Kendrick Lamar shifted the entirety of the culture via his war of words with Drake, with the diss track “Not Like Us” becoming a top-charting smash in the process. In a new interview with SZA for Harper’s Bazaar, Kendrick Lamar opens up about the larger meaning behind “Not Like Us” and what he hopes listeners truly get from him and his message.

Employing the “artist interviews artist” strategy that has seemingly enraged a vocal group of journalists, SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s interview session read as a candid conversation between good friends and artistic collaborators.

After an introduction from writer Kaitlyn Greenidge, SZA and Lamar engage in a breezy serve and volley about creativity, reflections of self, and their journeys into the realms of faith. The conversation then turns into SZA asking the question everyone wanted to know but the answer some surprisingly open-ended in some respects.

From Harper’s Bazaar:

S: Can I ask you a hypermasculine question? You can also tell me to shut the f*ck up. What does “Not Like Us” mean to you?

KL: [Laughing] Not like us? Not like us is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent. Now, if you identify with the man that I represent …

S: Break the man down for me.

KL: This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering.

He’s a man who can recognize his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he’s less of a man.

If I’m thinking of “Not Like Us,” I’m thinking of me and whoever identifies with that.

The entire conversation is a vital one because Kendrick Lamar isn’t one to hit the interview circuit at this stage of his career and SZA gamely asks questions that a delivered with the care of a friend. There is also a shared vulnerability between the pair that jumps off the page.

Read the whole discussion here.

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Photo: Getty