Kendrick Lamar Wanted Prince on 'To Pimp A Butterfly'

It's not often that we get oral histories for recent Hip Hop albums, and for good reason. Only the best of the best albums deserve to be talked about to that extent. Usually, the trend is for classic albums that have many years on them, but Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly has had such an effect that The GRAMMYS' website rounded up some of the people involved for a chat.

One of the standout quotes is regarding the TPAB track 'Complexion', which Rapsody is also featured on. One of the recurring themes in the oral history is about Kendrick's trip to Africa and how it inspired the music. When they talk about the aforementioned record, Rap lets out a gem that Kendrick wanted Prince on it and came very close too. Check out the quote:

Lamar: Immediately when I heard the beat I heard [Rapsody's] voice and vocal tone. But what made her special was that I knew that she was going to bring the content from a woman's perspective about complexion, being insecure and at the same time having gratitude for your complexion. Rapsody: He said he wanted to talk about the beauty of black people. I told him to say no more. What tripped me out is Kendrick originally said that he didn't want to do a verse on there. He wanted me to do two verses and Prince to do the hook. Lamar: That's true. Prince heard the record, loved the record and the concept of the record got us to talking. We got to a point where we were just talking in the studio and the more time that passed we realized we weren't recording anything. We just ran out of time, it's as simple as that.