Around this time last year, Kendrick Lamar had hip hop in the palm of his hands without having a mixtape out or a new album on store shelves. His verse on Big Sean's “Control” record sent the game into a tailspin, with rappers reacting left and right — especially the ones who weren’t even named in his lyrical slaughtering.

The aftermath proves the power of Lamar’s words, and a year later, he reflected on “Control” and its impact. “Hip hop hasn’t been shaken up in a long time… when I went in and did the verse, I thought I was just having fun,” Lamar told Power 106.1's Big Boy's Neighborhood after premiering his new single, “I," this morning (Sept. 24). 

People didn’t exactly receive the “fun” theme that Lamar was trying to get across. "Control" was construed as the TDE rapper drawing lines in the sand against his acquaintances. “I see how the world took it,” Lamar continued. “I realize, ‘Okay it has been 10, 15 years before it’s been some type of shaking up in the game.'”

As for his relationship with the rappers he spit about, nothing has changed on Lamar’s end. “Its’ all love, from the moment I did the verse ’til after the verse,” explained K. Dot. “I think hip hop is a sport, so you’re gonna have these little spats. Personally, I respect these dudes as people, outside of that, it’s really nothing."

When asked specifically about calling out  J. Cole and Drake, the 27-year-old reaffirmed his veneration for their music and more. "I respect them as innovators and creators,” added the Compton native before critiquing how the media pits rappers against each other. “It's insane because they take these black young brothers and really try to clash it and make them bump heads, and that’s not right.”  

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(Photo: Matt Crossick/PA Photos/Landov)