Kendrick Lamar is one of those artistes who need years in between projects, but why is that?
There has always been a sense of mystery about Kendrick Lamar. This goes for pretty much everything, including his lack of social media presence, his business ventures, and of course, the creative processes behind his much-celebrated musical catalog. Let’s face it, K-Dot is a hard nut to crack. However, there are a few very rare occasions when the rapper actually lets the public in, and one such occurrence happened when he popped up on the cover of i-D Magazine for their 40th-anniversary issue.
The now-legendary Compton MC shared some lens time with his cousin and fellow rapper Baby Keem, who actually sat down for a truly in-depth conversation with the “HUMBLE.” rapper. Among the topics discussed was the delayed arrival of K-Dot’s upcoming album and the fact that it was pushed by due to the global pandemic. That opened the door for a question quite a few fans wanted answers to, why does it take so long for Kendrick to drop an album?
While responding to Keem’s story of how he wanted to play with the sound for his track “Die for My B**ch,” Kendrick said, “I get it, that’s what will take me so long to do albums.” He continued, “I spend the whole year just thinking about how I’m gonna execute a new sound, I can’t do the same thing over and over. I need something to get me excited.”
Baby Keem agreed with K-Dot’s stance before Kendrick Lamar went more in-depth about why none of his projects will ever sound alike or become a series.
“I remember the sophomore jinx of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City; it was for that year and for that time,” Dot added. “I was in a different space in my life. I already knew off the top I can’t make Good Kid, M.A.A.D City Part Two. The second I’m making that, it’s corny bro. That takes the feeling away from the first. I need that muhf__ka to live in its own world. Then boom, To Pimp a Butterfly. Some people love it to death, some people hate it.”
Kendrick Lamar confirmed that he appreciates surprising himself at the end of each project. Using To Pimp a Butterfly as an example he said, “I had an idea in my head of how I wanted it to sound, built with jazz and blues and hip-hop.”
The Top Dawg Entertainment rapper continued blessing his protege with nuggets of inspiration and wisdom, as it relates to taking the time to craft a certain sound.
“There’s no pressure when you arrive at that place, but when you do it’s gonna give you some real therapy because you’ll know how many people you touch,” he said before explaining the side effects of doing so. “It can be emotionally draining as well as rewarding, that’s part of the game. You’re a voice for a lot of young people, a lot of older people too.”
Kendrick Lamar’s last studio album titled DAMN. was released in 2017 and went on to cop a number of awards. As for the arrival of the new masterpiece, that is still to be announced. Fans are hopeful that it will arrive before the year is done, an expectation that was heightened after Lamar was spotted shooting a music video sometime last month.
