Kendrick Lamar Ranked His Own Albums And To Be Honest, He’s Wrong

If you felt safe in your belief that Kendrick Lamar’s 2012 masterpiece Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. was his greatest record to date, we have some bad news for you: the artist responsible doesn’t agree.

The Compton rapper swung by a Los Angeles radio station yesterday to chat about his latest album DAMN. and towards the end of the interview, the hosts asked Lamar to rank each of his albums from worst to best. He obliged, placing his debut Section.80 at #4, followed by To Pimp A Butterfly, Good Kid M.A.A.D City and, finally, DAMN. at the top of the pile.

It might surprise fans and critics, who generally place Good Kid up the top, but Lamar was certain about his choice:

“[It’s #1] because DAMN. is a hybrid of all these projects,” he explained. “It was me finally being able to take elements from… the message behind To Pimp a Butterfly, the sonics and beat slapping on Good Kid, and the rawness of just being able to do what I want like I did on Section.80.”

“I take all three of these, it makes the hybrid of DAMN. for me.”

Then again, you’re hardly going to place the album you’re currently promoting at the bottom of the pile, are you?

As for whether he thinks he’s the greatest of all time, Lamar didn’t mince words: “I got to [be]. What’s the point of doing it if you don’t want to be the best at what you’re doing?” The full interview runs for nearly an hour, and it’s well worth your time. Listen below.