely aware of his place in history, as only two other hip hop artists have ever won Album of the Year – Outkast and Lauryn Hill. And he's not holding back his aims this year, declaring, "I want to win them all."
The Compton rapper also calls out some of his favorite peers in the hip hop community, naming, Chance the Rapper, Joey Bada$$ and Isaiah Rashad. It’s no mistake these are all particularly young emcees, saying, “these individuals, they show that we do have some sense. Our generation just needs the proper people to tell us about our problems, about our wrongs and our rights.”
Kendrick even speaks on his White House visit, one which he has avoided addressing in the past. “No matter how high the pedestal you reach, we all still like a beat,” Lamar explains about meeting someone so powerful. “Even the president has got to hear that snare drum”
The whole thing is definitely worth reading.
