Kendrick Lamar Quotes - Page 4

My whole thing is to inspire, to better people, to better myself forever in this thing that we call rap, this thing that we call hip hop.

The thing about hip-hop is they always want to classify you as one particular artist, but hip-hop is about going outside the box and expressing yourself however you want to.

Hip-hop is not the problem, our reality is the problem.

I've got an extra-specific story about Dr. Dre. I saw him when I was 9 years old in Compton - him and Tupac. They were shooting the second 'California Love' video. My pops had seen him and ran back to the house and got me, put me on his neck, and we stood there watching Dre and Pac in a Bentley.

I probably spent more time listening to albums than writing songs. But I think that gave me all the tricks in terms of wordplay, from how I pronounced my words to the actual delivery.

People gonna be they own individuals and have they own worlds and I can't knock it.

I don't even have kids. But at heart, I'm a kid myself.

Found myself screaming in a hotel room. I didn't want to self-destruct.

Let bygones be bygones...but where I'm from, We buy guns and more guns, to give to the young.

At first, I was scared to show fear because you can never be sure how people will perceive you. But I dared myself to do that, to stand out. Now I'll talk about being beaten up or robbed or making a stupid decision because of a girl or whatever.

I had to come from something, come from a place that was negative and positive but the majority of it is a negative place.

We all, we all good people just trying to escape the negative influence that come around us and that's the story of my life, you know? Trying my best to get around the ills and I bumped my head a few times but I think, you know, music is my savior for right now, for me and my whole group.

I'm African American / I'm African / I'm black as the moon.

Every time I write these words they become a taboo, Making sure my punctuation curve, every letter here's true, Living my life in the margin, and that metaphor was proof.

Brother Kendrick Lamar: he's not a rapper, he's a writer, he's an author. And if you read between the lines, we'll learn how to love one another. But you can't do that, I said you can't do that, without loving yourself first.

As I've grown as an artist, I've learned that my mission statement is really self-expression. I don't want anybody to classify my music. I want them to say, "This is somebody who's recognizing his true feelings, his true emotions, ideas, thoughts, opinions, and views on the world, all on one record." I want people to recognize that and to take it and apply it to their own lives. You know what I'm saying? The more and more I get out and talk to different people, I realize they appreciate that - me being unapologetic in whatever views and approach I have.

When you go on your Twitter or look down your Timeline and it's all great positivity - I love that. But at the same time, it can really divert you from what your purpose is or what you're trying to do. And I've seen artists get caught up in that.

Being able to tell one from start to finish, and making that puzzle come together at the end. That's the art for me.

I wanted the next family to hurt, because you made my family hurt. Them emotions were still running in me... Whether I'm a rap star or not, if I still feel like that, then I'm part of the problem rather than the solution.

I see conflict. But the conflict is what makes it relatable. I'm conflicted; you're conflicted. I'm not perfect - nobody is. I'm just blessed to be able to express my conflict through song.

My grandma always said, "Where there's a will, there's a way." I think it's just naturally in our DNA to be able to survive. We was always taught that: to survive. When you talking about slavery, it's to survive.

My pops and my mom started playing Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers and all these people, but at the same time, they always had Snoop on right behind it in the same mix.

I penetrate the hearts of good kids and criminals

That's the ultimate thing I want to do in making music - to be able to inspire somebody else.

K. Dot was a kid who was trying to find himself in music, finding trends, um, bending towards - ready to bend towards what the industry was telling me to do and after you mature at a certain time in your life, you come into your own...your own niche, your own personality, not only as an artist but as a person.