Many hip-hop heads have wondered where Kendrick Lamar could take his music next after delivering To Pimp a Butterfly and demos collection untitled unmastered., but the hip-hop icon has shed some light on his upcoming work in a new interview.
Speaking with T Magazine, Lamar alluded to taking inspiration for the new record from issues that face both his own community in Compton and those around the globe.
"I think now, how wayward things have gone within the past few months, my focus is ultimately going back to my community and the other communities around the world where they're doing the groundwork," he told the publication.
He continued: "To Pimp a Butterfly was addressing the problem. I'm in a space now where I'm not addressing the problem anymore. We're in a time where we exclude one major component out of this whole thing called life: God. Nobody speaks on it because it's almost in conflict with what's going on in the world when you talk about politics and government and the system."
Describing the new disc as "very urgent," Lamar then asked the journalist whether he had children. Upon learning he had a daughter, the rapper let him in on "what goes on in my mind as a writer."
"One day, I may have a little girl. And it's a girl in particular — funny you should say that," he said. "She's gonna grow up. She's gonna be a child I adore, I'm gonna always love her, but she's gonna reach that one point where she's gonna start experiencing things. And she's gonna say things or do things that you may not condone, but it's the reality of it and you know she was always gonna get to that place. And it's disturbing. But you have to accept it. You have to accept it and you have to have your own solutions to figure out how to handle the action and take action for it."
Lamar continued: "When I say 'the little girl,' it's the analogy of accepting the moment when she grows up. We love women, we enjoy their company. At one point in time I may have a little girl who grows up and tells me about her engagements with a male figure — things that most men don't want to hear. Learning to accept it, and not run away from it, that's how I want this album to feel."
Lamar covers the latest edition of T Magazine alongside Beck and Tom Waits. Read the entire interview here, and pick up untitled unmastered. here.
Speaking with T Magazine, Lamar alluded to taking inspiration for the new record from issues that face both his own community in Compton and those around the globe.
"I think now, how wayward things have gone within the past few months, my focus is ultimately going back to my community and the other communities around the world where they're doing the groundwork," he told the publication.
He continued: "To Pimp a Butterfly was addressing the problem. I'm in a space now where I'm not addressing the problem anymore. We're in a time where we exclude one major component out of this whole thing called life: God. Nobody speaks on it because it's almost in conflict with what's going on in the world when you talk about politics and government and the system."
Describing the new disc as "very urgent," Lamar then asked the journalist whether he had children. Upon learning he had a daughter, the rapper let him in on "what goes on in my mind as a writer."
"One day, I may have a little girl. And it's a girl in particular — funny you should say that," he said. "She's gonna grow up. She's gonna be a child I adore, I'm gonna always love her, but she's gonna reach that one point where she's gonna start experiencing things. And she's gonna say things or do things that you may not condone, but it's the reality of it and you know she was always gonna get to that place. And it's disturbing. But you have to accept it. You have to accept it and you have to have your own solutions to figure out how to handle the action and take action for it."
Lamar continued: "When I say 'the little girl,' it's the analogy of accepting the moment when she grows up. We love women, we enjoy their company. At one point in time I may have a little girl who grows up and tells me about her engagements with a male figure — things that most men don't want to hear. Learning to accept it, and not run away from it, that's how I want this album to feel."
Lamar covers the latest edition of T Magazine alongside Beck and Tom Waits. Read the entire interview here, and pick up untitled unmastered. here.