Earlier this month, Music Times reported that Kendrick Lamar would be heading to the Sundace NEXT Fest along with his short film m.A.A.d. 

The Hollywood Reporter recently offered up some details on the film's production and the process putting it all together. As previously reported, Kahlil Joseph serves as the film's director. 

"Kendrick and Kahlil had been talking about working together for a long time before one day Dave Free, Kendrick's manager, contacted Kahlil and said they needed concert visuals for the upcoming Yeezus tour," a member of Joseph's production team said. "Together with his producers Omid Fatemi and Onye Anyanwu and cinematographer Chayse Irvin (and a batch of 35mm film), Kahlil canvassed Compton for young actors and real people over the period of five days, filming the entire time, with the idea that really what he was making was some kind of cinematic equivalent to Kendrick's music." 

The production also says the process of everything coming together has been a unique one. 

"From the very beginning the process was unorthodox; no treatment or script, no visual references to speak of. Kahlil was really creating everything in his mind as he saw and felt it, stating that his only goal 'was to uniquely represent Kendrick, his music, and the city of Compton.'" 

The film is being described as "a kaleidoscope of storylines and ideas that defy typical categorization to explore new languages and new forms."  

m.A.A.d will premiere at Sundance's first annual NEXT Fest, a mini-film festival showcasing budding directors and rising artists at the Ace Hotel Downtown in Los Angeles on Aug. 9.  

The NEXT Fest will also feature a panel discussion, followed by a screening of Sundance winner Imperial Dreams and a performance from Tinashe.  

In addition to working on this film, Kendrick Lamar is also gearing up for the release of his sophomore album. 

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