It’s been a big year for Kendrick Lamar, who has surged to the forefront of rap as one of the game’s youngest stars. While the Compton, Los Angeles emcee has a West Coast flavor in his raps; he’s now collaborating with one of the all-time greats from the East Coast.

Lamar paired up with Jay-Z on a remix of “B****, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” which hit the Internet on Monday. Lamar expressed excitement about pairing up with one of hip hop’s legends during an interview on Sway in the Morning on SiriusXM.

“Always looked up to the greats to be a great,” Lamar told Shade 45. “So to actually be on a track with him, it’s an accomplishment.”

Lamar has gained recognition after being mentioned in GQ magazine and appearing on Saturday Night Live with a performance of his song, “Poetic Justice.”

Lamar’s latest album, good kid, m.A.A.d City, is his second that was recorded in the studio and has sold more than 775,000 copies as of March 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The album features the hit song, “Swimming Pools (Drank),” which hit number one on the United States Rap charts and number 17 overall. “Poetic Justice,” has been as high as sixth on the US rap charts and 26th overall.

Lamar, 25, writes a lot of raps a lot about growing up around gang violence and bad influences, but managed to avoid some of the pitfalls of his neighborhood to rise to prominence. His lyrics sometimes tackle social and economic issues, diving into serious topics in between popular party songs.

Concert goers are likely to get a special treat that album listeners will not, as “Cartoon & Cereal,” is a song that Lamar performs at shows but has not yet released on an album. Nonetheless, it was ranked number two on the Best 50 Songs of 2012 list according to Complex magazine.

Lamar has previously cited the late Tupac Shakur as one of his biggest artistic influences, even claiming that he’s come to him in his dreams.

Lamar visits the Louisville Palace on March 21 and the Nos Events Center in San Bernardino on March 30.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 22nd, 2013 at 12:37 am and is filed under Concerts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.