It’s hardly a secret that Kendrick Lamar maintains a deep appreciation for ’90s era West coast Hip Hop. Now, in an interview with “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” Kendrick names the three West Coast icons to whom he sounds the most similar.
When asked which emcees he sees as most influential, Kendrick explained that he envisions himself a mixture of Kurupt, Tupac and Ice Cube. He explained that the comparisons come as a result of growing up on the music of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and others.
“I’m probably more West Coast influenced,” he said. “[I’m] a little bit Kurupt, ‘Pac, and some content of [Ice] Cube…I think it’s really just the West Coast influence, truthfully. I come up under Dre and under Snoop. Just listening to them over the years, it’s really just that melodic feel that I could never escape.”
Kendrick also discussed what he believes would be Tupac Shakur’s response to his music if the late rapper were still alive today. K. Dot said that he thinks Pac would respect his music and appreciate its socially grounded message.
“I think [Tupac] would thank me for keeping just the legacy alive of speaking on something that’s real – not only to him, but to what I feel that everybody needs to be listening to,” he said.
Kendrick’s history with Tupac goes beyond fan-dom, as the Compton upstart recalled seeing the slain emcee while filming the video for “California Love.”
Check out the full interview below.
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And yet he don’t sound like or rap like any of them.
Cosign. He`s okay, but there is NO WAY in HELL he sounds likes or raps like Pac or Cube. He may have been influenced, but he doesn`t sound like them. He`s pretty good sure. But he shouldn`t be comparing himself to those legends.
he mentioned tupac but when he comes back as zombie pac he cant be fucked with when he was alive he was good when he died he became a legend but as an undead zombie he will be more than that i get goosebumps just thinking about it
Funniest thing I’ve yet to see on here
Old school head bout to be pissed.
on the contrary, dude can rap so its all good
man fuck kendrick lamar he aint all that niggas are giving him and tde too much praise fuck all of them em is the only good artist out fuck nas fuck tde fuck pro era i know yall bitches are gonna hate so ima be g about it hit me up and text or whatever i got a phone just for shit like this 678-499-7079 i bet yall pussies wont call tho yall just stay on the net
Go fuck yourself, e-thug.
This nigga waitin by his phone for people to hit him up. LMAO!! Lonely ass lol
yeah, anicee obviously has some issues..
yall can talk tough online but yall afraid to dial my number bitches
who else is talking tough but you?.. no one’s going to dial your number, not because we’re afraid, but we don’t want to waste our time calling you up just so you can act and sound hard over the phone.. you doing it online is bad enough already..
kendrick got his own style thats what makes him so unique. keep it real
lol this guy is fuckin wack…tupac? ice cube? lmao are you kiddin me bruh?
ice cube was gangsta as fuck back n the day, this faggot sounds like some pathetic fool tryna sound all lyrical n shit fuck outta here
You obviously lack intelligence and a open mind.
Plus, from what I see, you only seem to know the fake ass Ice Cube from 1996 ’till now. If only you heard any Ice Cube songs from his Nation of Islam days you would be shitting on your pants. There was nothing “gangsta as fuck” about Ice Cube then. Plus he was never that lyrical.
Good joke.
I don’t know about anyone else but he reminds me of Andre 3000. Flow, voice, cadences, and even the quirkiness in some of his rhymes.
I always thought it was Andre 3K, Devin the Dude, and Mac Miller
Cosign. And Lil Wayne as well. All these soft sounding niggas.
Both of you are wrong. Kendrick sounds nothing like those niggas. He has his own style.
he isn’t a mixture of them, he is better than all of them.
In your world, maybe. But not here, B.
True, He is the best rapper out there
Man This nigga is a bull shitter! Anybody with a little bit of common sense and knowledge of hip hop music knows that Kendrick got his whole flow and style from Andre 3000. Sure Pac was one influence, but you can tell Andre is the main one. Kendrick even bit the Alien voice effect from him. Why you think he let him listen to the album in the studio before it came out… The best way to be looked at as an original is to hide your True influence.. Don’t believe me just go listen to OutKast’s Aquemini Album. Peace
why would he bullshit about his influences? you sound like an idiot.
Kendrick wasn’t talking flow/style-wise in this case, you sumbitch. lyrically and from what he talks about, he sees some 2pac/Ice Cube in him. And a bunch of rappers with Andre in close circles have him listen to their LPs in pre-listening sessions.. Kendrick wasn’t the only one, T.I. did as well.. stop clownin
Word Kendrick does sound like 3 stacks doe. good comparison
Ya know… Being Kendrick has got to be crazy.
