GULF SHORES, Alabama — Just after he came off stage following a triumphant set on the Boom Boom Stage at the Hangout Festival, Compton, California, MC Kendrick Lamar switched from world-beating rapper to hip-hop fan.
Speaking to MTV News' Sway Calloway, Lamar offered his thoughts on one of the year's most anticipated albums: Kanye West's as-yet-untitled sixth album. Like most of us, Lamar checked out West's "New Slaves" when it dropped on Friday, but, also like us, he said he "couldn't quite get the quality right" on the song that mysteriously appeared as part of a global stunt during which it was screened on 66 buildings across the planet.
"It sounded crazy," he said of the tune. "That whole marketing scheme is crazy. It's very inspiring. After a while you get to a point in hip-hop where certain tactics get watered down. How much music can you release on the internet to get it hot? How many singles can you put out. How many videos can you possibly do."
So, Kanye doing things the way he did is just West being the genius that he is, Lamar said, challenging the game and raising stakes once again with an album that's rumored to be titled Yeezus. "That's crazy, I want to hear that," Lamar said. "That's that creative Kanye genius stuff out the box ... whatever way is his way of being creative and getting his message across through that album, that's the culture. I can't wait to hear it."