Foto von Christian San Jose
Das Rolling Stone Magazin feiert dieses Jahr 50-jähriges Jubiläum! In der neuesten Ausgabe des Musik Magazins gibt es für Rapfans ein ganz besonderes Schmankerl, Kendrick Lamar auf dem Cover. Nachdem „DAMN.“ zuletzt doppelt mit Platin ausgezeichnet wurde und Kung Fu Kenny die Liste der Nominierten bei den MTV VMAs unangefochten anführte, war es für das Magazin wohl Zeit etwas genauer mit K Dot zu sprechen. Im Folgenden findet ihr einige originale Auszüge aus dem Interview, wer hingegen die volle Portion haben will, findet ihr das ganze Interview.
“DAMN.” hier bei amazon bestellen
“DAMN.” hier bei iTunes bestellen
Do you ever feel like you should be having more fun?
Everybody’s fun is different. Mine is not drinking. I drink casually, from time to time. I like to get people from my neighborhood, someone that’s fresh out of prison for five years, and see their faces when they go to New York, when they go out of the country. Shit, that’s fun for me. You see it through their eyes and you see ‚em light up.
Was there a sense that you were special as a kid?
From what my family tells me, I carried myself as a man – that’s why they called me „Man Man.“ It put a stigma on the idea of me reacting as a kid sometimes – I would hurt myself and they would expect me not to cry. That put a lot of responsibility on me, got me ready for the responsibility my fans put upon me. I ended up getting tough skin, too, even with criticism. My first time in the studio, [label chief] Top Dawg was like, „Man, that shit wack.“ Other artists around couldn’t handle that. But it made me go back in the booth and go harder.
Other than a few lyrics, you’ve been quiet about Donald Trump. Why?
I mean, it’s like beating a dead horse. We already know what it is. Are we gonna keep talking about it or are we gonna take action? You just get to a point where you’re tired of talking about it. It weighs you down and it drains your energy when you’re speaking about something or someone that’s completely ridiculous. So, on and off the album, I took it upon myself to take action in my own community. On the record, I made an action to not speak about what’s going on in the world or the places they put us in. Speak on self; reflection of self first. That’s where the initial change will start from.
On “ELEMENT.” you make that funny distinction between “black artists and wack artists.” What, to you, defines a wack artist?
I love that question. How would I define a wack artist? A wack artist uses other people’s music for their approval. We’re talking about someone that is scared to make their own voice, chases somebody else’s success and their thing, but runs away from their own thing. That’s what keeps the game watered-down. Everybody’s not going to be able to be a Kendrick Lamar. I’m not telling you to rap like me. Be you. Simple as that. I watch a lot of good artists go down like that because you’re so focused on what numbers this guy has done, and it dampers your own creativity. Which ultimately dampers the listener, because at the end of the day, it’s not for us. It’s for the person driving to their 9-to-5 that don’t feel like they wanna go to work that morning.
Is it ever OK for a rapper to have a ghostwriter? You’ve obviously written verses for Dr. Dre yourself.
It depends on what arena you’re putting yourself in. I called myself the best rapper. I cannot call myself the best rapper if I have a ghostwriter. If you’re saying you’re a different type of artist and you don’t really care about the art form of being the best rapper, then so be it. Make great music. But the title, it won’t be there.
How did Bono end up on the song „XXX.“?
We had a [different] record we were supposed to be doing together. He sent it over, I laid some ideas to it, and we didn’t know where it was going. I just happened to have an album coming out, so I just asked him, like, „Yo, would you do me this honor of letting me use this record, use this idea that I want to put together because I’m hearing a certain type of 808, a certain drum to it.“ And he was open to it.
Das ganze Interview findet ihr hier.
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