This week, Kendrick Lamar’s feature story with Rolling Stone Magazine dropped, and inside the TDE rapper opened about his chart-topping album DAMN, wanting fans ‘to take action’ during Donald Trump era, as well as the use of ghost-writers in Hip Hop.

Yes, despite being in the midst of his DAMN Tour, Lamar, 30, took time out to sit down with the publication, offering up some new insight into his creative process, his thoughts on politics and so much more. Check out some of the highlights below: 

On why he hasn’t addressed Donald Trump in his lyrics

I mean, it's like beating a dead horse. We already know what it is. Are we gonna keep talking about it or are we gonna take action? You just get to a point where you're tired of talking about it. It weighs you down and it drains your energy when you're speaking about something or someone that's completely ridiculous. So, on and off the album, I took it upon myself to take action in my own community. On the record, I made an action to not speak about what's going on in the world or the places they put us in. Speak on self; reflection of self first. That's where the initial change will start from.

On the creative process behind DAMN

The initial goal was to make a hybrid of my first two commercial albums. That was our total focus, how to do that sonically, lyrically, through melody – and it came out exactly how I heard it in my head. … It's all pieces of me. My musicality has been driving me since I was four years old. It's just pieces of me, man, and how I execute it is the ultimate challenge. Going from To Pimp a Butterfly to DAMN., that shit could have crashed and burned if it wasn't executed right. So I had to be real careful on my subject matter and how I weave in and out of the topics, where it still organically feels like me.

On working with Beyoncé on Lemonade  

How particular to be about your music. She's a perfectionist. Think about the BET performance. She was very particular – the lighting, the camera blocking, the transition from the music to the dancing. It was confirmation of something I already knew.

On rappers using ghost-writers

It depends on what arena you're putting yourself in. I called myself the best rapper. I cannot call myself the best rapper if I have a ghostwriter. If you're saying you're a different type of artist and you don't really care about the art form of being the best rapper, then so be it. Make great music. But the title, it won't be there.

Photo credit: Mark Seliger