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With my listener, I know they actually
hear what I’m saying, and I’m speaking
for a whole culture of people. So for the
suburbankidwhodoesn’tknowhowwe
grewup,orthehistoryofmypeople,hear-
ingthemlyrics,theygettounderstand.
It’s almost like a history lesson that wasn’t
taught to them in school.
You’ve spoken of struggling
with depression. Is that still
with you?
Um,asofnow,I’mcool.I
won’tsayI’mcontent.Idon’t
want that word. I’m not satis-
fiedyet.Butasfarashaving
asenseofpersonalstressto
that level, no. That’s a good
spacebecauseIcannowlis-
tentomylisteners’struggles
and help them.
But you understand why
so many artists end up self-
destructing?
Oh,no,that’seasy.Espe-
cially in this lifestyle. Every-
thingisatyourreach,what-
ever you want, whatever you
need. When them cameras is
on you, anything you need.
But who you really are is when
thelightscutoff.It’sallabout
howmuchdisciplineyouhave.
Are you optimistic or pes-
simistic about the
future?
I’m mothafuckin’
optimistic for sure.
Iwouldn’tbehere
if I wasn’t! Come
on,man,thisshit
don’thappentoev-
erybody. Almost all
of my best friends
are in prison. Forty
yearsplus.Everyshow,theywannasee
pictures.Theytellme,“Yougottabeop-
timistic as fuck to be where you at. We
didn’t have that. The glass was always
halfway empty.” And it’s not just being
optimistic.It’sreallyaboutbeingrespon-
sible.Youcantalkaboutdreamsallday
and“whatIwant”,butyougottaputan
action behind it.
Butyou’vealsowonderedaloudwhether
we’relivingintheEndTimes.
I balance that by giving of myself as
much as possible, in the hope to pass along
to the next generation, or however many
generationsitistogo,theknowledgethat
I have. Given whatever fucked-up situation
thatwe’rein,it’sallabouttheevolutionof
man.Peoplegetitfuckedupbecausethey
think it’s the physical form. No, it’s evolu-
tionofthemind.So,aslongasI’mdedicat-
ing myself fully to my potential and this
gift,there’snothingelsetothinkabout.I
cangotosleeppeacefully.Icancheckout
withapeacefulconscience.taking his perspective on the world and
life as a people and putting it to where
peoplecanlistentoitandmaketheirown
perspective from it, whether you agree or
you don’t agree. That’s what I think music
is for. It’s a mouthpiece.
So what’s your opinion about the idea
that Carl brings up, that black people are
cursed by God as per Deuteronomy?
That shit’s truth. There’s so many differ-
ent ways to interpret it, but it’s definitely
truthwhenyou’retalkingaboutunityin
ourcommunityandsomeofthethingswe
have no control over. Where there’s fight-
ing against the government, where there’s
fightingagainstourownpoliticalviews,
there’s always a higher being, right there
willingtostopit.
Itcouldbearguedthatblamingacurse
from God kind of excuses a racist system.
Right.Youtakeithowyouwannatake
it. The conversation’s there. We can sit and
talkaboutitallday.Ido,allday[laughs].
Whenyouseeaseaofwhitekidsrap-
ping back the lyrics to something like
“Blacker the Berry”, what do you make
of that?connect with the audience. They can hear
that shit in the booth, just like in Emi-
nem’s“TheWayIAm”,Jay-Z’s“SongCry”,
Tupac’s“DearMama”.Youcantellthose
storiesandthoseideasreallyhithome
for them.
Alotofpeoplethinkthatlyricalvir-
tuosity,havingbars,isn’tas
valued in hip-hop as it once
was. Do you agree?
Imademymarkataright
point in time, man – 2011 and
2012,itwasjustthatwindow
wherefanswantedtohear
lyricism.Youcouldprobably
stepinthegametodaywith
lyricism.Butitmaynotbeas
respected, because the times
have changed so dramatically.
You’ve also suggested that
critics don’t value lyricism as
much as they claim to.
You know, hip-hop has a
lotofhypocriticalaspectsof
it,whenyou’retalkingabout
lyrics. There’s a thousand rap-
pers that can give you bars out
there. But the local DJ isn’t
gonnaspinthat,nomatter
howmuchofaclassicgolden
erahecomesfrom,becausehe
alsohastomakemoneyatthe
endoftheday.That’sjustthe
truthofthematter.
WasitAndré3000who
firstgotitinyourheadthat
rappers can sing?
Formygeneration,itwould
definitely have to be André
3000.Hewasthefirstguy.
We’d come home from school
andhe’dberappingonTVoneday,then
youcamehomeaweeklaterandhehasa
song called “Prototype”, which just blows
ourmindaway,youdigwhatI’msayin’?
Do you have songs that we’ve never
heard that are just singing?
Straight melody-driven, for sure. Ul-
timately,that’spracticeformeonmy
rapalbums.Iwritealotofthemelodies.
Shit,usually95percent.Mayjumpin
andjumpout.Mightgiveyouahooklike
“ELEMENT.” Might give you a verse on a
Travis Scott record with the “ghetto fal-
setto”.That’swhatIcallit[laughs]. That’s
just me flirting with the idea of being able
to take it there.
Your falsetto sounds a bit like Curtis
Mayfield’s. Are you a fan?
Definitely. That was my father’s favou-
rite.Mymother’sfavourite,actually.
Your cousin Carl is a member of the
Hebrew Israelites, who believe that Afri-
can-Americans are the true descendants
ofthebiblicalIsraelites.Carlpopsupin
a voicemail on “FEAR.” You call yourself
an Israelite on the album. How much
of his theology have you embraced, andhowmuchofitisjustyouplayingwith
the ideas?
Everything that I say on that record is
fromhisperspective.That’salwaysbeen
my thing. Always listen to people’s his-
tory and their background. It may not be
likemine,itmaynotbelikeyours.ItwasGOLDEN GOD
Lamar onstage at
the Austin City
Limits Festival.
“Being onstage,
knowing you’re
changing lives- that’s a high.”
October, 2017 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 77