It's a great, great experience to finally get the reception that you know you rightfully deserve.
[Drizzy] ,it was dope. A great experience, especially with the topic he was talking about and to be... organic.I'm glad that it worked out the way it did where I got to tell my story, tell his story at the same time... and actually have it make sense as far as the whole concept of the album.
I always felt like there was a certain standard of music that I had to do from the beginning, even when I didn't have the recognition that I have now.
You grow up inside these neighborhoods and these communities, and you have friends, friends that you love, friends that you grew up with since elementary. And you have their trust, and you have their loyalty. So it brings influence. So no matter how much of a leader I thought I was, I was always under the influence, period.
It's deep-rooted, the music of being young and dumb, It's never muted, in fact, it's much louder where I'm from.
When I look at comedy, it's all self-expression. I apply that same method to my music. I came up listening to N.W.A and Snoop. Like them, it's in me to express how I feel. You might like it or you might not, but I take that stand.
Colorism is not a good thing, especially when you're Black.
When I go into the studio - it [words] has to sound the way I heard it in my head. So that's probably one of the biggest things that separates me when I'm working in the studio - just how I hear certain things.
I started doing music when I was thirteen; I actually started writing my first rhymes.
You really can't categorize my music, it's human music.
The times that we are in, it's something that you can only feel in the air. You don't even have to talk about it. You don't need the news or the Internet to watch it. You can walk outside and just feel it.
Sometimes you have the trends that's not that cool. You may have certain artists portraying these trends and don't really have that lifestyle, and then it gives off the wrong thing. And it becomes kinda corny after awhile. It's really about keeping hip-hop original and pushing away the corniness in it.
The HiiiPower Movement is a movement that's going on all throughout the world like a virus. It's about being on a higher level than the industry. It's a movement we started to be above all the bullshit that's been going on.
I can say is if anyone gets a chance to work with [Dr.]Dre, it's a moment you will always take with you throughout your career. And as of right now, the Compton album is the only thing to talk about.
I always tell people that if I move anywhere it would be Toronto.
From what I remember, I remember always being a big fan of Kardinal Offishall. He just had that different flow and different flavor. He put himself on the record and that's the type of energy that we love.
My lyrics say I have morals, I have confidence, I have weaknesses, I have strong points, that I am a human being.
My mom's one of 13 siblings, and they all got six kids, and till I was 13 everybody was in Compton.
Groups break up because they never got across what they wanted to do personally, and they have creative differences, and egos start to clash.
While you have people who are actually fronting for your needs and wants, sometimes your needs and wants may not be right for you. The people around you are just trying to keep their jobs.
There's kids out there that have so much life to live. That's a beautiful thing.
A lot of incredible rap albums over the past couple of decades have deserved Album of the Year. 'To Pimp a Butterfly' is an extension of those albums.
Eventually you get to this point where you understand what you want to do and get across and sound like.
Music was just played all around me, and I couldn't run from it. My pops, he never learned to sing, but he'd have his little drink on the side, and he'd put on the best of his hits - gangster rap or oldies - and he'd sing all day on his mic plugged up to the wall set-up. It's a trip. I've just seen that my whole life, so I've always just had a love for music. By the time I was 13, I really just jumped in it. And it's something I took on to have as a hobby.
[Drizzy] reached out to me through Chase N Cashe, they're brothers, they're one. Chase N Cashe made the connection, played some of my music and he [Drake] got up on it, got interested in the music and just reached out and said "You know what, let's work."
