Kendrick Lamar made a surprise appearance at a graduation ceremony in his hometown over the weekend to share some words of inspiration for the next generation.
The Compton College commencement for the class of 2024 took place on Friday (June 7). During the gathering, K.Dot caught the crowd off guard when he took the stage for a few minutes.
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“I wanted to come out here just to tell y’all how much I appreciate y’all,” he began. “I’m proud of the city of Compton; I’m proud of Compton College; most importantly I’m proud of the graduates out here. That’s right, I know what it takes. You had a lot of hardship, not only in your house, in your communities, but most importantly, within yourself. And that’s the toughest thing to overcome. We still growing day by day, brick by brick, making sure we develop, not only in physical form but in the spiritual as well.
“Seeing y’all out here, it’s not only a representation of the world, but it’s a representation of me. When I walk out in these cities, in these countries, I can be proud and say, ‘This is where I’m from.’ I still believe in Compton — Compton always been [the] future for me. I think we breed some of the most incredible individuals: creatives, intellectuals, talent. We had it since day one, that’s why I always scream this city. I traveled the world; there’s no place like this one right here. No place.”
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He continued: “And I still believe in everything we’re doing, brick by brick, I still believe. It’s time that we change the narratives. Some people tell us this generation don’t have what it takes. Gen Z — we talk about it all day. They try to pull us down and say we don’t know what we’re doing. They wrong though. You know why? Because not only [do] y’all have what it takes; y’all have something bigger: y’all have the heart, y’all have the courage to be independent thinkers. Independent thinkers — there’s nothing more valuable than that.
“This degree that y’all have right here is just as big as any degree — I don’t care what school, I don’t care what institution. Compton College — this Compton degree is just as big. Now it’s all about taking these resources and taking what you learned and applying them. It’s as simple as that.”
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Check out the speech at the 42:15 mark below:
The 36-year-old rapper hasn’t made too many public appearances over the past few months, though it seems like he’s slowly starting to reemerge.
The “Money Trees” hitmaker and his pgLang company will be putting together an event in Los Angeles later this month on the Juneteenth holiday.
Announced via his Instagram Story with a flyer earlier this week, the show is dubbed “The Pop Out” and will include the MC’s “friends,” though it didn’t specify who.
Set to go down at the Forum in Inglewood, general sale is now live.
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Soon after the news went public, Mustard took to social media and revealed that he will be among those present at the gathering in Southern California on June 19.