He grew up in the city of of his legends and got props by some of the biggest West Coast names to begin his shine and keeps it going with props from big names in the industry. He’s a true emcee and breath of fresh air to hip hop. I admire his taste in music, his lyricism, style, and story telling capability. I’m not 100% behind the Tupac thing, but ya know… reading some things Tupac said in previous interview saying he will be immortalized by his music and carried by others people makes some sense.
Good on Kendrick for getting the spotlight he deserves
Well if you’re unfamiliar with Tupac’s legacy you should learn it. There’s a lot of similarities, the provocation of emotionality and keeping the message socially grounded is something they both share. But there’s a lot of literature and intellectual thought that furthered Tupac’s legacy and the guy is a legend, he always will be. If you are not into Tupac you should give him a try, as crazy as it is to suggest so casually. The guy left an imprint and a perpetual standard on Hip Hop that is very difficult to replicate. I hope Tupac Speaks through Kendrick, so to speak. Kendrick is one of the best from the west. Enough said.
WORD B! You’re the only who spoke sense in this thread.
Kendrick > pac
Tupac was all hype!!!
I know right
All of you are idiots.
More like a mixture of Drake and 3000. He is a soft weirdo.
You’re retarded, gsonii. Kendrick’s nothing like Drake or Andre 3K and he’s far from soft. He has his own style unlike half of these generic ass rappers today. Stop hating, bitch, and get a life.
Influenced by Cube? That middle class born nigga who went to college and never was a gangsta? I respect the foundation he laid, but you gotta admit that nigga’s fake like a mothafucka. He was never broke plus his Disney movies showed he doesn’t seem to have any self respect. And Kuruput ain’t safe too. Both niggas are full of shit.
Please tell me you’re joking. Otherwise, you just went full retard and you need to kill yourself for that bullshit. Ice Cube is a fucking legend, same for Kurupt.
P.S., How does Ice Cube doing movies show he doesn’t have any self-respect? He’s a 40+ year old man with a family. He’s getting that money. You’re a fucking idiot.
thx for having saved hip hop kendrick
All of you guys need to wake up. The illuminati sacrificed 2pac’s soul and now “Kendrick Lamar” is carrying his soul. Nobody was bumping Kendrick’s Control System cd, then he sold out with Good Kid Made City and got famous. Also they both are from Comptopn and both ritualized with Doctor Dre, who isn’t even a certified doctor. Kendrick even talks about the illuminati in his song “Terrorism Threats”. You guys praise Kendrick but he’s promoting drug use with his High Power movement. Forget these puppet rappers, free 2pac Shacore’s soul.
Never stop what you do.
AMEN
getcha facts straight before you ramble, son.
Control system is from Ab soul, and if you understood the message in that album and in the album section 80. you’d then understand that you are nothing but a social conspiracist follower who doesn’t even study their own accusations. If your not too careful, the illuminati will get you from underneath your bed!!!! Fuckin uneducated people
@real
If you understood the album Section 80, you would know that it’s named after Section 80 of the illuminati handbook that you obviously never read. Also, illuminati can’t get you under the bed, don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
really dude pac wasnt from compton he repped the west and l.a. but he grew up on the east then moved to the bay then down to l.a. you have no idea what your talking about
Kendrick Duckworth is what’s wrong with the industry. He’s born
into the industry, and never earned it the way that MAkaveli
did. He didn’t break down doors like Ice Cube (who I’m not a
fan of), and he didn’t charm his way to respect the way that
Snoop Dogg’s cousin Kurupt did. Kendrick is just a spoiled
Duckworth m/f
haha aight.
Nigga, you just went full retard. Kill yourself for that bullshit you said.
Connecticut calling Kendrick strat reppin me too
Kendrick had it all like Game’s album The Documentary, the way was already paved, he just had to keep running between the lines, they just used the aftermath formula…
The only mixture you need to be made of is Ja Rule Ja Rule and Ja Rule, then you’d be on the top of the world.
KenDICK LAME-ar is a mixture of GAYNESS, IGNORANCE & GIMMICKS!
Lil Wayne akak The KIGN of HIP HOP is a mixture of GREATNESS, TALENT & GODLINESS!
LONG LIVE WEEZY & FOREVER BURN IN HELL TUPAC aka Balerina-ass Homothug!
Dude Lil wayne is a pussy boy.. kendrick is real to himself and the game overall. Real recognize real. Go do a double dutch rudder with Weezy you schlong rider.
no one cares about a boys opinion. this is for men, you weezy loving faggot.
