Although he has heard several responses to his verse on Big Sean’s “Control,” Kendrick Lamar says that he hopes listeners understand the meaning behind his lyrics on the selection.
“I think [rappers] just took it as a challenge,” Lamar said during an interview with Arsenio Hall. “But you know the whole point of the thing is not just the challenge for the moment, challenge for the whole extension of this Hip Hop culture. Not just off the hype, but what we going to do after, what we going to do to challenge ourselves, how we’re going to make better records, how we’re going to push forward and innovate the next generation coming up rather than just sticking in the moment of the verse. That was the whole point of the joint and I hope everybody really gets the idea behind it.
According to K. Dot, the verse was just another example of something that he’s been doing since he was younger.
“Yeah, it’s just Rap,” Kendrick said. “[It’s] something I love to do, something I’ve been practicing since I was 13 years old. It’s a reflection, not only in the verse but in my album, and what I’ve been putting down with TDE for years. It’s just Rap [and] having fun…It’s really just about having fun and finding new ways to challenge yourself and express yourself on records. Shout out to Big Sean for putting some crazy bars on that as well, and Jay Electronica. It’s the culture. It’s Hip Hop.”
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During the interview, Kendrick Lamar, who has said that King Los had the best “Control” response, also said that he has not been offended by any of the diss records that have come since “Control” was leaked. Lamar added that he has “no wounds” from the aftermath of the record.
Beyond speaking about “Control,” Kendrick also recalled seeing Dr. Dre and Tupac when he was younger. According to Lamar, his father took him to a swapmeet where the video for “California Love” was being filmed.
“‘California Love’ video,” Lamar said. “Dr. Dre and Tupac. It was at the Compton Swap Meet. My father seen them. I’m two minutes [away] at the house down the block. He came and grabbed me. It was pandemonium. He put me on his shoulders. I’m watching ‘Pac and Dre right there, just conversing with all the beautiful people out in Compton. Fifteen years later or so, I get in the studio with Dre. I bring up that same situation. He says he remember that. Everything. He remember all the little kids out there. I said, ‘Dre, I was one of them kids that was looking at you.'”
More of Lamar’s interview with Arsenio Hall can be viewed below.
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