Madlib Says Kendrick Lamar Wanted Him To Work On "To Pimp A Butterfly"

Madlib says he was going to work with Kendrick Lamar on “To Pimp A Butterfly,” but he missed the phone call.

Legendary producer Madlib says he nearly helped Kendrick Lamar with his iconic album, To Pimp a Butterfly, but Lamar was unable to get in contact with him.

Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Madlib recalled the missed opportunity in an interview with Guardian promoting his new album, Sound Ancestors, explaining that he simply missed the phone call and that he’s not an easy man to get a hold of.

CONFIG[‘slots’] = CONFIG[‘slots’] || {};
var code = ‘HNHH_desktop_BelowMainPic’;
if (!CONFIG[‘slots’][code]) {
CONFIG[‘slots’][code] = null;
}
googletag.cmd.push(function () {
var code = ‘HNHH_desktop_BelowMainPic’;
CONFIG[‘slots’][code] =
googletag
.defineSlot(‘/3858450/HNHH_desktop_BelowMainPic’, [[300,250]], code)
.addService(googletag.pubads());

if (CONFIG[‘fillSlotsImmediately’]) {
setTimeout(function () {
googletag.pubads().refresh([CONFIG[‘slots’][‘HNHH_desktop_BelowMainPic’]]);
}, 1000);
}
googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({
// Fetch slots within 5 viewports.
fetchMarginPercent: 0,
// Render slots within 2 viewports.
renderMarginPercent: 25
});
});

CONFIG[‘slots’] = CONFIG[‘slots’] || {};
var code = ‘kargo_embed_unit’;
if (!CONFIG[‘slots’][code]) {
CONFIG[‘slots’][code] = null;
}
googletag.cmd.push(function () {
var code = ‘kargo_embed_unit’;
CONFIG[‘slots’][code] =
googletag
.defineOutOfPageSlot(‘/3858450/kargo_embed_unit’, code)
.addService(googletag.pubads());

if (CONFIG[‘fillSlotsImmediately’]) {
setTimeout(function () {
googletag.pubads().refresh([CONFIG[‘slots’][‘kargo_embed_unit’]]);
}, 1000);
}
googletag.pubads().enableLazyLoad({
// Fetch slots within 5 viewports.
fetchMarginPercent: 0,
// Render slots within 2 viewports.
renderMarginPercent: 25
});
});

“Back then I was more elusive than I am now,” he told the outlet. “I was busy on my own thing. Missed opportunities, man.”

He went on to admit that it “probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway,” because he’s “like a sore thumb.”

Before Madlib was so difficult to reach, he collaborated with the late MF DOOM for their legendary album, Madvilliany. Madlib recently revealed that he learned of DOOM’s passing at the same time as everyone else

“I found out when everybody else did, on social media. His family’s very private, so they probably didn’t know how to approach that one. I still can’t believe that he died. That’s weird,” he admitted to NPR Music’s Piotr Orlov.

Madlib also commented on the current state of rap, saying that more music needs to sound like Public Enemy.

[Via]