Ace Cooper explains how he and Kendrick Lamar became ‘provocative’ artists after ‘This Is My Self’ lyrics

Ice Cube explains the intention behind Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics in his new single “It’s My Ego.” In the song, Cube raps, “Before Kendrick/Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, I was Kendrick, like Jimi Hendrix.” In an interview with SiriusXM’s Rock the Bells Radio, Cube talked about the song and how he thinks Lamar is similar to him.

“You know, he’s just a provocative artist,” Cooper explained, according to Entertainment Weekly. “An artist who says what I feel, puts everything out there, and says something about the system and the government and us. It’s very critical of what you have to go through as a black man in this country. I think he’s the same kind of artist: a thought-provoking artist that I was before him.

This isn’t the first time Cooper has praised Lamar this year. While discussing his feud with Drake, he previously expressed his approval of the feud and declared Lamar the winner. “I love beef,” he said on the Big Pod with Shaq. “I’m always for rap battles. That’s what the game is… as long as it doesn’t get physical, because that’s not rap. When it gets physical, it’s just street crime.” He added: “I think Kendry Grams was on his feet, so to speak, and I thought he was throwing harder, more effective punches.”

Check out Cube’s latest comments on Kendrick Lamar below. Meanwhile, Lamar is still preparing for his upcoming headlining appearance at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. Stay tuned for further updates from Ice Cube and Kendrick Lamar on HotNewHipHop.