Photo of Kendrick Lamar by Kevin Mazur

Kendrick Lamar said in a new interview with Zane Lowe he's "not focusing" on Donald Trump in his new album DAMN. He is instead "focusing on self."

"I wanted more self-evaluation and discipline, because what’s going on now," Lamar told Lowe in the newly published interview, which was conducted last weekend before Lamar's Coachella weekend 1 performance. "We’re not focusing on him. What’s going on now—we're focusing on self."

Lamar went on to say: "You see real different nationalities and cultures are coming together and actually standing up for themselves and I think that’s a pure reflection of this record ... prior to even coming out. We say, 'OK, we can’t control [that].' Now we see we can control what’s going on out there. It was a whole ‘nother power that be so what we can do now is we can start coming together and figuring out our own problems and home solutions."

He also noted his sampling of Fox News' infamous bashing of his 2016 Grammys performance. "I thought it was a trip, that it was clickbait," he said. "Because anybody that know me, they know that ... I represent my people ... so to try and attack my character and make it an actual stunt. I wasn’t for it."

Elsewhere in the conversation, the Compton emcee discussed his spiritual journey. "We're all spiritual beings. And that's something I can't ever run from," Lamar said. "I always felt God used me as a vessel—period. Whether to show my flaws, whether to show my intellect. To show my pain, to show my hurt. To share my stories. To share His message."

He noted his lyrics may be intense for some, but he lamented, "I can't sugarcoat the reality out here."

Watch the full interview below.