Kendrick Lamar is perhaps the most noted lyricist of his era. The first rap musician to be awarded the Pulitzer, the Compton artist has shattered expectations, delivering work with profound meaning. The comparisons have come thick and fast – a West Coast artist, he’s played up to the 2pac comparisons, consciously working in that lineage. Beyond hip-hop, however, another parallel has been made – Bob Dylan.

Curiously, it was actually Pharrell who made the observation. During Kendrick’s come-up, the multi-faceted songwriter and producer contrasted K Dot with the revered catalogue constructed by Bob Dylan.

“Kendrick Lamar is this era’s Bob Dylan,” Pharrell said back in 2013. “Masterful story telling. Listen to it. It will elevate you. And just like that, music has changed.”

Following this, Kendrick Lamar sat down with Arsenio Hall, who naturally probed him on the comment.

“That was crazy. I always said, ‘If I’m going to do this, I’m going to say something. I’m not going to just rap a bunch of verses.’ That was Dylan. He’s a legend and he said something. He voiced his opinion and the world gravitated towards it and I want to do that with my music.”

More than a decade on, the plaudits are still coming in. As a teaser for his Apple Music Superbowl half-time show this weekend, Kendrick Lamar linked with Timothée Chalamet for an in-depth interview, and the pair also performed ‘The Heart Pt. 2’ and ‘K*sh & Corinthians’ together.