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‘Tis the season of celebration for GQ, as they continue to roll out all things associated with their Men of The Year issue. The slew of covers that feature Justin TimberlakeWill Ferrell (and his Anchorman persona Ron Burgundy), Kendrick Lamar, Matthew McConaughey and the late James Gandolfini will be rolling out in the next few days, but today we got a look at what the man who was named rapper of the year, Kendrick Lamar, looks like in his feature.

As expected, Kendrick brought the heat with the interview in the magazine’s eighteenth annual Men of the Year issue.

Lamar opens up to GQ in an interview with Steve Marsh, reflecting on his path to success and sharing how seeing a vision of Tupac when he was 21 heavily influenced his approach to his music (“It wasn’t just about money, hos, clothes, drinkin’. …I started to realize that there’s people out there that can’t really connect to that lifestyle.”)

The rapper also addresses some of his public feuds with other top hip-hop figures, including Drake. While Lamar says the two are “cool” with one another, he admits: “I would be okay if we weren’t.” 

Check out some excerpts from the interview below.

On seeing Tupac in a vision when he was 21:

“I was coming from a late studio session, sleeping on Mom’s couch. I’m 26 now—it wasn’t that long ago. I remember being tired, tripping from the studio, lying down, and falling into a deep sleep and seeing a vision of Pac talking to me. Weirdest shit ever. I’m not huge on superstition and all that shit. That’s what made it so crazy. It can make you go nuts. Hearing somebody that you looked up to for years saying, ‘Don’t let the music die.’ Hearing it clear as day. Clear as day. Like he’s right there. Just a silhouette.”

On the state of his relationship with Drake:

“Pretty cool.” Shrugs. “And I mean, I would be okay if we weren’t.”

On if Drake is one of his role models:

“No—peer. If anything. We all peers.”

On rumored confrontations at Diddy’s Ciroc Amaretto Launch Party / VMA Afterparty:

“It was all love at that party,” he told me on the private jet.

On the themes of his music:

“It wasn’t just about money, hos, clothes, drinkin’,” he explains. “I mean, I come from that world, but at the same time, I started to realize that there’s people out there that can’t really connect to that lifestyle. They’re in the struggle.”

Justin Timberlake was also one of the men featured on the cover.

Check out his cover shoot below, and head over to GQ to get more Kendrick in his behind the scenes video. 

SOURCE: Sebastian Kim / GQ

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