Kendrick Lamar was doing just fine with being a part of Rich the Kid's track "New Freezer." His album DAMN. galvanized the hip-hop community and spawned hit singles like "Humble" and "DNA." Further to that, his current tour in support of that LP has also helped him stake his claim as arguably the best rap artist working today. That being said, K. Dot also boasted some solid feature work to round out his incredibly strong 2017 and "Freezer" might be close to the top of that list in terms of quality. However, Rich the Kid recently explained that, in terms of getting Kendrick to hop on that track with him, it was simply a case of good fortune.
The rapper, who hails from Queens-area New York, paid a visit to the crew over at Ebro in the Morning on Hot 97 and, during part of the long-form discussion, told listeners in detail about how Lamar on his song was all about being in the right location at the right moment. "He was working on his DAMN. album when I was working on my album at Interscope's studios," he said. "He came in [to my studio] and asked me to hear some records. So I played him 'New Freezer,' I [had] recorded it two-three weeks [prior] at Quad [Studios] and I played it for him—it was the first record I played him—and he was just like, 'Yo, this is crazy, can I get on this?'" The rest, as they say, is history. Check out the full interview below.
Kendrick Lamar has also shown himself to be somewhat of a supporter of the mumble rap generation, according to his interview with Forbes for their 30 Under 30 issue. "I want hip-hop to continue to evolve," he said. "That's why I can't shun a lot of the artists that may not be a Kendrick Lamar. But this is what I tell them every time I see them ... be yourself and do what you do but also know who laid down the groundwork. Don't go on your interviews and diss them and say you don't like them and you don't care for them."
Are you down with Kendrick's thoughts on the mumble rappers in general? Let us know in the comments.