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@xxl's new cover with @kendricklamar

A photo posted by XXL (@xxl) on Dec 14, 2015 at 10:15am PST

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Kendrick Lamar has had one epic year, and with it wrapping up in just a couple weeks, he’s going out with a bang.

The To Pimp A Butterfly MC landed the latest cover of XXL, but this issue is special considering the fact that K. Dot pens his cover story himself.

While the photographs were shot by Travis Shinn, Kendrick uses his pen game to share some of his most inner thoughts on success, being a “chosen one,” social injustice and more.

Read his excerpts from the cover story below.

How he feels about success: “It’s funny because I ask other artists about their experience with success. I wanna know what happened to them. Did you feel how I feel? When did everything change for you? When did you start noticing the ways you were acting differently? Or when the people around you changed how they treated you? Or just, how did your world change? For me, the whole complete world changed within six months of good kid, m.A.A.d. city coming out. It wasn’t about the money change, although, that did happen, but it was like I stared seeing who I really was during that first run and learned more on the second. Either you notice who you are who are or what you ain’t pretty fast when you get fame.”

His thoughts on recent social injustices: “The past few years or so has been very politically charged and controversial. From Trayvon Martin, to Eric Garner to Michael Brown and issues of police brutality and racism and for so many other reasons. All of it has really struck a nerve with me because when you experience things like that personally and you know the type of hardships and pain that it brings first-hand, it builds a certain rage in you. It brings back memories of when I’m 16 and the police come kicking the door in. They don’t care that I’m a little boy and they stumped me in my back two times and they dragged me out the house and have us all handcuffed. It brings back those memories. Memories of losing loved ones. It brings back some of the most painful memories and deepest thoughts of real life situations that I didn’t even want to address on good kid. Or wasn’t ready to. Rage is the perfect word for it.”

@kendricklamar shot for @XXL by @travis_shinn

A photo posted by XXL (@xxl) on Dec 14, 2015 at 2:04pm PST

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How he feels about being called the a chosen one: “I know I’m chosen. I know I’m a favorite. I know in my heart there’s a whole other energy and leadership side of me that I have probably run from my whole life. How much power do I want? How much can I handle? That’s the question I keep asking myself. ’Cause when you are a voice for the youth, nothing can stop you. The youth is what changes things. Can I lead that? Should I? I get confused because people are championing me to be that vocal point and it’s a challenge for me to be that because I have some fear of that type of power. This goes back to me being who I naturally am or who think that I am now, that 28-year-old kid that’s kind’ve a recluse. But 28 is old enough for me to figure out who I am and have that power at the same time, that’s the battle and it’s a trip.”

Read the full feature from Kendrick over at XXL.

SOURCE: XXL | PHOTO CREDIT: Instagram

Kendrick Lamar Writes His Own Cover Story For XXL, Speaks On Success, Social Injustice & More  was originally published on globalgrind.com