Kendrick Lamar on Rap Battle With Drake: “My intent...was To Keep the Nature of It as a Sport”
Dot revealed that he still watches battle raps to this day, calling it “the core definition” of who he is.
Kendrick Lamar has opened up about his rap battle with Drake, telling Apple Music that his approach to the interaction was rooted in competition and grit.
Dot sat down with Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis ahead of his Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show and briefly touched on the “rap beef” that took the world by storm last year. “My intent, I think from day one, was to keep the nature of it as a sport, you know? I don’t care how motherf*ckers look at it as far as like a collaborative effort,” he said. “That’s cool too, but I love when artists grit they teeth. I still watch battle raps, I still watch Smack URL from Murda Mook to Lux to Tay Roc, my bro Daylyt. This always been the core definition of who I am, and it’s been that way since day one.”
He continued, “So I don’t think it was a thing for this year, it was always just a continuum.” Lamar added, “What I will say about this year is that it was more from a space where I think a lot of people was putting rap to the back and you didn’t see that grit, you didn’t see that bite anymore. I always took that into consideration going into any type of my music.”
The artist went on to explain that he wasn’t surprised with himself as he always stayed true to who he was, and the people he’s surrounded himself with over the past two decades can attest to his capabilities. “This is just like a revolving door of what I’ve been doing in Carson studios, the homie’s garage, my brothers at TDE or just anybody around the city of Compton,” he said.
Watch the full interview above.
