In Kendrick Lamar’s GQ cover story, the Compton, California rapper recounts the story of a vision he had of Tupac Shakur.
“I was coming from a late studio session, sleeping on mom’s couch,” Kendrick Lamar says during the interview with GQ. “I’m 26 now. It wasn’t that long ago. I remember being tired, tripping from the studio, lying down, and falling into a deep sleep and seeing a vision of ‘Pac talking to me.”
Lamar continues, saying that it was an experience that had an impact on his life, despite him finding it odd.
“Weirdest shit ever,” Lamar says. “I’m not huge on superstition and all that shit. That’s what made it so crazy. It can make you go nuts. Hearing somebody that you looked up to for years saying, ‘Don’t let the music die.’ Hearing it clear as day. Clear as day. Like he’s right there. Just a silhouette.”
Lamar says the vision impacted his view regarding his lyrics.
“It wasn’t just about money, hos, clothes, drinkin’,” Lamar says. “I mean, I come from that world, but at the same time, I started to realize that there’s people out there that can’t really connect to that lifestyle. They’re in the struggle.”
During the interview, Lamar also talks about what his next release may sound like.
“I don’t know,” he says. “It depends on where my emotion is. How angry I’ll be, or how happy I’ll be, or how confused I’ll be.”
GQ released a video to promote the article today (November 13). The video features Kendrick Lamar rapping while on the cover shoot for the publication.
RELATED: Kendrick Lamar Covers GQ, Promotional Video Released
J COLE better nigguh all the way non of ur projects will top FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS NIGGUH THATS FOR SURE GKMC IS SO OVERATED A TOP MAINSTREAM ALBUM
that been said Born sinner was a disappointment too that broken smile shit is wack as fuck, i like the old Cole
a mainstream album talking about a day in the life of a teen in compton, ca? yet j cole’s songs are about women crushes? what’s more mainstream?
gkmc is the only classic of this generation, get used to it
gkmc is the best album I have heard in years lol, and I’m not even a fan
I’m not big on kendrick but OBJECTIVELY? gkmc is the most complete, structured and complex hip hop albums of the 2010s…
he described this shit a year or two ago i read it on this very website
He talks about it in his music somewhere too, just can’t think of exactly where..
my co-workers ex-wife makes $84 hourly on the internet. She has been out of work for 10 months but last month her check was $18968 just working on the internet for a few hours. my review here ….
the video for ‘HiiiPOWER’
it was ab-soul he saw,not 2pac…sorry folks nothing to see here fuk off. shabba!
My theory: Kendrick and Dr. Dre crafted this bullshit lie to help propel his career.
Anyone can make this shit up. Look, I had a dream last night where I was fucking Faith Evans in her prime while Biggie was tied to chair and forced to watch.
Faith Evans? come on man. that’s not a dream more like nightmare
I see the Drake stan hating on Kendrick.
1. ‘hating’?? grow the fuck up
2. I’m a troll telling you that you’re replying to a troll
3. If you don’t like my opinion then you’re (oh look you’re favorite word) hating my opinion
This comment just won the fuckin’ internet.
Marketing ploys & stunts are fuckin’ easy to pull off nowadays.
http://www.outlawuniversity.bigcartel.net
I respect him for that,
I might become a fan of kendrick after all, he sounds like a very humble and interesting person
check out his 2 albums you wont be dissapointed
Interesting interview, he made a classsic album and he is respecting the goats,
big props to him
Section 80 – Dope
Good Kid Mad City – Meh
I’m not big on kednrick, but gkmc is objectively the best album of the last 3 years
gkmc is a classic, and I don’t even like it, so shut up lol, be objective please
How is it a classic to you but you don’t like it. That’s just jumping on the bandwagon
same, I don’t really fuck with it, but I can see why its praised as a classic, it has EVERYTHING an album need in order to be a masterpiece – classic. it’s hip hop at its best, the art is there, the craft is there, everything is near flawless. I wish I would enjoy it though, but it’s up there with the albums I don’t like but that I aknowledge as classic: doggystyle, all eyez on me, reasonable doubt, etc
na, gkmc is fantastic, it’s way better than s80 if we’re talking from an objective and critical point of view.