Seriously this dude is starting to annoy me. I like him but, he needs to quit overrating himself. He’s only released one album and already feels that he is like KURUPT, 2PAC AND ICE CUBE. He wishes. He needs to be in the game for a longer than that before he can start thinking that he is like all the above.
cmon fool….read what he’s saying…he saying those r his 3 main influences and therefore his sound and attitude towards music is influenced by those 3 artists. He is not saying that he is the new cube, kurupt or pac like Ross did with B.I.G. This guy has his head on right and is real humble but at the same time knows how much work has gone into this album which is more than some of these cats have done in their whole career. dude has earned every accolade thrown at him. end of.
LOL no. More like a mixture of Nas and Eminem. I like west coast artist but he does not sound like it at all lol. Then again neither does crooked i
Neither of those cats. Maybe a little Nas, but his flows content and style differ so much from Eminem that I don’t even see a comparison beyond they are both extremely talented.
GKMC was basically a carbon-copy of the old Outkast formula (think Aquemini). Not that that’s a bad thing, Kendrick did an amazing job and definitely put his own spin on it and it deserves to be mentioned among albums like Aquemini.
^i hate niggas like you…stop overating that fuckin average ass album…6-7 songs were good, not even great, how da fuck does it get compared to a classic like aquemini? this album got no replay value from me, maybe a few songs like maad city,art of peer pressure, bitch dont kill my vibe,recipe an swimming pools thats it…and i dont even play any of them any more, i can still play aquemini front to back on repeat for a few blunt sessions
guru said its all in the voice and although I keep trying to listen to him…I don`t like his voice.i also agree with fact.stop blowing your own trumpet
Kendrick L. iz very fortunate 2 have real niggaz like Dre n Snoop around him.Old Skool Rap iz the real one n its been around n its still around n its here to stay — so fuck mainstream rap which iz about cash ,gas & ass.
he isn’t overrrated, he did it like 2pac dit but he is now better than him.
Kendrick is really the best rapper alive, this is what I’m going to write in “The Guardian”
big pun
pac
nas
biggie
im on a mission to find out the who the best is
ima try my hardest to make a list
Kendrick lamar is definitely better than pac and biggie, it’s a living legend.
Man Shut the hell up about this kendrick dude! he’s nice but not the greatest like niggas try to make him out to be… comon man y’all niggas really something else these days.
no he’s not no he is not
he is good…but no Biggie and Pac…all u young retards need to research shit…go listen to some Big and Pac and see the difference dumb fucks
y’all niggas need to quit with that idolizing this nigga
grown men looking up to another nigga it’s damn shame
go take care of your kids
Icy Boi os trolling now under the name BOY!!
nah nigga u dont sound like them
shut the fuck up! Why does everyone want to be like Pac? How about being like KRS, GURU, PUN, G Rap….TRUE MC’s.
finally
it was about time
“^i hate niggas like you…stop overating that fuckin average ass album…6-7 songs were good, not even great, how da fuck does it get compared to a classic like aquemini? this album got no replay value from me, maybe a few songs like maad city,art of peer pressure, bitch dont kill my vibe,recipe an swimming pools thats it…and i dont even play any of them any more, i can still play aquemini front to back on repeat for a few blunt sessions”
nobody has to cater to your opinion nigga. I still got 1/4 of GKMC in heavy rotation(good kid, BDKMV, Backseat, Sing About me), most of the rest I get a decent earful every now and then and yeah some are unlistenable but nigga that’s you! if you don’t like the LP move the fuck on
and that goes the same for anybody who thinks Kendrick is overrated. congratulations for imparting your super wisdom but instead of cryin about it, how bout trying to focus on what YOU LIKE.
who you talking to tho
WTF
Never compare yourself with such legends like Pac Cube and Kurupt you fucking bastard
FUCK you kendrick lamar
Pretencious Nigga.
F*ck you Mr. wack ass K.DOt! You can’t e even finger nail of pac or cube! Go n hang out with gaga. And f*ck you people who thinks he’s a good lyricist. Are you deaf or atleast can’t read the lyrics? But if you are a 2chainz fan, it makes sense to think him as a good lyricist. Tell me something real! I’ve neva heard from Pac, Yo, I’m like Daddy Kane or Rakim. If you are bragging about yourself, you r a worthless f*ck! Bishop Lamont is way to better than him. But dre wasted his time for nothing! He didn’t support him. He has no any album prod by dre. just couple of album. From short dawg ent, Ab-soul, Jay Rock and DB are good MCs. That’s it!
It’s obvious you’re either trolling or retarded. Everything you said is a bunch of BS.
