Kendrick Lamar

Lyrics

7 ContributorsXXL Oct/Nov 2013 Cover Story LyricsThere's a new crew taking over hip-hop, and everybody's trying to be down.I try to stay in my own little bubble and not think about how people view me, 'cause if you do that, it's very quick that you can go crazy.Kendrick Lamar: That’s crazy.

XXL: What?

KL: TMZ.

XXL: How did you break into that world? You’re like a little backpack rapper, and then all of a sudden TMZ cares about what you’re doing.

KL: That world is The Matrix. I don’t understand that world—that’s The Matrix.

XXL: Is it really like they say, that it happens fast? Even though you’re moving real slow and then—

[about it all]. It’s a tricky thing, for sure.

XXL: What’s your day-to-day been like for the past few months? Has it been mostly touring and interviews? Have you back in the studio? Do you write often? Where are you at, as an artist?

KL: I’ve been on the road for the most part. But at the same time I gotta stay creative, I gotta stay writing—I’m usually writing every day. I can’t miss a day without writing, whether it’s a line, a verse, or an idea. I always have to have that creative flow going.

XXL: When you say you write, what’s your writing process like? Are you writing or are you just thinking shit in your mind?

[I'm] piecing up them ideas together and putting them to songs. It really depends on what I’m feeling at the time.

• Release Date: October 29, 2013
• Artist: Kendrick Lamar