Kendrick Lamar is an artist that understands the power of his voice, frequently using it to speak out on issues in the world. Speaking with MTV, Lamar made this clear again with his wishes to influence a younger generation to avoid violence. As a young boy his father talked to him about dealing with racism, saying “My father definitely talked to me about that early on—he came from Chicago to Compton, and he dealt with it his whole life. He knew the moment I was born [that] the color of my skin was gonna be put to the test, and that’s just how it is.”
Using the knowledge he gained from talking to his father at a young age, Lamar expressed his desire to impart what he learned on a younger generation. “I have to put that same type of influence on my ‘lil brothers, on the ‘lil homies in the neighborhood,” he said. “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 was also asked about how he felt watching the ways in which the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown were handled, responding, “It’s definitely frustrating… It’s something that I’ve been around since the beginning of time. I remember coming up in the city of Compton and [seeing] these same types of ordeals.” He also mentioned that when he’s making a song like “i,” that it’s “about what’s going on in real life,” rather than just about himself. Watch the full interview above.
(MTV)
