Since Kendrick Lamar went empty-handed at the Grammys, the rapper has been making the rounds. From being apologized to by pop/rap artist Macklemore , to his two performances with Imagine Dragons, it seems as though Kendrick is continuing his excellent 2013 into the new year. Although he didn’t win the coveted awards for his category at the Grammys Lamar, his performance at the Grammys has garnered the rapper major exposure for his 2012 album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City .
Recently Lamar sat down with AllHipHop News for an interview, and the topics ranged from Tupac to dream collaborations. Now that Lamar is known in the mainstream realm for attacking the Imagine Dragons song “Radioactive” hence proving that he could slay on any Top 40 act’s song, the sky is the limit as far as collaborations go. Even though he must have every Top 40 artist knocking on his door, Lamar said he would enjoy working with soul artist Erykah Badu.
“I’m really tight on collaborations, I always say Erykah Badu, that’s it for now, that’s always in the back of my mind.”
There’s a common bond that most hip hop artists share, and that’s meeting the top guy in the hip hop world. Dr. Dre the N.W.A. rapper and wildly successful producer is arguably the best in the business — after all, he mentored Eminem who was once known as the best MC alive. For Kendrick, meeting Dr. Dre was an experience the 26-year-old will never forget.
“I was very excited, I wasn’t nervous at all. I was more excited, ’cause I knew that this was my shot, everything that I’ve worked for, everything I’ve built up to came down to that moment.”
Another exciting name in the hip hop world that’s been coming up in the past few years is actor turned artist Drake. After coming off of a successful hosting gig on SNL , it seems like there’s nothing that Drake can’t conquer. Add in the fact that he has collaborated with everyone from Justin Timberlake to Jay Z and it looks like the California native Lamar has met his equal in the Canadian artist.
Of his work with Drake, Kendrick Lamar noted:
“I went on his Club Paradise tour and we really built a bond, a relationship, since the first time we met. He put me on his album, which was the interlude, [“Buried Alive Interlude”], we always said it was gonna work, it was just about finding the right song, that was the right song.”
Kendrick Lamar is currently on tour playing upcoming shows in South Africa, Australia, and Hawaii with the likes of J. Cole and Eminem.