Kendrick Lamar Billboard Interview
In this interview they went over the day in the life of Kendrick Lamar. He wakes up at 11 a.m. works out a little then takes a nap, and then starts work at 9 p.m. all the way to 5 a.m. At the time of the interview he was working on To Pimp A Butterfly so they also mentioned things that happened at the studio.
Lamar focuses on telling stories rather than just rapping verses. "I pride myself on writing now rather than rapping. My passion is bringing storylines around and constructing a full body of work," he explained. This approach helped his album "good kid, m.A.A.d city" sell over a million copies and reach No. 2 on the Billboard charts. The article mentions how so many celebrities love Kendrick Lamar music especially Taylor Swift who said "Backseat Freestyle" is her theme song. Kendrick's response to this was,
“I thought she just liked the song. That’s a beautiful thing, Taylor Swift enjoying that song and knowing the words.”
Kendrick said that when he was 8 years old he was kicked out of their apartment and had to live in a hotel for 6 months. His uncle was in jail and only when Kendrick Lamar was able to afford it himself was his Mom able to own a home.
The article revealed that Lamar stopped drinking and smoking as a teenager after seeing how these habits hurt people in his family. This experience shaped songs like "Swimming Pool (Drank)." Lamar described himself as someone who likes being alone and has stayed with his high school girlfriend Whitney Alford, whom he calls his "best friend."
He also talks about the police violence in Ferguson and Kendrick's response ended up causing controversy.
His single "i" had already earned two Grammy nominations, and he had performed a new song on "The Colbert Report" with musicians like Thundercat and Terrace Martin. Though he values making good music, Lamar doesn't focus on winning awards, saying, "That's not my overall goal. I appreciate them recognizing me."
The article mentions that Control is what truly gave Kendrick Lamar huge recognition, Kendrick Lamar then said,
“Drake is definitely a great artist in this world,” Lamar now says. Then he grins. “I’m a great artist in my world.”
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Event Date: January 9, 2015
