Kendrick Lamar did not appear as a credited feature on AZ Chike’s new album, but Chike says Kendrick still had a hand in shaping the project.
After No Rest for the Wicked arrived on September 18, Chike shared more detail about the sessions around the album.
In an interview published this week, Chike said Kendrick Lamar and producer Sounwave helped him think through the sequence and structure of the record.
One specific example was “God’s Favorite.” Chike said the song originally sat much later in the tracklist before Kendrick pushed for it to move up to track three because he believed listeners would want that side of Chike earlier.
Chike also described disagreements over songs that he wanted to keep. According to his account, Kendrick and the team argued that some material repeated ideas already covered elsewhere on the album.
MixedByAli handled the album’s mix, adding another familiar collaborator from Kendrick’s wider creative circle.
That does not make Kendrick a featured artist on the album. The role Chike describes is behind the scenes: editing, sequencing and helping decide what the final project needed.
No Rest for the Wicked is out now through Warner Records and includes two Tyler, The Creator appearances, plus production from names including Pharrell Williams and Hit-Boy.
