Kendrick Lamar has the music world in the palm of his hand right now. Ever since the release of his long-awaited sophomore LP, To Pimp a Butterfly, last month, the Compton rep and his ballyhooed body of work have been the topic of discussion for many. So when MTV News got the chance to sit down and pick the rapper's brain about the project, he revealed some surprising gems.

When asked what the feeling was like after turning in the final copy of To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick admits he felt relieved. "There was a exhale once we [turned in] the final mix," he shares. "It's so much of a spiritual process in making an album. I gotta feel connected to the music, I gotta feel connected to what I'm talking about. You’re grabbing all these different experiences around the world and all these conversation pieces -- you almost have to reenact that because the time I got inspiration I probably was on the road.”

The MC also shoots a nod to the folks at DeadEndHipHop.com. The site released a roundtable discussion breaking down To Pimp a Butterfly and they were able to decipher that the album's title originally was Tu Pimp A Caterpillar, which serves as an acronym of the late Tupac's name. “That was the original name and they caught it because the abbreviation was Tupac, Tu-P-A-C,” says Kendrick, who looks to Pac as a big inspiration for him and his music

He gives insight as to why he opted to use "butterfly" in the title instead of "caterpillar." “Me changing it to Butterfly, I just really wanted to show the brightness of life and the word pimp has so much aggression and that represents several things,” K. Dot explains. “For me, it represents using my celebrity for good. Another reason is, not being pimped by the industry through my celebrity.”

The rapper goes into detail about standout lyrics on the LP, including "King Kunta," discusses making a difference and touching the youth with his music. Watch the insightful interview above.

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