Rolling Stone released an interview with music legend David Bowie today, and it contained some surprising information. During the making of his new album ★ (pronounced 'Blackstar'), Bowie drew a lot of inspiration from none other than Kendrick Lamar. His longtime producer Tony Visconti told the magazine that "We were listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar," during the writing and recording of the album. Even though not much of the Compton rapper's actual sound ended up in the album, his music was a great help to the team creatively. "We loved the fact Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn't do a straight-up hip-hop record. He threw everything on there, and that's exactly what we wanted to do. The goal, in many, many ways, was to avoid rock & roll." Bowie has always blazed his own trail in music, so it's no surprise that he's looking to another musical innovator for inspiration. ★ isn't out until Jan. 8, but in the meantime, you can see if you hear any intonations of To Pimp A Butterfly by streaming his nearly 10-minute single "Blackstar" below.
