Some fans were disappointed to hear Kendrick Lamar's latest single "i" because of its upbeat, happy vibe. The TDE rapper, however, has promised that his highly anticipated third studio album won't sound the same.

While detailing his upcoming record with XXL, K. Dot addressed those who gave his self-empowering track a thumbs down.

"I'm not an artist that's gonna give you a single and say, 'This is what my album's gonna sound like, go sell it.' That's not me," he said.

Despite how cheerful it sounds, "i" was surprisingly written from a "dark place" Kendrick said. The Compton emcee explained that it was inspired by the suicidal kids he met during his tour who claimed his music saved their lives. 

The "B---h, Don't Kill My Vibe" hitmaker further discussed "i," which was inspired by being viewed as a role model.

"You would say, 'I don't wanna be a role model. I don't want none of that.' But in actuality, you are the biggest role model," he said. "It's impossible to fight the title of role model. At first, I wasn't so sure, maybe it was just they were excited to meet me, but then they showed me their wrists and had all these different scars from when they tried to take their lives but failed."

Lamar also claimed that he is going to focus on staying where he is for the follow-up to his critically acclaimed major-label debut "good kid, m.A.A.d city."

"Everybody has their own niche," he said. "With mine, I just own it, and I know that's exactly what that is. And I wanna keep that lane. I don't want to jump in somebody else's lane and try to do their moves because it may not work for me like it worked for them. So I stay where I feel like I'm inspired."