This past July, the Internet erupted with excitement after the Mother Monster herself, Lady Gaga, made an appearance at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago to catch a set by hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar. Both artists later revealed that a collaboration between the two was in the works — and, when Lamar previewed selections from his new album good kid, m.A.A.d city for the press several months ago, he introduced the album standout "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" as his "Lady Gaga record."
But, while "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" appears on Lamar's latest record, Lady Gaga's vocal contributions — as well as "Partynauseous," another Lamar/Gaga musical pairing — are noticeably absent. So, what happened to this headline-making partnership?
Speaking to MTV, Lamar lamented that a combination of creative differences, rights clearances and a variety of other bureaucratic requirements affected Gaga's contributions to good kid, m.A.A.d city to be approved in time for the album's production deadlines.
""We had to meet these pre-orders," Lamar shared. "I was frustrated about it. My team was frustrated about it, but at the same time, we had to move forward."
Gaga also revealed her reasoning behind the absence of "Partynauseous" from Lamar's major label debut in a post on her Little Monsters social networking site.
"I love Kendrick dearly as a friend," Gaga writes, "but [I] was not willing to compromise musically to the changes his team was making to my music."
Label politics aside, neither artist has indicated that the tracks will be shelved — so here's hoping the Gaga/Lamar partnership sees a worthy release sometime soon.
[MTV]