KENDRICK
LAMARWhatwentthroughyourheadsittingin
Mandela’s cell?
Howstrongthismanwas.Ifyoucould
seethiscell,man.Andthey’relayingon
thefloor,acoldfloor.Tostillbeableto
carryoutamessageandsociallymove
your people from inside that cell, you just
gottabeastrongindividual.
How did “HUMBLE.” start?
It was the beat first, actually. [Pro-
ducer] Mike Will sent the beat over. All I
couldthinkofwas[MarleyMarl’s]“The
Symphony” and the earliest moments of
hip-hop, where it’s complex simplicity, but
it’s also somebody making moves. That
beatfeelslikemygeneration,rightnow.
The first thing that came to my head was,
“Be humble.”
Who are you talking to in the chorus –
yourself?
Definitely.It’stheego.Whenyoulook
atthesongtitlesonthisalbum,theseare
all my emotions and all my self-expres-
sionsofwhoIam.That’swhyIdidasong
likethat,whereIjustdon’tgiveafuck,
or I’m telling the listener, “You can’t fuck
with me.” But ultimately, I’m looking in
the mirror.
YouhaveaNumberOnerecord,which
means, on some level, you’re a pop artist.
It gets tricky because you can have that
one big record, but you can still have that
integrity at the same time. Not many can
do it...wink-wink [laughs]. Still have
them raps going crazy on that album and
haveaNumberOnerecord,wink-wink.
Callitwhateveryouwanttocallit.As
long as the artist remains true to the
craftofhip-hopandthecultureofit,it
is what it is.
The track “LOVE.” is probably another
hit – it’s the poppiest thing you’ve ever
done. But you must draw a line some-
wherewherethingsgettoosoftforyou.
We call it ear candy. There’s ear candy,
andthenthere’scorny.Youhavetohave
an incredible ear to recognise it and an
incredible team to recognise it, to know
the differences. It takes years of experi-
ence. Years of making wack shit [laughs],
andknowingwhatworksforyou,andalso
knowingwhentostepoutofyourboxand
trythingsthatfeelgoodandstillcanre-
main you.
Haveyourecordedsongswhereyou’re
like, “That sounds like a Number One hit,
butit’scorny–I’mneverputtingthatout”?
For sure. I’ve done stuff just freestyling
shitonamicanditcouldbeapossible
smash,butjustforthesakeofmybrand
andwhereIwantittogo,sometimes
you’ve gotta look for the long run, rather
than what’s right in front of you.
Doyoualsorejectsongsjustbecause
they don’t fit the album concept?
I’ve done that a lot. I care about the
bodyofwork,notjustabigsingle.Icome
from that era. I can’t shake it, either, no
matter how big streaming gets. With
streaming, you just gotta have great songs.
How consciously were you trying to
make “DAMN.” a more accessible album
than “Butterfly”?
The initial goal was to make a hybrid
of my first two commercial albums. That
was our total focus, how to do that soni-
cally, lyrically, through melody – and it
cameoutexactlyhowIhearditinmy
head....It’s all pieces of me. My musi-
calityhasbeendrivingmesinceIwas
fouryearsold.It’sjustpiecesofme,man,
andhowIexecuteitistheultimatechal-
lenge. Going fromTo Pimp a Butterflyto
DAMN.,thatshitcouldhavecrashedand
burned if it wasn’t executed right. So I
hadtoberealcarefulonmysubjectmat-
terandhowIweaveinandoutofthetop-
ics, where it still organically feels like me.
When you did the “Bad Blood” remix
with Taylor Swift, were you aware that
youweretakingsidesinapopbeef–
since she was apparently addressing Katy
Perry?
[Through laughter]No,Iwasn’taware
ofthat,bro.That’sagreatquestion.No!
On the record, no. Which makes it even
more funny now, for sure. That’s far be-
yond my concern. I have
to stay away from that, for
sure. That’s some real beef
[laughs].
What did you learn
working with Beyoncé on
“Lemonade”?
How particular to be
about your music. She’s a
perfectionist. Think about
the BET performance. She
was very particular – the
lighting, the camera block-
ing,thetransitionfromthe
musictothedancing.Itwas
confirmation of something
Ialreadyknew.
Your videos keep getting
more ambitious – have you
gotten acting offers?
Yeah,definitely.ButI’dhavetobe
110,000percentin.That’saskill,atalent
that people perfect with years of rehears-
ing.FormetojustjumpinbecauseI’m
KendrickLamar,I’mnottakingthatpat
on the back. I’ll wait until I’m able to take
some time off and study the craft. And
right now, I be more sliding onto the side
of directing.
In music, you seem to think like a pro-
ducer, even if you don’t give yourself those
credits.
I’ll tell you this: You can’t make them
type of albums just by producers send-
ingyoubeats.Youhavetobeinthegrit
with’em.You’vegottabethereonevery
snare, every 808, every transition, every
arrangement.Youjusthavetostudyand
beinthenookofit.I’mthereforthewholeprocess. That’s one of the reasons why I
can formulate that cohesiveness.
ButsomeonelikeFutureprettymuch
raps over the beats he gets, and he’s great
in his own way. You two are so different,
so it was interesting to hear you on the
“Mask Off” remix.
He’shisowngenius.I’vewatchedhim
inthestudio.Thewayhecomesupwith
themelodiesis[snaps fingers]likethat,
youknow.Youhavetospeakacertain
type of language and also have a great
studyinmusic–thesamewayIhave–for
what he’s done. I’m sure he’s grown up off
a ton of R&B. Watching him come up with
themelodies,that’sawholeotherball-
game, to understand them sonics.
What’s your favourite Drake song?
Favourite Drake song [chuckles]. I got
a lot of favourite Drake songs. Can’t name
oneofftheback...Hehasplenty.
Doyoupreferhimsingingorrapping?
Both. Yeah.
On your earliest mixtape, from when
you were 16, there are points where you
soundjustlikeJay-Z.
Oh,yeah.Thatwasmyguy.Stillis.I’m
stillafan.ThatwasjustapageItook
outofhisbook,tobeabletocarryalyric
through conversation and
make it feel like I’m sitting
right here talking to you.
When did you truly find
your own style?
Ithinkitwastheday
IsaidIwasgonnagoby
my real name, Kendrick
Lamar.
Instead of K-Dot?
Yeah. And really just tell
my story. Once I did that,
itwaseasierformetofind
my own voice, because no-
bodycantellmystorythe
wayItellit.
In 2010, you recorded
“TheHeartPt.2”,which
was a breakthrough in its
emotional honesty. How
did that happen?
Iremembersayingtomyself,“Ijust
wanna show a spew of emotion on a rec-
ord.Idon’tcarehowlongthebarsare,but
peopleareliterallygonnahavetofeelme.”
ItoldmyselfthatifIcan’tconnectthat
way, then it ain’t no point in me just put-
ting a bunch of good words together. So
that spaz-out toward the end, where I just
choke up and lose my breath – I wanna
keep all that.
You can work yourself up into a state in
the studio. Do you ever freak yourself out?
TheironyinthatisIdofreakmyself
out, because you go somewhere emotion-
ally and then you damn near become a
robotto the emotion. You want to keep
ondoingtakesoverandover.That’swhen
you really zone out and when you really“There’s
ear candy,
and then
there’s corny.
You need an
incredible
ear to know
the difference.
It takes years
of experience,
years of
making
wack shit.”76 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com October, 2017