Colin Douglas Gray / MTV

There was no shortage of rap inspiration for Kendrick Lamar when he was growing up in Compton, California, like the time he stood on the street watching 2Pac film the "California Love" remix video.

You know the opening scene where 'Pac goes to the Compton Swap Meet to buy some new clothes to wear for Dr. Dre's party? Well, little Kendrick was in the crowd watching back in 1996, soaking up all that influence and now he's following in his idol's footsteps with his new "King Kunta" video.

"I just went back to that same Compton Swap Meet, jumped on the roof of the Compton Swap Meet and shot 'King Kunta' there," Lamar told MTV News when we sat with him on Tuesday at the W New York – Downtown. "And all them kids was out looking and a good friend of mine said, 'You was one of them kids looking at 'Pac when he was up here doing that; now they're looking at you.'"

In the "Kunta" video, which Kendrick released on Wednesday, the self-proclaimed good kid stomps around, perched up high at the Swap Meet, while fans wave their hands below him. You could bet that in that moment, K. Dot influenced a youngster to try and follow in his footsteps. "It blew me away, tripped me out that 15 years later I'm doing that same thing 'Pac was doing right in Compton," he said. "It's just a beautiful thing."

That's not Lamar's only connection to 2Pac; he also included an interview with the hip-hop icon on the last track of his critically acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly LP. In fact, Kendrick revealed to MTV News that originally he wanted to title his album Tu Pimp a Caterpillar or Tu.P.A.C. for short.

You can check out the rest of our sit-down with Kendrick Lamar below.