Amidst all of the recent protests over police injustices across the country, MTV caught up with Kendrick Lamar to discuss the social impact of his single, "i." He made sure to point out that police injustices are not a new thing, and that he saw similar scenarios growing up in Compton. "When I make a record like “i”, this is not just about me," he says. "It’s about what’s going on in real life, actual [facts]."
Kendrick says that instead of getting angry at recent Grand Jury decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases, he chooses to spread inspiration and knowledge to help others, like his father taught him.
“I have to put that same type of influence on my ‘lil brothers, on the ‘lil homies in the neighborhood,” he says. “We tend to act in violence all the time, and that’s just something we were brought up to do. Now that I’m more mature, I [can show] them other avenues to go about handling themselves: Being knowledgeable and jumping into a book rather than reaching for a pistol and reacting that way.”
Kendrick is currently working on his highly-anticipated sophomore album, though he has not yet revealed the title or a concrete date just yet. The full interview can be viewed above.
