Kendrick Lamar on His 11 Grammy Nominations: "I'm Still Soaking That All In"

Kendrick says he wants to win them all.

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Complex Original

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With the Grammys only a few months awayKendrick Lamar is making his media rounds ahead of what could potentially be a monumental night for the Compton rapper. He leads all artists with 11 nominations this year, one off from Michael Jackson's record of 12 back in 1984.

In a new interview with the New York Times, Kendrick talks about the recognition from the Grammys and shares some thoughts on his year as a whole. "I’m still soaking that all in. Michael will forever be the greatest. I’m glad it was at 11," Kendrick says. "I would never want to even think about putting myself on the same level as Michael, simply because I haven’t put in the work that he did. It couldn’t be a better number." As far as his goals for the Grammys this year, Kendrick reveals that he wants to win every award he's nominated for because hip-hop deserves that shine.

On his favorite rap music of the year, Kendrick says that Drake and Future both did their thing in 2015, and that he never really sees a separation from what's classified as "real hip-hop" and party music. "It feels good when I listen to it, when I’m in that vibe. You feel it. You can get the highest level of that — you can get Future — or you can get the watered-down version, somebody else trying to be that," he says. While Kendrick and Drake have had differences in the past, he says that he didn't really pay attention to Drizzy's ongoing beef with Meek Mill.

With all of the acclaim and attention coming Kendrick's way for To Pimp a Butterfly, the rapper says he's not quite ready to jump back into the studio at this point. When could that point be? "I have to come from an original and organic place. It can come tomorrow; it can come two years from now," Kendrick says.

You can read Kendrick's full interview with the New York Times here

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