Kendrick Lamar Says He’s Not an ‘Angry Person’ While Reflecting on “Not Like Us” Diss: ‘I Believe in Love and War’

In an interview with SZA for Harper's Bazaar, Kendrick Lamar was asked to explain what his Hot 100 No. 1 hit and vicious Drake diss track "Not Like Us" means to him.

"Can I ask you a hypermasculine question?" SZA asked K Dot. "What Does 'Not Like Us' mean to you?" Kendrick responded with a laugh, "Not Like us? Not like us is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent."

SZA asked him to "break the man down" for her, and he suggested it all comes down to morals and values.

"This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He's not pandering," he said. "He's a man who can recognize his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he's less of a man. If I'm thinking of 'Not Like Us,' I'm thinking of me and whoever identifies with that."

SZA also asked about the perception that some have of the rapper, especially after his bitter back-and-forth with Drake, as "an angry individual." She added that she thinks any anger on his records comes from a "yogic, monklike place," however.

"When you feel the surge of energy in records like that, where is that root? Is it anger?" she asked.

"I don't believe I'm an angry person," he replied. "But I do believe in love and war, and I believe they both need to exist. And my awareness of that allows me to react to things but not identify with them as who I am. Just allowing them to exist and allowing them to flow through me. That's what I believe."

The comments shared with SZA are the first time Kendrick Lamar has spoken extensively about "Not Like Us," a song that effectively brought an end, or at least a stalemate, to his rivalry with Drizzy, despite him dropping the mostly-forgotten "The Heart Pt. 6" shortly after.

He hasn't remained quiet, though, as he confirmed he'll be performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show next year, and he dropped an untitled track on Instagram last month.

Read the full conversation between SZA and Kendrick over at Harper's Bazaar.