Kendrick Lamar has returned with his first single since 2012. Entitled 'i', the song samples The Isley Brothers' song 'That Lady', previously used in tracks by The Beastie Boys and Charles Hamilton. The song premiered on US radio station Power 106 on Tuesday morning (September 23, 2014).

Kendrick LamarKendrick Lamar is back with a new single, 'i'

The song had a more upbeat, mainstream feel to the songs on Lamar's acclaimed album Good Kid Maad City and uses the 1973 soul hit as a driving base. It also features the sound of car horns and a jazz breakdown. 

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"If I can say anything about this record," Lamar old Rolling Stone, "it's that it will connect again."

"There was a lot I left out of good kid - it could have been a 30-track album," he said. "There are a few new [songs] that can tie in with what I was talking about."

As well as 'i', Lamar has plenty more songs in the can for the new record, including a "bunch of tracks" with Dr Dre.

"He's just gone into the lab and made beats," Lamar said of his mentor, "He's trying to find that next thing - just really elevating himself and the team to grow as a creator."

The rapper, who is nominated for best international act at this year's MOBO awards, says he has been more or less living at the studio to work on the new record.

"I'm definitely a studio rat. I can go in the booth and do it all day, every day," he said, "Sometimes I go into the studio and study music. Just sit in there and vibe out to music that's not really of the - Marvin Gaye or something like that. I haven't been listening to a lot of the music that's out right now. You can get influenced by it."

What do you think of Kendrick Lamar's new track?

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