Fans waiting to hear the collaborative mixtape project from Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole will have to wait a little bit longer. Lamar recently talked to BET.com about his primary focuses—working with Dr. Dre on Detox and finishing up his Section .80 album.

The up-and-coming West Coast MC credits Drake and the overwhelming demand for music in this day-and-age as the cause for his change in focus.

“I’m trying to get this s--- out ASAP truthfully,” says Kendrick of the upcoming Section .80 project. “Honestly Drake changed the game. Any artist that say he didn’t? Stop it. You’re hating and you need to stop it. Drake did that where you got to put out, you can’t compete if you not putting out a boat of music that’s original in a structured format where people can listen to it as a cohesive album. I felt like, the Kendrick Lamar EP... that was all original. You know as a matter of fact I take that back. It was one beat by Black Milk that was out that I took, an industry beat but the OD that was all original. 15 tracks, original songs. That was an album.”

The J. Cole-produced “HiiiiPower” will be one of the tracks featured on the album, but Kendrick isn’t sure how many other Cole-assisted songs he wants to include just yet.

“I got a lot of music with me and J. Cole,” says the rookie. “I don’t know, if I want to put more tracks but I think I just want that track with him on there and save the rest. But I got other tracks with me and him featured on back and forth. I think I’m going to save them tho. Which I hate saving music but....”

Lamar says the fanfare around making the XXL 2011 freshman cover and the MTV New West special is what made him decide to shelf the project with Cole for the time being.

“We got like seven [tracks]” Kendrick told BET.com. “That’s enough to put out an EP right now, truthfully. But me and him decided to wait because really, off the whole XXL thing and all that hype, that’s more new people that’s tuned into my music now and I don’t want them to feel like I need help to ride off another artist. [So I wanted] to come back and drop another project and say, ‘Yo, I been here. I been doing it my way.’ Then after that, be like ok let’s give them the J. Cole.”

In the mean time, the artist formerly known as K. Dot is still heavy in the studio with Dr. Dre.

“I’m just focused on this project, Detox, and my debut album. That’s my focus, focus... [Detox] is going through the final stages. It just gets better and better each song so it’s hard. At least that’s my excuse. That’s how I feel when I hear these songs. Do a new song every day it just gets better and better and I be like ‘Damn, what we gone do?’”

(Photo: Zyaire P./www.thezics.net)