Considering Kendrick Lamar’s on again, off again luck with the Grammy Awards, pretty much everyone was surprised when it was announced he was nominated for 11 of their honors. And that goes for Kendrick too.

In a new interview with the New York Times, the Compton rapper reflected on being the most nominated artist for 2015. "I’m still soaking that all in. Michael [Jackson], who was nominated for 12 in 1984] will forever be the greatest. I’m glad it was at 11," he said. "I would never want to even think about putting myself on the same level as Michael, simply because I haven’t put in the work that he did. It couldn’t be a better number."

K. Dot chimed in on Drake and Future’s monstrous years as well and says both had a killer 2015. At the same time, he explained how there’s room in hip hop for both the more reflective vibe he creates and the more party-based music they make.

"It feels good when I listen to it, when I’m in that vibe. You feel it,” he said. “You can get the highest level of that — you can get Future — or you can get the watered-down version, somebody else trying to be that."

Also during the interview Kendrick Lamar says his Grammy nominations are a win for hip hop music and he didn’t really pay much attention to Drake’s back-and-forth battle with Meek Mill.

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(Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images)