Best of the last 3 years? Nope. Nas album was better, Kanye’s was better, Lupe’s was better, lots of artists have had better albums.
disagree, huge fan but gkmc is already my most played album of all time bruh
this album has yet to be toppedn, glad to see its on every “best albums of all time” lsit from respectable magazine.
best hip hop album of the 2010’s after mbdtf, and easily top 3 of the 2010’s in any genre
honestly, I have no problem with the excessive love for good kid maad city, I mean… it’s a contender for best album of the past 5 years.
both are great, s80 is raoty 2011 and gkmc is raoty 2012, it’s jsut taht gkmc is superior.
thought nas had aoty until kendrick dropped gkmc, I knew it was the best album in YEARS when I heard that shit, kendrick fans, you better enjoy that moment because nas is dropping a classic next year !!
I’m starting to enjoy it more and more, and yeah I agree with the praise, it might be the only classic of the new generation
nigga said Kanyes album was better than GKMC
i hope he aint talkin bout Yeezus
gawd, “classic” doesn’t mean anything anymore with the way you herbivores throw it around everyday
he crafted the only classic album of this generation and he is humble, I think I’m going to give this man more respect.
where should I start with him ? I heard good kid maad city this morning and I can’t lie, this shit is a masterpiece, but where should I start with his old stuff ?
overly dedicated or section 80
not too familiar with the older shit but apparently he used to rap over lil wayne beats so i aint checkin for dat
he’ll be remembered, he knows where he comes from, he is sitting on a great and 1 classic, he is very skilled, very interesting personality… well, I used to be a hater but hip hop needs more artists like kendrick.
very interesting personality my ass
definitely
s80… rap album of 2011
I don’t like his interviews but I guess you can say whatever you want when you released a classic album.. ain’t even mad
I respect that, tupac was an icon.
because he died. If he were still here today ya would be calling him a washed up rapper who is stuck in the 90s.
I wonder if gkmc will be topped any time soon…
not by anyone whos currently out. maybe some new kid will pop up and bless us all with another masterpiece
it won’t be topped, you can’t top the best album of the past 5 years like that lol, it’s already a top 500 album of all time in any genre.
thats why I consider him as a leader even If I don’t like his music, he has the best album of the past years, the skill, the respect, hes umble, he is what we need in hip hop
this never happened
kendrick fans should already know he had a vision
i dont really like maddcity but that being said i dont really 2pacalypse either or the slim shady lp
pacs best album was all eyes on me and eminems is between mmlp and eminem show
kendricks classic will come
kendrick needs to release another album, it uhyas to be on par with gkmc !!
not a big fan but I can’t lie, gkmc is classic (evne if I don’t enjoy it), it has everything it needs for an album to be a classic.
his next album better be as fantastic as gkmc tbh.
he needs 1 more classic if he wants to “stay”.
so far, he only got 1 classic (gkmc) and one great album (s80).
we should wait before crowning him the best, he only dropped 1 classic album with good kid, you need more than that. you need at least 3 classic like nas or Eminem
section 80 is arguably classic and better than almost anything thats come out in the last 5 years
^ Anon,
haha, chill with that comment homie
he’s already better than pac imop, pac had bigger impact but kdot albums are better than Pac’s.
# coming from a Nas stan, not afraid of competition.
good attitude from kednrick, he knows what he is doing,
one of the only new artist who is 2/2 with his catalog.
like busta rhymes said, his contribution to hip hop is official, he has the classic album, he has the skill, the lyrics, he has everything.
I wish you the best kendrick, you deserve it.
hip hop is in good hands with him.
even the cats who dont like him on here are commenting saying his shit is classic and a masterpiece. thats how you know you did it
Drake lost, he should start making good albums
them ears
Faggot.
soulja boy > drake
hes cute, I admit it
Rick ross >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> drake
Like @FixIt said hip hop is in good hands with Kendrick.
You the nigga Pac made some serious impact on music when niggas is having visions of you! lol
Kendrick is wack as fuck.
he is the best right now and I’m not even a fan
Best? More like the poster boy for the media publications. Muh’fuckas should reall chill the fuck out on using the word “savior”.
not a fan but he is objectively the best doing it right now, hes the one who released the only classic of this generation.
nobody is doing better than kendrick at the moment lmao
Thats because hip hop sucks rite now, being the best rapper in 2013 is like being the smartest kid with down syndrome!
ok, I have finally listened to his albums, I get it now, I now understand all the GOAT discussions arround this man. hes a genius
hes the future, nothing else to say
and this guy keeps getting better and better, it’s CRAZY
I have never seen an artist with that much potential, he reminds me of a better version of pac
then you a clown and you haven’t heard shit
talented, amazing catalog, humble, respect for the veterans, we foudn the savior guys.
this guys is the truth
I lsot all respect for drake when I heard kendrick,; I know understand what hip hop is
stop with the dickriding, YES he is the best right now, YES he dropped 1 classic, but fuck off man, let him breath FFS
FUCK UK
thought he was overrated, not anymore.. that album is so fucking fantastic, holy shit, will purchase it tomorrow
Pac said, I’m not saying I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.
awesome comment!
