Kendrick Lamar has been making the radio rounds recently to discuss his impeccable new record, To Pimp A Butterfly. He’s spent a lot of time discussing the album title (apparently he didn’t make the To Kill A Mockingbird connection until after it was released), his goal with the record, and even the cover art. But in one interview with NYC’s Hot 97, Kendrick revealed an interesting collaborator who he recently recorded with: Prince.

Lamar said that when he was at the Purple One’s Paisley Park Estate in Minnesota for a Yahoo! live stream last October, they entered the studio together. “We was vibing, but we was pressed, man,” Kendrick explained. Sadly, they couldn’t get a track together before Kendrick had to leave.



Even still, Kendrick took away plenty from the experience. “I didn’t trip over getting a song done. I really appreciate the actual game he was giving me … He took control of his music,” Kendrick said. “He was breaking down some things that I need to consider in my career. Just really taking control of your creativity.”

You can watch the whole interview below; the Prince remarks begin around the 38:00 mark.

In a separate interview on Power 106’s The Cruz Show (apparently on the same day, based on the wardrobe), K-Dot talked about an alternate album name. “How Much a Dollar Costs”, track 11 on To Pimp A Butterfly, actually originated as a title track.

What’s more, he said the song he performed onThe Colbert Report last October would likely remain “just for me.” Later on, he revealed some unused lyrics from the second verse of a track produced by Soundwave and Terrace Martin — likely “King Kunta”, the only track both producers worked on alone together. He dug through his memory and delivered a few bars:

“I made a video out there so the homies could see/ To let ’em know it’s more than just parmalee (?)/ He said good look and paused the video the moment his phone ring/ The fast dialer was his only problem/ No matter how many times I show them the Eiffel Tower, the block was home/ And Africa was too far for power.”

There were apparently more “brutal” lyrics in the verse, but he wanted to keep them close to his chest in case he wanted to use them later. Check the whole interview, which opens with the alternate title comments and closes with the unused lyrics, below.