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Kendrick Lamar wants to win all of his 11 Grammy noms 'for hip-hop culture'

Lamar also spoke on his recent trip to the White House

Justin Carissimo
New York
Thursday 04 February 2016 20:32 GMT
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Kendrick performs at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in 2015.
Kendrick performs at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in 2015.

Rapper Kendrick Lamar has more nominations than any other artist at the 58th annual Grammy Awards.

The Compton MC recently sat down with Billboard and discussed his expectations for the ceremony — where he's scheduled to perform — and his infamous snub at the awards show back in 2014.

“I want to win them all,” he said. “It’s bigger than me. When we think about the Grammys, only Lauryn Hill and Outkast have won album of the year. This would be big for hip-hop culture at large.”

Lamar also spoke on the 2014 Grammys controversy when he shockingly lost to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis for best new artist, best rap album and best rap performances.

“[The Grammy defeats] would have been upsetting to me if I’d known that was my best work, if I had nothing new to offer,” he says. “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is great work, but it’s not my best work. To Pimp a Butterfly is great. I’m talking about the connection the record made. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City made a connection. But To Pimp a Butterfly made a bigger connection."

The Billboard cover star was also asked about his recent trip to the White House where he met President Barack Obama.

“The way people look at me these days — that’s the same way I looked at President Obama before I met him. We tend to forget that people who’ve attained a certain position are human. When [the president] said to my face what his favorite record was — I understood that, no matter how high-ranking you get in this world, you’re human.”

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