News of March 19, 2015

Kendrick Lamar Lets Tupac Speak on "Mortal Man"

Questions posed to a 1994 tape: how Kendrick Lamar let Tupac speak on "Mortal Man" and why the album was nearly named after him.

Kendrick Lamar questions an audio tape and seemingly receives answers from Tupac. The closing track “Mortal Man” on the album To Pimp a Butterfly, released in mid-March 2015, ends with this assembled conversation. It touches on legacy, dealing with success, and the young generation in hip-hop.

As Billboard reported on March 19, the idea came from Kendrick himself. Tom Whalley, who signed Tupac to Interscope in 1991 and works with the estate, called it brilliant.

The Audio Track Comes from P3 Soul in 1994

The audio comes, as AllHipHop reported, from an interview that Swedish broadcaster P3 Soul conducted with Tupac in 1994. The entire six-part conversation was subsequently available online; the interviewer praised Kendrick on Twitter.

Kendrick explained to MTV that the album had nearly been titled To Pimp a Caterpillar, 2.P.A.C. That had been his original plan once he had the interview: the recording was meant to give the entire record its name.