Kendrick Lamar can’t start his day without running and this spiritual practice

Kendrick Lamar is opening up about his well-being.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, 37, sat down with former Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) labelmate SZA for an intimate chat, published by Harper’s Bazaar on Monday, October 21st.

Their hour-and-a-half discussion began with the 34-year-old “Saturn” singer asking her friend and collaborator about his mental health and spiritual practices.

“I literally talk to God,” Lamar told SZA about his daily practices. “It’s gotten to the point where I’m starting to think I’m going crazy. But then he has to remind me: “No, that’s really me.” ”

After his conversations with God, there is another daily step that he must not skip.

“My early morning exercise is to run,” the “HUMBLE.” said the artist.

“When I started running, I started to understand. For me there was this threshold of pain in spirituality. I remember my shins hurt and I thought I still had a mile to go. Then I get whispers and downloads and start talking about things I want to know about. And next thing I know I’m three miles in, four miles in. I wake up and do this every day,” Lamar continued.

He also spoke about his out-of-body experiences during his performances.

“I say a bunch of s— on a record and identify with a moment, and then I don’t identify with it anymore. For me, that’s just growth. “This is all subjective,” the “Swimming Pools” rapper shared.

Lamar added that from a young age he was “trying to understand myself, find people I could relate to” and “how to identify outside of myself.”

Never miss a story again — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Noting that it might sound “crazy” to many people or “scary” to others, he elaborated further.

“I learned that I cannot identify with my performances on stage. I can’t trust the person on stage with my entire true identity. Because if I did that, that would mean I would be judging every move, every time I mess up a line, every time I’m wrong,” Lamar said.

He continued: “It’s too much to handle. So I have to have a distance between the performer and the person with whom I close my eyes and look at the ceiling. When I was about 16, 17 years old, I had to develop this tough skin without knowing that it wasn’t just for my career but also for myself. It’s definitely mentally ill.”

Lamar’s big moment is just a few months away.

Shortly after his highly publicized feud with fellow rapper Drake, the Compton native was announced as a participant in the 2025 Super Bowl halftime.

Lamar also explained to SZA the meaning of “Not Like Us,” one of his disses against the 38-year-old Canadian rapper.

“’Not Like Us’ is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent. Now if you identify with the man I represent,” Lamar said. “This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he is into something. He’s not compliant.”