Assassin Breaks Down Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker The Berry”

A month ago, Kendrick Lamar caused quite a stir in a Billboard cover story when he gave his thoughts on the events happening in Ferguson.

"I wish somebody would look in our neighborhood knowing that it's already a situation, mentally, where it's fucked up," said K. Dot. "What happened to [Michael Brown] should've never happened. Never. But when we don't have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us? It starts from within. Don't start with just a rally, don't start from looting—it starts from within."

The backlash was as swift as it was vicious, slicing through the TDE MC's unbreakable armor forged when he dropped his album good kid, m.A.A.d city. For a while, people questioned Kendrick's character. Then on Monday (Feb. 9), the day after winning Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for “i” at the 2015 Grammy Awards, he dropped "The Blacker The Berry," answering all questions in one powerful swoop with a five-plus minute wake-up call put on wax. "I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015," he says on the track. "Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean."

Besides Kendrick, a dancehall artist from Jamaica named Assassin—who's also featured on Kanye West’s “I’m In It,” a cut off Yeezus—is heard giving his spin front and center. Assassin's hook fits in perfectly, adding a battle cry to Kendrick's overall speech. XXL wanted to find out how Agent Sasco once again landed such a huge feature on a hip-hop record. So we got him on the phone to discuss "The Blacker The Berry" and “I’m In It," the possible trend combining hip-hop and dancehall and who else he'd love to work with. —Emmanuel C.M.