Lefty Gunplay Called Kendrick Lamar When He Decided To Get Sober 

BY Aron A.
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Kendrick Lamar performs during the second day of Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn. on Friday, Jun. 16, 2023.
Kendrick Lamar performs during the second day of Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn. on Friday, Jun. 16, 2023. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Lefty Gunplay got some encouragement from a few West Coast titans.

In a short amount of time, Lefty Gunplay has stamped his name in Los Angeles’ rap scene, and that’s largely because of his four-word contribution to the end of Kendrick Lamar’s “tv off.” However, his struggles with substance abuse have often played a part in the narrative, though he’s made an effort to clean himself up in recent times.

During an interview, he explained how he became addicted to drugs at a young age from growing up in an impoverished environment that drew him into the gang lifestyle. Though he admits he’s still involved in that life, he explained that his career prompted him to take sobriety seriously and go to rehab.

“As of recently, I started taking my career serious and I made the decision to go to rehab for nine months,” he said, revealing that he stopped cold turkey. What’s more interesting is that he reached out to two West Coast heavyweights once he made the decision to quit.

Lefty Gunplay Made Some Calls

I called Kendrick Lamar, I called Top Dawg, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to go,’ and everyone was telling me you’re blowing all this opportunity,” he said. “And yeah, I ain’t the best rapper but nowadays, you don’t got to be the best rapper on the West. It’s just different. You just got to have it. People got to really love you and vibe with you but everyday, I’m trying to get better at rapping and being sober is part of it.”

Lefty explained that some of the online comments began to get under his skin and he wanted to do better for himself. Check his comments out above and sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below. 

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.

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