Dubcnn.com: how did your music get into Dre’s hands in the first place?
Kendrick: Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s manager. He heard it first while I was on the Strange Music tour with Jay Rock. I got the word that Paul Rosenberg called Dre, told him check out this kid in YouTube, the song “Ignorance Is Bliss”. That was the first time Dre ever heard me, through that video, which is a great introduction. If I had to pick any song I did as an introduction it would be either that or “The Heart Pt. 2″.

Anyway, he heard “Ignorance Is Bliss” and called my dude Top Dawg immediately, same day. Top called me and was like “Yo, Dre just heard your music. He wants to fuck with you.” I was like “For sure, that’s a go!” I mean he’s a legend, he’s somebody I looked up to when I was a kid! When I was 4 years old my pops was bumpin’ N.W.A.!

Then Dre went on the radio like two weeks later and said the name. That was huge, I didn’t think he was gonna do that, I thought he was gonna be real secretive cause that’s how Dre works. He’s a perfectionist and he don’t like people to know what weapon’s he got under his sleeve. But he went on the radio and said the name and it just really woke up people that wasn’t believers, you know how that go. Somebody with a credible name has to stand up and now they’re like “Ah yeah, he’s that dude.” Nah man, I’ve been doing this music for a long time.