Hot 97 unveiled the lineup for its annual “Summer Jam” concert Tuesday (March 31) with the help of a special guest.
The event’s headliner, Kendrick Lamar, joined the Ebro in the Morning crew to talk about performing at “Summer Jam” again, his latest album To Pimp A Butterfly and other topics.
Lamar told jocks Laura Stylez, Ebro, and Peter Rosenberg that he would like to perform songs from all of his projects when he hits the stage (June 7) in New Jersey.
He mentioned that he is pleased with the reception of his latest album, but that he really wants fans to take time and listen before they call it a “classic.”
“This is ‘sophisticated gangsta’ shit,” Kendrick told Hot 97. “This is the album that I always wanted to make. It’s what I grew up on. good kid, m.A.A.d city, I maneuvered through the cracks. I know what the fans wanted to hear.”
As for his personal favorite track off the album, right now it’s “Wesley’s Theory” but he says “it changes every week.”
Although “Wesley’s Theory” is currently K. Dot’s favorite song, he feels “i” is more impactful.
“That’s the best song I ever wrote,” Kendrick says about “i.” “Never in a million years did I think I would make a positive record coming from where I come from… It’s all God’s work.”
Check out the full interview below:
For more Kendrick Lamar coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
Another Kendrick article?! Aw, HERE IT GOES!
Wesley’s Theory is just…my God. Too perfect.
Who loves orange soda?
9/16 tracks are good IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM IS THIS ALBUM A CLASSIC
GKMC YES
all the tracks are good
I think it might be a bit too soon to consider To Pimp a Butterfly a classic, but it’s definitely a really good album.
There is nothing “gangsta” about that shit. Sophisticated or otherwise. He’s a “really good” rapper. However, To Pimp a Butterfly does not have that many “really good” songs on it. Period. The production is subpar…Dre, Quik, hell Meech Wells, Jelly Roll, many people have done “funk” rap beats better. Tribe, J. Dilla, many other have done “jazz” rap beats better.
He’s the nerd who sat in the window and watched other kids and didn’t feel accepted because they laughed at him. That’s why he raps in so many “voices” because he doesn’t have his own. King Kunta is a weak Suga Free imitation. Suga Free would make him look silly in that style. 80% of everything else is a weak Andre 3 stacks imitation. 10 years ago they would have thrown him in the “backpack rap” category and that would have been it. Now for some reason he’s the “King?” Fuck outta here. There’s never been a King of the game who was a lame.
Enlighted is right.
I grew up next to Enlightened and Kendrick Lamar. They both were lames. The only difference is Kendrick is living his dream and Enlightened is wiping semen off of his keyboard so he type paragraphs about Kendrick.
Glad Enlightened graduated to the level he’s at now. Before he was just getting his ass kicked daily and ran out of his hood.
You are the perfect troll. I almost believed you
you such a hater lol. your whole statement is complete bullshit. youhate king kunta just because he saying he’s the king? you don’t even get the message and the creativity of this song.
I have listened to this album straight for 2 weeks. The last album I did that too was College Dropout and Dr. Dre 2001. So with that, I have no problems calling this album a classic. It took about a week to figure out everything he was saying. I didn’t look up one single lyric for a whole week, until I could figure it out myself. And man, what you get is a fight for Kendrick’s soul between Nazareth and Lucy, all well Uncle Sam is trying to set him up. The symbolism is amazing and it’s a straight masterpiece of art. So yeah, I have no problem calling this album classic. Sorry Kendrick, but I ain’t been this hopeful about an artist since the Dropout dropped and Kanye had to cop him a money tree.
no body trying to set this nigga up
At least kendrick is humble. Most rappers say its a classic months before its out. Kendrick’s too humble to call it a classic.
When the song I flop the whole album became lost
its a good album, not a classic but not a let down either. it was missing something in the production..its like whoever exclusive produced ti said fuck mixing and editing.. he just took a beat, kendricks lyrics and said thats it.
production was a huge let down. but again, solid album. no classic
you’re kidding me.. this has got to be some of the BEST production ever seen on a hip hop album. the jazz, funk, beats and attention to detail is insane on it. Hell i’d be willing to just buy an instrumental version of the album . you needa clean out your dirty ears and take another listen, the production is masterful.
is that all you think production is is just beat making?
re-read what I wrote
and I loved damn near every instrumental on there.
pxndr … you sound like a kid! You are the one that needs to clean his ears sir … enjoy that mcdonalds burger of an album kendrick served you !!
^ If anyone sounds lke a kid and needs their ears cleaned, it’s you. This album ain’t a McDonalds burger, that’s that trap bullshit you listen to.
We aren’t listening to the same album bruh. This had the best production on any album in years. Easily the best since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
TPAB is one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time. Up there with Illmatic. Not April fools either, I damn well mean it.
Very Impressed
I agree. I wasnt feeling the production. To say it was the best in years is crazy to me. I mean really thats the best beats you guys have heard? Thats crazy. Highly overrated
^ You’re probably the type who wanted to hear non-stop trap beats. Appreciate good music, which this is.
Poduction was huge let down?????? man hell no!!!! this
I love the new Kendrick album. It’s personal, creative and speaks a message.
