Kendrick Lamar talked to Yaya Martinez for an interview on her radio show in Pheonix, Arizona recently.
K. Dot talks on working with Dr. Dre, and hearing him spit Kendrick's flow on "The Recipe," his thoughts on the hologram Tupac, the pressure on Kendrick reppin' the West Coast, his layers as an artist and more.
On if Kendrick Lamar feels pressure for reppin' the West Coast and Snoop Dogg having passed on the torch to him, he says,
"You know the big difference why it's not even pressure? Because I always had this pressure from the moment I picked up the first pen and started writing," he explained. "A lot of people don't understand that, they'll be like, 'Man, you ain't stressed out?' I'm like, nah, because the day I picked up that pen to write, I always wanted to be the best at it. I never wanted to be number two, ever. So I felt like it was pressure every time I wrote my rap - it's gotta be the best rap, it's gotta be the best song, and eventually, it came around to be it's gotta be the whole total package. I always kept high standards for myself, so by the time everybody caught on, I had already been good."
Kendrick talked on how he decides who he's going to be when he goes into the booth-- i.e. will he be "Cartoon & Cereal," Kendrick, or "A.D.H.D." Kendrick etc. He explained,
"All this music, them different types of music, and sounds, delivery and concept, it all comes from my personality and you know, my lifestyle, how I grew up in the city. When I say 'good kid, mad city,' that plays a part of me more than people actually know until they hear the album. I was allowed to be the dreamer, just off the fact that I had both parents in my household, none of my homies had that, period. So, I was one up. That's a good kid, you know, to have my mom sit me down, pops sit me down, and say, 'there's something bigger than, you know, the streets out here, you don't gotta be like me,' I had that. 'Mad city,' that's me walking back outside, and going back to reality, and bumping my head a few times. So when I touch on certain topics like faith and A.D.H.D., and records like that, that's me going back to the elements, sitting down on the couch and getting them lectures sometimes. And going back to the streets, would be 'Ronald Reagan.'"
He continued to go on to discuss "Cartoon & Cereal," and his inspiration for that, which he says is the blend of both, being a kid and having a harsh reality. He says that "Cartoon & Cereal" is the real warm-up for what's to come on his album.
Watch the full interview below.