This isn’t kendrick’s only 2pac vision, 2pac has been coming to him and giving him his lyrics since 2011.
hey bicher gonna eat u sicker. 666 for nite of the devil
hey fuckers
hes what hip hop needs
I ALWAYS FOUND THAT PAC STORY CORNY AS FUCK… BUT IF THAT’S WHAT’S GONNA MAKE HIM COME UP WITH GOOD MUSIC THEN BE IT!!!
pac is most overrated rapper ever. In the 90’s he was in the beginning the weak version of chuck d and later he became a wannabe gangsta rapper
This dude is so full of shit and will say anything to sell a record or make headlines or get more followers on twitter get the F outta here! Real hip hop fans aint buyin your bullshit bo!
lmao, he went paltinum before all that shit, idiot
This isn’t a Rick Ross article.
why would anyone mention rick ross after someone said something about platinum. LOL
HOLY SHIT!! He can speak english!
from now on, I’ll be supportin gthis artist, thought gkmc was FANTASTIC but this interview right there proves me that he knows what he wants, he is breathing real hip hop
interesting interview, he seems like a cool guy, I’ll definitely purchase his album later today
dude is mad talented, he knows what he wants, and he released a classic, it’s enough for me to crown him the king.
he’ll go far, I can see it.
good read, he deserves every bit of praise,
even as a wayne fan, I’ll admit that kendrick is the best right now, definitely the leader sinc ehes the only one who released a groundbreaking album
he is slowly making it into my top 10 of all time, these interviews, these albums, dude is one of the msot interesting rappers I have seen in years
Nigga please, I had a vision of Pac
he had a vision of sammy davis jr. by the looks of things,2 pills and a half a j fuk thawt…wohowooooooooooaahhhhh
I CANT BELIEVE HOW MUCH DUMB YOU PEOPLE CAN BE IN ORDER TO BUY THAT LAME ASS STORY…2PAC WOULDNT GO TO THIS MAINSTREAM ASSHOLE AND SAY DONT LET THE MUSIC DIE…COME ON FOOLS CANT YOU SEE…HE IS JUST TRYING TO TAKE PACS FANS AND TELL THEM THAT PAC LIKES ME SO SUPPORT MY SHITTY MUSIC…LMAO…STUPID ASS NIGGAZ IN THIS SITE
Kendrick just isn’t as impressive as Drake. He’s always behind Drake even though Drake tried to jump start his career by bringing him along on his Take Care tour.
Drake was GQ man of the year in 2010.
Drake has won 5 ASCAP awards.
Drake won all those BET Awards before Kedrick. Best artist, rookie of the year etc., in some cases multiple times.
Drake is nominated as the top artist for the Billboard Awards every year.
His first two big label albums were nominated for album of the year at the Grammys. Of course Take Care, which is one the greatest albums ever made, won album of year.
Drake has won an NAACP Image Award
Drake is currently nominated for 5 World Music Awards. You need to be putting up big global sales in order to do that, too bad most people outside North America ain’t fucking with Kendrick the chipmunk looking nigga.
Drake has been nominated 5 times for the Young Artist Award, which is for outstanding young actors and he’s won once.
Drake has also won an award from The Song Writer’s Hall Of Fame, for being the most outstanding songwriter….to go with other lesser known song writer awards which he has also claimed.
Whether, it’s performing, acting, song writing, style, music sales, innovation in music or contributions to the Black community Drake is always besting Kendrick. I could go on, but it should be pretty obvious to all that Drake is not only vastly superior to Kendrick Lamar in every way possible. But that at 27 years of age, Drake is one of the most decorated and talented muscians who has ever lived. I just state facts people.
