By Rya Backer
So with all due respect to The Based God (especially on a day like today!), I realized I had to move on. After briefly meeting Kendrick Lamar during a news shoot earlier this year, I knew I’d have to see him again. I love his music, and he just seems like a sweet, genial guy who I could talk to, you know? So his people talked to my people (and by “my people” I mean my trusty co-producer, Steven) and we set a date during his next trip to NYC.
Kendrick and I ventured over to Pinche Taqueria on Bleecker and Lafayette because I live right by there in real life and I’ve always wanted to actually dine there and have never had the opportunity. I also wanted to know what he made of our East Coast Mexican food – as an LA born-and-bred boy, he’s probably cultivated a taste for something slightly more authentic than Chipotle (no offense to Chipotle). I also made sure to wear my favorite ’92 Dream Team shirt for the occasion because I’m so obsessed with his track, “Michael Jordan.”
Our conversation spanned from our favorite members of the Wu-Tang Clan (his: ODB, mine: GZA), favorite movies, his relationship with his mentor, Dr. Dre, and how many best friends we have (he said he didn’t have any, and I found that really hard to believe). One thing that didn’t get brought to my attention prior to the interview that might’ve been worth discussing was that it was HIS BIRTHDAY. We celebrate the only way I knew how: I threw a bunch of napkins in the air. The footage was left on the cutting room floor, but I really do hope you guys like what we kept in.