Kendrick Lamar sat down with unlikely interviewer--Erykah Badu, for a chat and opened up about his career success and influences in a feature for Interview magazine.
Kendrick shared his recording process: "I'm very intricate about that stuff when I go into the studio—it has to sound the way I heard it in my head. So that's probably one of the biggest things that separates me when I'm working in the studio—just how I hear certain things"
The good kid, m.A.A.d. city rapper admitted that he looked up to Jay-Z and Eminem, but felt that he would probably never reach their level of excellence. "Jay for sure—just off the simple fact of his longevity. That, to me, is probably one-in-a-million for rappers. A good career for a rapper is five or six years, so I think Jay still being relevant and having the skills he has—it's really unmatched," said Kendrick.
The interview also touched upon personal stuff and Erykah openly asked K. Dot if he indulged in groupies. "I try not to. [laughs] I'm too scared. Anybody who knows me knows that I'm probably the most scared person when it comes to that because I'm so caught up in the act of sex, of something going crazy, going out of my control. I'm too paranoid," said Kendrick.
He further explained why he passes on the temptation, "I've got to because I've seen a situation where it got totally out of hand, where something seemed so innocent, and now this person has got allegations on them. It spooked me. This was before my career really started, though—before any "Kendrick Lamar." And that right there? It changed my whole perception about certain things. I'll always keep that in the back of my head."