Kendrick is better
-more skilled
– better albums
-1 classic, 1 great album (drake has 0 classic)
Nobody’s denying Drake’s success but when it comes to hip hop K dot has him beat Drake try’s to much to get on the pop charts resulting in his album sounding weak
dis nigga is a groupie. i hope for your sake your a girl i never seen anyone cape for drake so hard
Champagne Papi, everything you say is all a lie.
news just in….it is reported that both ab soul and schoolboy q have now also seen a “pac” like vision,as we speak jay rock is rushing to his family home in the south central area desperately trying to burn some candles in a remote part of his property..really tryna get a vibe going to connect with this fallen rap god like figure. as you can imagine the whole camp is buzzing and a little birdie tells me kendrick might be about to hit the masses with new more “thuggish” style gangsta lyrics ,mopreme shakur has also been sighted with the young compton playa as of late so this all looks really really spooky angela,back to you in the studio. holla
I’m glad kednrick is the new king, drake was too wack for kdot
Kendrick made me realise Drake is good with the pop shit but when it comes to hip hop he just doesn’t cut it no diss
that’s why kendrick is the leader, 2 classics
drake: 0
Section 80 wasn’t a classic bro. His next will be even bigger than GKMC but section 80 was not a classic.
it wasnt a classic but it was compared to 95% of the rap albums released in the last 5-10 years!!!
he’ll go far,
he dropped an amazing album. When I listen to it, it was more than music, it was a story of a person just like me with dreams, fear, dangers, trouble, happiness, adolescence and maturity. He stayed true to his roots he kept it original but different. God bless Kendrick Lamar and hip hop.
don’t like that story BUT I havent heard an album like this in a GOOD minute. I will actually purchase this rather than download it. If hip hop artist pumped out more stuff like this, labels could move units like it was ’98.
TRUUUUU!!!
fuckin great interview and classic album! THIS IS HIP-HOP, play your rap somewhere else
This kid and his album will go down as one of the best albums of all time for any genre just like Illmatic, Reasonable Doubt, Ready to Die and the other rap albums that are considered the best of all time. When those albums came out we didn’t understand how great they because were very young at the time. Now we have a chance to witness a classic and a legend in the making. The storytelling is amazing. It’s like a movie. You can’t just listen to a couple of songs or skip through. You have to listen straight through from beginning to end.
he made me forget about Drake and his wack ass.
Same here, Thank YOU based god
theres a reason if drake was never able to be in the classic discussions, its because he never released any classic albums in his life.
Let’s put the word classic to the test. All of the albums you’d call classics are currently rotting in a bargain bin or going for under ten bucks on the internet. Doesn’t mean some aren’t classics, but the word is thrown around so much that it loses its meaning. Big deal. Someone calls your album a classic. Doesn’t mean that album is putting anymore money into your pocket. It just means a segment of people like to reminsce about it.
Kendrick jsut won an scap vanguard award for the impact of his album, DAMN !!! it’s true that music ain’t the same anymore since gkmc dropped
Kendrick is ahead of its time. Perfection from start to finish.
He dropped the best hip-hop debut since Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor.
I don’t believe him, but I don’t care, he is still the best artist right now, #objectivity.
he should make another album instead of talking though
WHEN I read his interviews, I realize that drake is a fraud.
kendrick is leading that shit !!!
2pac’s vision told Kendrick that Drake will outsell him.
vanilla ice and mc hammer outsold drake so whats ya point
Yeah, with little girls and suburbanites, you let me know whens the next time a real hip-hop head buys his album. I’ll wait, your rebuttals a little too late, K-Dot is great while Drake is just Drake.
Funny how 2pac has R&B roots similar to drake.
No, he doesn’t. Pac never sung any bitch ass R&B songs about saving strippers.
take your time with the album!!! icant tell u how many rappers create a beast then try to live on that buzz by droppni a half ass project w one poppin single n r never heard from again..
true greatness is never rushed bec of label pressure bec once u create that masterpiece itll sell forever. i never want to see someone talented like kendrick rush a project bec then it could come out like say..jayz last album
Big ears is trying way to hard. Having visions? lol Lay off the drugs little boy.
