

Currently on his DAMN. tour, Kendrick Lamar now sits down with Rolling Stone for another in-depth interview following last month's appearance for Interview magazine featuring Dave Chappelle.
Noted as "the greatest rapper alive" by the magazine, Lamar tells all on his meet with the publication, as he touches on diverse subjects including Donald Trump, ghostwriters, his popular single "HUMBLE.," defining a wack artist, and many more. According to Lamar, sharing his opinion on Trump's miscues would be equivalent to "beating a dead horse." Read more below.
Other than a few lyrics, you've been quiet about Donald Trump. Why?
"I mean, it's like beating a dead horse. We already know what it is. Are we gonna keep talking about it or are we gonna take action? You just get to a point where you're tired of talking about it. It weighs you down and it drains your energy when you're speaking about something or someone that's completely ridiculous. So, on and off the album, I took it upon myself to take action in my own community. On the record, I made an action to not speak about what's going on in the world or the places they put us in. Speak on self; reflection of self first. That's where the initial change will start from."
On "ELEMENT." you make that funny distinction between "black artists and wack artists." What, to you, defines a wack artist?
"I love that question. How would I define a wack artist? A wack artist uses other people's music for their approval. We're talking about someone that is scared to make their own voice, chases somebody else's success and their thing, but runs away from their own thing. That's what keeps the game watered-down. Everybody's not going to be able to be a Kendrick Lamar. I'm not telling you to rap like me. Be you. Simple as that. I watch a lot of good artists go down like that because you're so focused on what numbers this guy has done, and it dampers your own creativity. Which ultimately dampers the listener, because at the end of the day, it's not for us. It's for the person driving to their 9-to-5 that don't feel like they wanna go to work that morning."
Is it ever OK for a rapper to have a ghostwriter? You've obviously written verses for Dr. Dre yourself.
"It depends on what arena you're putting yourself in. I called myself the best rapper. I cannot call myself the best rapper if I have a ghostwriter. If you're saying you're a different type of artist and you don't really care about the art form of being the best rapper, then so be it. Make great music. But the title, it won't be there."
How did "HUMBLE." start?
"It was the beat first, actually. [Producer] Mike Will sent the beat over. All I could think of was [Marley Marl's] "The Symphony" and the earliest moments of hip-hop, where it's complex simplicity, but it's also somebody making moves. That beat feels like my generation, right now. The first thing that came to my head was, "Be humble."
How consciously were you trying to make "DAMN." a more accessible album than "Butterfly"?
"The initial goal was to make a hybrid of my first two commercial albums. That was our total focus, how to do that sonically, lyrically, through melody – and it came out exactly how I heard it in my head. … It's all pieces of me. My musicality has been driving me since I was four years old. It's just pieces of me, man, and how I execute it is the ultimate challenge. Going from To Pimp a Butterfly to DAMN., that shit could have crashed and burned if it wasn't executed right. So I had to be real careful on my subject matter and how I weave in and out of the topics, where it still organically feels like me."
How did Bono end up on the song "XXX."?
"We had a [different] record we were supposed to be doing together. He sent it over, I laid some ideas to it, and we didn't know where it was going. I just happened to have an album coming out, so I just asked him, like, "Yo, would you do me this honor of letting me use this record, use this idea that I want to put together because I'm hearing a certain type of 808, a certain drum to it." And he was open to it."
What's your favorite Drake song? Favorite Drake song [chuckles]. I got a lot of favorite Drake songs. Can't name one off the back. ... He has plenty.
Do you prefer him singing or rapping? Both. Yeah.
When did you truly find your own style?
"I think it was the day I said I was gonna go by my real name, Kendrick Lamar."
To read the detailed interview in its entirety, head over directly to Rolling Stone.
Also in case you missed it, here’s what went down when Kendrick Lamar brought his pop-up tour back to LA.