Hear Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar’s Jazzy Song ‘Never Catch Me’
Flying Lotus‘ collaboration with Kendrick Lamar, “Never Catch Me,” which will appear on the electronic music experimenter’s upcoming fifth LP, You’re Dead!, has leaked online. The track features buoyantly jazzy, occasionally Zappa-esque production as Lotus and Lamar rap about how far ahead of the curve they are – a point they make by reciting their verses at warp speed.
Flying Lotus recently told Rolling Stone that the collaboration came about naturally, with Lamar recording his verses at Lotus’ house. “The funny part is, though, that he wanted to keep that shit for his album,” he said. “When I first sent him the track, he was trying to convince me to give it to him. Like, ‘Nah, man, I need that.'”
Lotus said that he and Lamar had a “special vibe between [their] chemistry” and that their friendship dated back years. The producer felt “shitty” that he wasn’t included on Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city record from 2012 but that they became even closer after it came out. “He talked about me contributing to his new album, and I was down with that. I sent him a bunch of stuff and then I asked if he’d do something for my album, and he was super into the concept of my record and really wanted to be part of it. I was just flattered.”
Flying Lotus originally conceived You’re Dead! as a strictly jazz affair, but after working on it for two years, he made an album that also featured prog-rock time signatures and rapping. In addition to Lamar, jazz legend Herbie Hancock also makes an appearance on the record. The album comes out October 7th.