I see quoteman still judging men by their looks
#NOHOMO
Kendrick doesn’t take drugs.
it happens. its all the subconscious. i was listening to james brown alot and i was talkin to that nigga in a dream lol
super gay.. just like that picture up top lmao
people need to leave pac alone already. let him RIP you fame seekin niggas
Guess it aint even a matter of taste. Either you niggas got one single brain for the whole crowd of you commentin on here or its all made up by 2-3 Kendricks dickriders, i cant even believe everybody compares him to fucking Drake. And so much faith in the savior of hiphop, all comments look the same, its crazy lol
My point is unlike Hammer and Vanilla Ice, Drake is still relevant and more popular than ever. Do you believe Kendrick has it in him to do at least 600,000 1st week on his next album? He’d have to have a monster single, which is possible, but not likely.
nobody cares about sales, we want classic albums like good kid maad city, not trash albums like take care or nothing was the same
We all know Kendrick is not on Drakes level fame wise. You cant expect him to compete sales-wise with a former child star signed to Lil Wayne like that with a fanbase comprised of everyone from soccer moms to little girls and everyone in between.
They play Drake records in office building full of old people. you hear drake records at the dentists officer when you getting a cleaning….
Drake can have the sales but Kendrick will have the respect, props and critical acclaim
“Drake try’s to much to get on the pop charts resulting in his album sounding weak”
I’ll give you that one. His new album does sound phoned in. I think for album #4 he needs to pretend his career is in the toilet and come out swinging. Forget Kendrick. Forget the critics. Just make good music.
u realize Drake has stated he wants to make an all r&b album and maybe become a full on r&b artist and completely leave rap at the age of 33. Drake is not going to become any more of a rapper than he is right now.
Kendrick showed drake how to rap
another proof that drake has a lot to learn from kednrick, he should talk to him in order to learn how to release a classic like gkmc
At this point we all know kendrick is #1 but who is #2 certainly not drake, he needs a classic if he wants to be top 3
Kendrick is here to stay, he has the classic album and the respect from his peers, only rapper sitting on a classic for this era
What peers, Dre?
The entire industry.
Kendrick might be the savior of hip hop after all…
wasn’t a fan until this interview, it proved me that kdot was a genius
“nobody cares about sales”
Labels, artists, this very site, and Billboard all care about sales.
And they’re irrelevant.
It’s ironic that this is coming from Quoteman who constantly defends Rick Ross for never going platinum! Now all of a sudden sales do matter! LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Drake can have the sales but Kendrick will have the respect, props and critical acclaim”
Respect from who, Dre, Eminem and Jimmy? lol Half the industry hates his guts after his little Control rant. Critical acclaim means nothing. Some indie movie could get 100 (4) star reviews, but Thor grosses a billion dollars. That shows how much acclaim really means.
No.. only Drake’s sensitive ass got mad at Control. Everybody else understood it wasn’t a dis, and everybody is focused on Kendrick. The kid is winning..
Guess what? Thor sucks. I’d take the indie movie over that over-used CGI bullshit.
“Half the industry hates his guts”
Unless you can prove that, it’s a lie.
only niccas that caught feelings over Control were Papoose and Drake.. i might be missing one or two niccas but they werent even mentioned so it dont count!! Meek mill kinda acted like a hoe too but he aint bring no bars!
that’s not true Kendrick has acclaim from near everybody in the industry so how can he be hated by half of it? Drake is the only one I know who dissed Kendrick and he got slaughtered so even though he has Jimmy Dre and Em he still can kill mics
“They play Drake records in office building full of old people. you hear drake records at the dentists officer when you getting a cleaning”
You hear Kendrick records in the restroom at Safeway.
No, Drake records get played there.
everybody seems to forget snoop,doc,50,game,eminem ect. signed to dre and where a major success with his help. kendrick tho he signed and done it with out dre’s help and was a big success that speaks volumes in itself. He is gonna be something special. And as for drake he is good yes but lets all be honest he’s nowhere near K.DOT
nigga please! Why is everyone on PAcs nuts?! Dude was an average MC……Fuck what you think.
nah fuck what YOU think
“Everybody else understood it wasn’t a dis, and everybody is focused on Kendrick. The kid is winning”
Tell that to Papoose and NM.
One irrelevant rapper and one irrelevant pop star who don’t even matter.
Nicki Minaj lands No. 4 on this year’s Forbes’ annual “Hip-Hop Cash Kings List”, with an estimated $29 million, and she’s the only woman on the list. She definitely has earned more than Snoop Lion, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar all combined. Minaj even made more than her fellow Y.M.C.M.B rappers, Drake, Lil Wayne and Birdman.
she may have earned more in 2012 but in her career she has earned nothing close to what eminem or snoop have
Anyone know the beat used on the video?????