A lot of people have been throwing around a pretty huge idea since the release of Kendrick Lamar‘s To Pimp A Butterfly: he’s the new Tupac. He’s the change that Tupac wanted to see in the world. He’s continuing Tupac’s legacy. Our very own reviewer stated that, “Kendrick takes an ambitious step to reclaim the mantle that has been left vacant since the death of Tupac Shakur in 1996. He makes the transition from rapper to prophet.”
It’s not just us who are feeling that way. Not only has Lamar’s style, rhetoric and message been interpreted as revolutionary (although certainly not within the same historically groundbreaking ball park as Pac, let’s be real here,) but Lamar quite obviously compares himself to the late rapper numerous times on the album. He drops Shakur’s name, lists him as a major influence and even samples an interview from 1994, on the song Mortal Man. During the song, Lamar ‘interviews’ Pac, interweaving real recorded answers with his own questions.
The original interview is considered quite rare, from a Swedish radio broadcast in 1994. Thanks to the internet, someone uncovered the interview and re-uploaded the entire thing. Listen here: