Go Behind the Scenes of Kendrick Lamar’s XXL Magazine Winter 2015 Cover Shoot

Kendrick Lamar is heading into 2016 as the "chosen" one. Not only does the West Coast MC lead nominations for the Grammy Awards with 11, he also lands on the cover of XXL magazine's Winter 2015 cover. The guy is winning on all fronts.

For the cover shoot, K. Dot channels Tupac Shakur, spitting at Travis Shinn's camera just like the late rapper did to the paparazzi in the '90s. Besides calling on his inner 2Pac, XXL goes behind the scenes with Lamar as he showcases his best rapper pose. "They got me spitting all at the camera," he says. "I got the Tupac sweater on. You know I gotta represent for the homie."

The To Pimp a Butterfly creator is shown spitting directly at Shinn, who presented the final take in a striking black-and-white image. "It came out crazy," Lamar states. "I like that. I never did that."

While many in the hip-hop community have been applauding his work -- even President Obama is a fan -- K. Dot himself is aware of the impact his album has made in addition to his personal accomplishments over the last 12 months. "My year, this year I cannot complain, man," the 28-year-old reveals. "I put out my second LP. I think it made a few, few waves within the culture of hip-hop. Not only that, but with man, period. You know just being a person out here listening to music and going through things."

With To Pimp a Butterfly earning Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, the waves are more like a tsunami. Go behind the scenes of Kendrick Lamar's XXL WInter 2015 cover shoot above and find out his thoughts on his New Year's resolution.

See Photos From Kendrick Lamar's XXL Winter 2015 Cover Shoot