Kendrick Lamar Talks (But Not To Us)
Hot on the heels of 11 Grammy nominations, “Alright” becoming the anthem of the #BlackLivesMatter, 375M streams and 750K units sold, all for To Pimp A Butterfly, Compton son Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore album, which, along with 2014’s D’Angelo Black Messiah is the zeitgeist sound of black anger.
So leaning back on a couch in his management offices, 28 year old Kendrick speaks to us, and when I say us, I mean the New York Times’ Joe Coscarelli (here). Here are some highlights….
“It’s not just a collection [of songs]. We pride ourselves on that. I wanted it to be that body of work again the same way I did with my first record. This time around, I wanted to make sure that not only were the lyrics appreciated or the beats, but the musicianship, as far as my writing skills, my arrangements. That’s me challenging myself.”
“Michael (Jackson) is still the greatest.”
“Music moves with the times. It’s not something we have to consciously do.”
It could be in arenas one day. I don’t feel like the time is right.” (PS: I saw it in an Arena and it sucked)
“I’m just writing, writing, writing. I keep these tablets on me until I’m inspired to go back in and make the music”
“It’s not just for me. It’s for these kids out here that hang on to these words. They’re more dependent on me saying the next thing and seeing my face than I’m consumed with being an introvert.”
