Kendrick Lamar shifted the entire culture through the war of words with Drakewith diss track “Not Like Us” becoming a chart-topper in the process. In a new interview with SZA for Harper's BazaarKendrick Lamar opens up about the larger meaning behind “Not Like Us” and what he hopes listeners really get from it and its message.
Using the “artist-interviewing-artist” strategy that seemingly infuriated a vocal group of journalists, SZA and Kendrick Lamar's interview read like a candid conversation between good friends and artistic collaborators.
After an introduction from writer Kaitlyn Greenidge, SZA and Lamar engage in a cool serve-and-volley about creativity, self-reflection, and journeys into the realms of faith. The conversation then turns to SZA asking the question everyone wanted to know, but the answer was surprisingly open-ended in some ways.
From Harper's Bazaar:
S: Shall I ask you a hypermasculine question? You can also tell me to shut up. What does 'Not Like Us' mean to you?
KL: [Laughing] Not like us? It's not like us the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent. Now, if you identify with the man I represent…
S: Break the man for me.
KL: This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands for something. He's not sorry.
He is a man who can recognize his faults and is not afraid to share them, and can dig deep into fear-based ideologies or experiences so that he can express them without feeling less of a man.
If I think of “Not Like Us”, I think of me and anyone who identifies with it.
The entire conversation is crucial because Kendrick Lamar isn't one to hit the interview circuit at this stage in his career, and SZA playfully asks questions he asked with the care of a friend. There's also a shared vulnerability between the page-hopping pair.
Read the full discussion here.
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Photo: Getty