Kendrick Lamar Discusses Macklemore Text, Plans September Release For New Album
One of the biggest, silliest stories in recent music memory — the apologetic post-Grammys text that Macklemore sent to Kendrick Lamar, and What It Means For Rap — is almost over. Kendrick has already called Macklemore’s Best Rap Album win “well-deserved,” and in a recent Billboard cover story, Kendrick elaborates a bit: “That text surprised me, but Macklemore is a genuine dude. However it panned out, I wish him much success. He touched people’s souls, and no one can take that away. Really, the whole Grammy moment was incredible. Not everyone gets that shot.” My interpretation: Kendrick is confident enough in his future successes to not care. So let’s put this to bed and move on to the more exciting news in this story: More Kendrick music!
The cover story, which Kendrick shares with Schoolboy Q, focuses on his TDE label’s rise to rap dominance, and on all the business decisions that went along with that. But there’s some intriguing news about forthcoming music. Following Q’s Oxymoron, just about everyone on the TDE roster is working on new albums. Isaiah Rashad, who already had one album out this year, is working on another, and SZA, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock are all expected to drop new albums this year. Meanwhile, Black Hippy — the rap collective that features Kendrick, Q, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul — is likely to release its first-ever group album this year. And TDE founder Anthony Tiffith claims that Kendrick’s next album, the follow-up to 2012’s monumental Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City, is coming in September. We can hope.