The best rapper alive takes another win:
The Source: Prince Kendrick Lamar changed the game.
http://www.thesource.com/artcles/264642/Kendrick-Lamar%3A-A-Prince-And-A-Revolution-%28Cover-Story%29?thesource-prod=m89viq00u6de4i07qm6jivuad2
the source is right, kendrick changed the rap game
Thx Kind Kendrick Lamar
http://www.thesource.com/articles/264642/Kendrick-Lamar%3A-A-Prince-And-A-Revolution-%28Cover-Story%29?thesource-prod=m89viq00u6de4i07qm6jivuad2
He just picked 3 street cats…none of which would ever claim to be a Good Kid in a MAAD city. Pac, Cube, nor Korrupt would ever need The Game to stick up for them. I love what Kendrick is doing but just keep writing and prove you have staying power. Stop with the comparisons to legends.
thank you the source, the world already knows kendrick is the best.
1) kendrick
the rest : tupac, big, eminem, nas etc
Tommorow’s headline Kendrick says he’s a mix of Chuck D, with a little sprinkle of Kool and the Gang. STFU you newbie ass clown.
I got 2pac’s heart Biggie’s lyrics and with a bit of Jigga’s arrogance – Ras Kass
+1 for the source
Kendrick is the best, we should be proud to be of his generation
Of course he is better than tupac, rofl cake ppl from hip hop dx are kids…
I have bene listening to odlschool hgip hop for ages but kendrick is on another level
I am a fan of Kendrick and that but HAHAHAHAHAHA. Ha.
The source is right, Kendrick is better than anybody else
So glad that kendrick saved hip hop
Next article – Kendrick Lamar takes a shit. The dickriding is wow
here we go again with this..
yea lets get back to the media promoting/dickriding wayne and young money,mmg instead..
He’s really the best rapper right now
Of course he changed the game, The source is right.
Kendrick > pac & big combined
I personally think hes one of the best rappers out now. But he was asked the question so he answered it. No harm, no foul. I agree we need to lay off all the love hes getting and the hating as well. Let him be and let him make more music.
“the source is right, kendrick changed the rap game”
How? lol I’m sure in time he’ll be certified, but right now he’s basically a few notches above J. Cole.
Hes a great rapper but if he really said this he has to be on acid or something.
best rappper ever
every fuckin time. some people… I swear cannot comprehend English, and by people I mean some of you. take something they hear from a nigga and spin it 270 degrees to make it sound like some bullshit
how do you niggas go from
Kendrick: I got a bit of Pac, Kurupt and content from Ice Cube/influences
to
“HE’S COMPARING HIMSELF TO THE GREAT TUPAC! ICE CUBE AND KURUPT, HE CAN’T TOUCH THOSE LEGENDS”
you motherfuckers do this every time, spin somethin around like this. Kendrick never said he’s as great as Tupac. Kendrick never said he could stand toe-to-toe in the booth with Kurupt. you niggas need to differentiate CONTENT and INFLUENCE.. with LEGACIES AND REPUTATION, which is the main thing Kendrick Lamar and Tupac/Ice Cube/Kurupt are on opposite ends for. But those emcees IMPACTED and INFLUENCED him. words from the article above you. fuck.
Co-sign. He isn’t even saying one time he’s better than them, he just says he was influenced by them.
He’s iight. Best from the tight pants generation.
willing to bet the people who say kendrick is better then pac dont even own a pac album. if you listen to any pac album front to back and still say this shoot yourself, he’s not even in my top m.c.’s mac dre flowed harder then k.dot get outta here with that best of all time bullshit
Gkmc doesn’t sound like anything like a westcoast album. The influences I hear in his album are lil Wayne and drake, over beats that sound like from the south. He even has the lil Wayne whine when he raps. First it was nas and now cube, and kurupt, whos he gonna be next in the nineties? Maybe O.j. or bill Clinton. Just face the facts that you made an album for hipsters and skinny jean fans and your album would have been forgotten if it wasnt for the lame fake interviews you bring to the table. Stop listening to interscope and jimmy and just be yourself.
you fail dude
go eat a dick
I have lsitened to pac since I’m young but kendrick is really better, the best rapper by far
LiL Wayne is the best rapper. Better than pac. Kendrick copy Waynes style.
Wayne got mo platinum singles best to eva do it
Joey Bada$$ is the best lyrical MC right now. He`s got the top single on hip hop dx right now.
Next article will say “Kendrick Lamar explains why fucking Dr. Dre is so spiritual”.
Kendrick lamar is DOPE! King of the west coast