But….nothing is ever going to be “Classic” again. Not because the music or the artist aren’t great but because the music industry doesn’t have to impress us anymore. Back in the day, an artist really had to step outside of the box and have talent to get respect and noticed. This generation has music at its fingertips and they want it now. The industry expects a new record or a new single every year and most artists oblige because its more money for them. It’s a flawed system – Why go to the concert when you can watch it on YouTube? While buy the whole album when you can buy the single on ITunes? The creativity in music is dying and it’s no longer made to last for generations. It’s only made to last for a few weeks. I understand artists taking inspiration from the past whether its style, rhythms but we’ve come to a time when artists blatantly rip off another song or a riff or lyrics and no one cares and we are left with “artists” that have no thoughts, no creativity and literally no talent.
Enjoy this album – Because it is an album – by a real artist.
My hope is that the public’s reaction to this album represents a change in our generations expectations for music. Don’t listen to shit.
Kendrick lamar is extremely an over rated MC .. neither of his 2 albums are classic material
he sound like a bad version of outkast .. there so many new & old MC’s better .. but kendrick
has JIMMY IOVINE .. behind him … his label marketing is amazing .. it would be nice to see better mc’s get that help from there labels … kendrick is an avg artist @ best .. lot of hype
this last album is hard to hear & slow & boring .. & far from a classic ..
Calling Kendrick avg is a stretch but I agree, this shit should only be played during massages. Audio Ambien.
Iovine isn’t president of interscope anymore.
As much as i like the album, u cant call it a classic just yet. GKMC was better, and a lil more catchier. HOwever KEndrick might be the best rapper right now.(Lupe, J.Cole…)
This album is too creative not to be a classic. First of all Wesley’s Theory intro is one of the most inspiring piece of art I have ever heard. One of the reasons I am opposed to getting rid of the N word because the N word was used perfectly on that intro. Then I loved King Kunta and Institutionalized! but one of my favorite tracks on that album is “These Walls” how can you not love these walls, its a song about sex that was executed perfectly and it knocks in your ride. Then you’ve got for free and for sales and U which were executed perfectly in terms of the sounds and production. I get goose bumps when I hear “house Keeping” knowing that Kendrick was talking to himself in his hotel room and battling depression and going outside. We all have gone through that emotion one way or another. Then you’ve got the hood banger in hood politics and you aint gotta lie. The outro is also one of the best outros I’ve ever heard in Mortal Man which leads back to every Ni**a is a star! this album has been in rotation non stop and its definitely made it hard for me to listen to anything else. This album is better than Good Kid Maad City. Its more creative and more introspective and thought provoking on a wider scale and much more broader than GKMC. TPAB is a deep deep album and I am still digesting it, that is the definition of a CLASSIC.
If you’ve listened to the album 10 times, you should’ve been able to digest everything, TPAB is not that deep. Testuo and Youth is a much deeper album lyrically and conceptually. I don’t get why Kendrick gets so much praise. I’m a big Kendrick fan, but all the dick riding by the media and fans is putting me off. TPAB is great, but a better conceptual hip-hop album was literally released a couple months ago. Talk to me when Kendrick makes an album littered with triple entendres that tells a different story when you play it forwards and backwards. Mural alone shits on any song that Kendrick has ever made.
Tpab>>>>>>> tetsuo and youth
bitches get goose bumps and shit
a boring album that pretends to be deep will not become a classic.
Boring? Pretends to be deep? Stick to trap music since you can understand that.
Spoken word over jazz ain’t no classic. This shit would melt in the shadow of Illmatic, OB4CL, The Chronic, or Me Against the World.
I bet you only listened to two songs. There was more than spoken word and jazz on this album.
I’m trying to make it through the whole thing but I keep falling asleep. All i’m saying is in comparison to the top 20 classics in hip hop history this shit is like a worm fighting an eagle.
You obviously have ADHD if you claimed to have fell asleep listening to the record. No need to exaggerate. The comparison you made was a trash one.
Whatever yo. Shit is wack. Peace.
Wack? No. Sremmlife is wack, TPAB is dope.
so every song on the album is spoken word right????
can’t wait for this joker to fizzle out .. the size of his head is getting unbearable!!
You remind me of a baby dick.
So gross to watch these fake people all over this crap .. such a try hard album .. to put it in the same category as the classics is funny as hell to me. NICE TRY !!
that album is a classic
^ Nice April Fools joke.
The amount of women I have banged to this album is unbelievable. With College Dropout I banged like 2-3 women in a week. I thought I peaked with Doggystyle which got me banging 7 women a week. Now with To Pimp A Butterfly I’m up to at least 15 a week.
aids mother fucker
It takes the test of time in which an album is declared a classic but I do think this album definitely has the potential of a classic, the production and content alone will make this album be relevant for long time.
This album is highly overrated to me. I like Kendrick and all, but I just dont really care for this album. Not a fan of some of the weird music and voice changes and all that. There are no super dope stand out tracks to me. Nothing on the album warrants me to put on and listen. The Production isnt that great at all. Im really surprised people actually think this is dope and classic and all that.
Speak on it. Ditto. All that. I’m confused. I feel like I’m in some gotdamn parallel crazy universe if that bullshit is supposed to be classic. I don’t get it.
Nice jokes.
Why is he doing festivals if he cares so much about his REAL hood fans………………………………………………….. Them festivals are way too expensive……………. Summer Jams are pretty cheap but not those other festivals………….. he needs to do some non-festival shows for his fans.
If shit hits d fan is u sti a fan am foreva a fan dope or nt dope album