Kendrick Lamar says ‘i’ single doesn’t represent his new full-length

Kendrick Lamar has directly addressed a mixed reaction to his 2014 single ‘i’, by claiming that it doesn’t represent the rest of his upcoming full-length.

With a follow up to ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city’ anticipated for 2015, Kendrick told XXL Mag: “I’m not an artist that’s gonna give you a single and say, “This is what my album’s gonna sound like, go sell it.” That’s not me. I’m just not that artist to give you one or two songs here and there and run with it.”

Speaking further about the single, he explained that it came from a place of wanting to be a role model. “You would say, “I don’t wanna be a role model. I don’t want none of that.” But in actuality, you are the biggest role model. It’s impossible to fight the title of role model,” he said, citing fans who would come up to him and explain how his last album saved their lives. “At first I wasn’t so sure, maybe it was just they were excited to meet me. But then they showed me their wrists and had all these different scars from when they tried to take their lives but failed,” he said.

Kendrick Lamar has confirmed himself for a couple of 2015 shows:

FEBRUARY
21-22 Pasadena, CA, Air + Style 2015

MARCH
13-17 Tempa, AZ, Pot of Gold Music Festival