Not that he’s worried about what you think (not in a mean way), but Kendrick Lamar just unpacked and broke down his rap battle winning track “Not Like Us” during an interview with SZA for Harper’s Bazaar.
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Without ever name-dropping Drake, who the song so obviously calls out, Kendrick explained what the track means to him and expressed that he doesn’t view himself as an angry individual, however noted the duality of love and war do pose a need to exist.
When SZA asked Kendrick the question that all of us have been dying to know, “What does ‘Not Like Us’ mean to you?.” Lamar explained, "Not like us is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent.”
He continued, “Now, if you identify with the man that I represent ... This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He's not pandering. He’s a man who can recognize his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he’s less of a man. If I’m thinking of ‘Not Like Us,’” he added. “I’m thinking of me and whoever identifies with that.”
Dismissing the idea that he's an angry person, after SZA nicely inquired if it might be a trait he’s not conscious of, Kendrick maintained, "I don’t believe I’m an angry person.”
That being said, he did go on to tell SZA, "But I do believe in love and war, and I believe they both need to exist. And my awareness of that allows me to react to things but not identify with them as who I am. Just allowing them to exist and allowing them to flow through me. That’s what I believe.”
The interview, which you’ll definitely want to check out, includes much more than just a chat about the headlining grabbing track, with SZA and Kendrick both taking turns at the role of interviewer and interviewee. Check it out — HERE.