Kendrick Lamar has been pretty quiet since the release of his critically acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly. He has done some radio and TV spots in the wake of the LP, but he saved most of it in the months leading up to its release to hype the album. In the wake of his new "Bad Blood" remix with Taylor Swift, which saw the star-studded music video premiere during the Billboard Music Awards, K.Dot is doing a little more press, including a rare TV spot on daytime TV with Ellen, Swift's demographic. He took the opportunity to perform one of his funkier tracks "These Walls" on the program and then sit down for an interview.
K.Dot delivers a rousing performance of the tune with his face projected on the floor below him with triangles flying across platform and a couple ballroom dancing on the other side of the stage. The camera cuts at times to a man painting the performance that starts with a blank canvas and finishes with a remarkable sketch at the end.
After the performance, Ellen, a noted fan of the LA rapper, hoped on stage to conduct the interview with Lamar and asked him about his new album, being honored as a generational icon by the California state government and working with Taylor Swift.
He reflected on his award, saying, "It means everything" and he "wants to do something positive for culture and for music."
Ellen then poses the question of how K.Dot ended up in that futuristic and star-filled music video for "Bad Blood" and it was rather simple apparently.
"She reached out. I have always been a fan of hers and she has been a fan of me," explained Lamar. "She reached out and we got it done."
Watch the video and interview below.
