Am I the only one who measures time using songs? “Oh it only took me 4 songs to get here! that’s not to long!

Kendrick Lamar

Categorized in : Song Time Rapper

[ Drizzy] is a good dude , he's been looked out and reached out,... by Kendrick Lamar

[ Drizzy] is a good dude , he's been looked out and reached out, and I admire the talent.

admire talent

I'm listening to a lot of oldies.A lot of Al Green, Marvin Gaye. Luther Vandross... they were some of my icons.

icons green listening

I went to South Africa - Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg - and those were definitely the "I've arrived" shows. Outside of the money, the success, the accolades ... This is a place that we, in urban communities, never dream of. We never dream of Africa. Like, "Damn, this is the motherland." You feel it as soon as you touch down. That moment changed my whole perspective on how to convey my art.

perspective dream art

The more people I meet, the more cultures I start to embrace, the more people I open myself up to - it's a growing process I'm excited about. But it's also a challenge for me, to be at this level and still be able to connect with somebody who's living that everyday life. At first it was something I struggled with, because everything was moving so fast. I didn't know how to digest it. The best thing I did was go back to the city of Compton, to touch the people who I grew up with and tell them the stories of the people I met around the world.

challenges people moving

I felt like, what better way for people to understand me by taking the initiative in giving my real name, my name that moms taught me so y'all actually know what's going on in my life and my music.

mom real names

The people definitely shape the two, put stamps and classify main... by Kendrick Lamar

The people definitely shape the two, put stamps and classify mainstream and underground music.

shapes two people

How am I influencing so many people on this stage rather than influencing the ones that I have back home?

influence home people

I went back and studied the game, was a student of the game and worked on my craft and dedicated myself, you know? A lot of my music revolves around me growing up in Compton. I want to tell a different story that's never been told before, of a good kid in a mad city.

growing-up cities kids

Got in the studio at sixteen, [and] that's when I felt like I wanted to make this a career. I had a passion for it.

sixteen passion careers

Everybody has their own way of hearing songs. My fans are usually pretty on point. Sometimes they go all the way to the bottom of it. It's fascinating to me how far an idea can go. I wrote most of my first album in my mom's kitchen, and now I can go around the world and hear people recite those lyrics, and understand the story, even though they're not from the same area I grew up in.

kitchen song people

There are so many people pulling at me at one time - some want the business, some want my love, some just want my support, just to be there or to acknowledge them the same way I used to. To be able to figure that out is an ongoing process, because there's always another show, another album, another moment that I don't want to miss. But I'm pacing myself. I hope the powers that be keep me on a straight course.

support missing people

I am from the inner city, the ghetto. If I can use my platform to carry on a legacy and talk about something that's real, I have to do that, period.

ghetto real cities

Let me put it to you in its simplest form, i’ve been on this earth for 30 years, and there’s been so many things a Caucasian person said I couldn’t do.

entertainment

You got to bleep one single word though. by Kendrick Lamar

You got to bleep one single word though.

latest-headlines

I will always, since day one, scream Compton and make sure I come back to this community and do right by them because Compton's done right by me.

entertainment

It's only right that I mentor a younger person with the same wisdom that was given to me, if it helps the next kid become a better person in life, I will forever be aware of my influence and pay it forward.

politics

We played a lot of gangsta rap, but we also played a lot of oldies, and I think that mix is part of what inspires my sound, my pops and my mom started playing Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers and all these people, but at the same time, they always had Snoop on right behind it in the same mix.

entertainment

That's why I try my best to stay away from social media as much as possible, when you go on your Twitter or look down your timeline and it's all great positivity, I love that. But at the same time, it can really divert you from what your purpose is or what you're trying to do.

entertainment

I look at where I'm at today and realize that most of my success is owed to the mentors that was in my life.

my-life success today life

People have to go through trials and tribulations to get where they at. Do your thing - continue to rock it - because obviously, God wants you here.

your you god people