Kendrick Lamar: I carry stress everywhere

Kendrick Lamar put himself in an uncomfortable position to deal with his anxiety.

The 28-year-old rapper has been vocal about his struggle to keep his worries at bay and his latest record To Pimp a Butterfly has been praised for its honest, up-front lyrics.

One track in particular was a turning point for Kendrick, and he describes penning it as a personal challenge.

"Negativity and stress is something I carry around. You deal with it your entire life and you become immune to it, or you live off of it. So I always say i is one of the best records I've ever written because it put me in an uncomfortable space," he told British magazine Shortlist of his famous song, including the chorus 'I love myself'. "I never thought in a million years I would write a record like that, but I did. I needed to."

While Kendrick is still addressing his private problems, his career is soaring. His recent collaboration with Taylor Swift, Bad Blood, reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and had a star-studded line-up for the music video, featuring the likes of Ellie Goulding and Selena Gomez.

Kendrick is blown away sometimes as he soaks in his showbiz surroundings and relies on veterans in the industry for inspiration on how to handle it.

"I'm trying to figure it out still. That's why I've got people like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and those guys around. They've been doing that balancing act for 20, 30 years now. I'm just on my second album, so I don't have an answer yet [laughs]. They give me good advice," he added.

With so many gorgeous girls in the Bad Blood music video it may be hard for a man to pick a favourite, but that wasn't a problem for Kendrick.

"Jessica Alba. That's my girl. She was my favourite girl before the video but I just missed her. So Jessica Alba, if you read this: introduce," he grinned.