Kendrick Lamar‘s latest album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was five years in the making. However, upon its completion, K-Dot says he was still unsure if he was going to put it out to the masses.

On Tuesday (Oct. 11), W magazine released their latest cover story interview with Kendrick Lamar online. During the sit-down, the PGLang artist opened up about the conflicting feelings he had about putting his latest LP out.

“When I got to completion and I said, ‘I may or may not put this out; I’m not going to put this out; it’s way too much,’ I thought about my children,” he said. “I thought about when they turn 21, or they’re older in life, and when I got grandchildren, or if I’m long gone—this can be a prerequisite of how to cope. That’s the beauty of it for me.”

“I’m a private person; it was tough for me,” Kendrick Lamar continued about touching on personal family experiences on the new album. “The reason why I had to make that decision, whether they was for or against it, I just didn’t want the influence. I could have cut corners and got flashy with it and worded my words a certain way—nah, I had to be in the rawest, truest form I could possibly be in order for it to be freeing for me, in order for me to have a different outlook and the perspective on people I’m talking to. I had to reap whatever consequences came behind that, and also be compassionate and show empathy if they were hurt by it.”

The Compton, Calif. rapper said he kept the content of his album close to the vest, not even revealing the subject matter to those who were the subjects. Otherwise, “Them shits would’ve never came out,” Kendrick added.

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar‘s fifth studio album, was released back in May and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It has been praised as one of his most vulnerable projects. Since July, Kendrick has been on a massive tour in promotion of the album featuring Baby Keem and Tanna Leone. He is currently on the European leg of the jaunt.