Kendrick Lamar may spin socially clairvoyant rhymes, but he doesn’t like being pigeonholed as a “conscious” rapper. During an interview with The Fader, K. Dot addressed the biggest misconceptions about himself from the critical community, observing that media tries to classify his music as one particular thing but that he just wants to be viewed for the varietal content of his songs.
“Early on, when I started really getting attention, I seen a lot of blogs and a lot of media try to classify my music as one particular thing. That was like the ‘conscious’ thing,” he said. “It’s crazy, because they define it after just one project, certain things I was talking about. I never wanted that. I never want people to classify my music. That went out the window once I dropped a record called ‘Ignorance Is Bliss.’ It was street, it was West Coast, it was a little bit more wisdom, and a person can’t really fake that. They figured out it wasn’t just the introspective side. At the end of the day, I want people to recognize me as just a human being, period. I talk about whatever I feel and whatever I go through.”
Read the full interview at TheFader.com.
RELATED: Kendrick Lamar “good kid, m.A.A.d city” Album Snippets
“At the end of the day, I want people to recognize me as just a human being, period. I talk about whatever I feel and whatever I go through.” -Definition of being a conscious rapper. Is there some type negative stigma attached to it or something? It is what it is.
there is a negative stigma associate with being “conscious” and its from the fact that conscious rappers are perceived to only speak about nonviolent rhymes when in fact, if your “conscious” then that would mean you would speak on EVERYTHING since you’re conscious of your surrounding and who you are in the world rather simply taking about busting a nut and how much fake jewelry you have on. People got it twisted with the help of the media.
Couldnt agree more!
Quite unfortunate indeed …
extended version of swimming pools is out…dope
the gods cursed hiphop with this kid……
CURSED? You mean blessed right?
no, i mean CURSED…..
Actually, you mean blessed.
in hiphop circles conscious means underground, and these mainstream rappers wud lyk 2 stay as far away frm dat word as possible.
@HipHopDX
I like Kendrick Lamar, looking forward to his new album and all that…but you’re taking the piss with your articles about him 4 times a week.
Kendrick Lamar addresses…
Kendrick Lamar says…
Kendrick Lamar explains…
Kendrick Lamar talks about…
What happened to this site???
News section is a joke, idiots commenting 80% bullshit…
Can anyone recommend any other good Hip-Hop sites?
lilwaynehq.net
whendetoxleaks.com
The fuck’s an conscious rapper?
“I’m not the next pop star / I’m not the next socially aware rapper / I am a human motherfucking being, over dope ass instrumentation”
His lyrics may go deep, but in ain’t as deep as Big Sean.
Good joke.
I doubt Big Sean would ever get on Kendrick’s level
BIG SEAN, J.COLE AND MACHINE GUN KELLY ARE BETTER THAN THIS KID…
j. cole is but mgk and big sean aren’t. they’re good rappers but not better than lamar imo
go play on some railroad tracks fam
Kendrick lamar, Big Krit & Yelawolf are the new legends
Big Sean is nowhere near
Cole conceptually and lyrically is, but his punchlines are terrible and his flow is average at best
MGK makes a completely different kind of music and I feel Kendrick is better at the type of music Kendrick makes then MGK is at what MGK makes.
fuck all yall haters…the galaxy aint got room for yalll…aint nothin gonna happen soon for YALL
real talk, kendrick is a lyracist point blank period
Good kid mad city has leaked!!!
theyre trying to kill his career by calling him a conscious rapper?
So people have tried to put this guy in the same category as guys like Common? Kendrick can spit but he is definitely not a conscious rapper. I’d call Big K.R.I.T. or maybe even Freddie Gibbs a conscious rapper before this dude
Freddie Gibbs?!?!? REALLY?!??! Not even close
Obviously this guy hasn’t heard Str8 Killa No Filla or Cold Day in Hell or any of the tracks he did with MadLib. Freddie gibbs talk about deep ass shit. Don’t get it twisted cause he mess with Jeezy, Freddie Gibbs is deep
I’d say they’re conscious in different ways. Freddie Gibbs is super gangsta and cold blooded with it, but you can’t say he isn’t conscious, intelligent, and lyrical, because he is. Kendrick is conscious to some degree but he’s young and i dont think hes lived that gritty lifestyle like gibbs, and common is just the god father of conscious rap lol, he embodies everything conscious rap is
THAT SHIT FINALLY LEAKED
This niguh is far from a conscious rapper, I don’t hear it in his music. Shit I been listen to his new album today seeing that it got leaked. And this guy is telling a story from a regular dudes view. He speaking for the cats that came from a hard city had homies that banged but took another route. He is just staying true to himself not becoming a follower. A message to other youngins coming up in the hood be you and you will be respected always.
Telling a story about being aware of his surroundings telling his listeners about how he came up and what happens everyday to make be people conscious of what goes on in Compton…That’s not conscious…oh right if you don’t talk about the government you ain’t conscious
who cares…his album will be considered a classic. I haven’t heard anything this good in years.
Kendricks album leaked!
i found it at
Remedymic.blogspot
He’s real lyrical but I think hes moving towards that weird Jay-Z “illuminati rap” especially after reading dis…
http://justifytheory.blogspot.com/2012/06/kendrick-lamar-black-hippy-false.html
” a lot of media try to classify my music as one particular thing”
Yeah.. that’s what the media does, reviews music and adds simple, easy-to-understand categories. They aren’t singling you out, K-dot…
After dropping ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, there was a lot of hype going around about the political issues he was preching on and that was honestly the first I ever heard the words “conscious rapper” being pointed at Kendrick. By the end of the day, we have to respect his opinion on not being classified as anything but “a human being”. The way I see it though, Kendrick is an oxymoron. He’s the modern-day-old-skool rapper who can differentiate blues and rap, yet bring it together. One word, talent.