At the end of September, Rapsody - born Marlanna Evans - released her second studio album Laila's Wisdom that has landed her a nomination at this year's Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album, being the only woman to receive a nod in the category.
Her album release was the biggest move of her mostly quiet 2017 aside from a few #JamRocFriday releases such as "O.L.M.S." and "The Point" featuring Hiatus Kaiyote. In her most recent interview to talk about her success up until now, the 34-year-old humbly chats with legendary Larry King, starting things off on the topic of Kendrick Lamar and what makes him such a special artist.
"After I worked with Kendrick on To Pimp A Butterfly, it put me on a platform where he introduced me to a lot of people that necessarily weren't paying attention," she says. Now that they are both nominated for one of the same Grammy Awards, she says it feels good to compete in a healthy way.
When Larry asks the "Power" rapper what makes Kendrick special, she replies: "The honesty in his music, he has no fear and he's himself. He doesn't chase anything, but what he sees in the mirror, I think that's what makes him special."
Rapsody explains how they met back in 2011 as Kendrick was a fan of her producer 9th Wonder, and they were a fan of each other.
Watch the full clip below along with other snippets where she talks about hip-hop in the Donald Trump era and being the only woman nominated for a Best Rap Album.
