Kendrick Lamar **SOLD OUT**

Kendrick Lamar

Friday 18th January 2013, 6:00 pm

Ever since NWA came Straight Outta Compton wearing dark sunglasses and even darker scowls, the city known as the “CPT” has been seen as an exporter of all things violent, poor and well, ruthless. Even though he was born one year before that album and right in the middle of the Compton chaos, Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records recording artist Kendrick Lamar knows that he was “in it,” but he didn’t become “of it.”

“Yeah, we was poor, but I didn’t see that,” says Lamar, whose parents moved out west from Chicago. “It was a typical lifestyle. Mom on welfare working at Kentucky Fried Chicken, pop doing what he had to do in the streets to make ends meet. But they just raised me. When I got older, I realized it was a struggle, but I was still able to be a kid and live like one.”

Likening his childhood to that of the character “Kaine” from the movie Menace II Society, young Kendrick grew up in a home that doubled as a house party spot at night. story, hate it or love it. So I wanted to start over, with my real name, because it was that real.” The first result was 2009’s Kendrick Lamar EP which featured his trademark singles “P&P,” and “She Needs Me.” He’d follow that up with 2010’s Overly Dedicated powered by the singles “Michael Jordan” and “Cut You Off.”

He became a lot of people’s favorite rapper almost overnight.

“It took me by surprise,” he admits. “I didn’t know people were going to take to it because it was different. It felt even better because it was really me. Me telling my story was easy. It’s easy for me to not talk about street shit all the time. It’s easy for me to not rap about killing people, because I haven’t.” Over the next year Kendrick’s profile would continue to rise as he performed in cities and festivals all over the country. He would also receive co-signs from Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and a coveted spot on XXL’s 2011 Freshmen cover.

By the time he released his highly anticipated debut album Section.80 in July 2011, he was already being crowned as the voice of a new generation.

“I was repping for my generation and my younger siblings,” says Kendrick who is the oldest of three. “I wanted to tell the stories of growing up in this Ronald Reagan era and the aftermath of that. My generation actually connected to it. I feel like it connected the same way people connect to 2Pac."

If Section.80 was Kendrick doing 2Pac, his yet-to-be-titled Interscope debut may be him doing Langston Hughes. His lead single “The Recipe” as well as scene stealing features alongside The Game, Drake, Rick Ross and others has Kendrick poised to be the first artist in a long time to not only change how the country views West Coast Hip Hop, but how the world sees Hip Hop as a whole.

“The coolest shit to say used to be the gangsta shit,” Kendrick says. “But now, the real cool shit to talk about is supporting your family.”

24 years after NWA planted the Compton flag in Hip Hop, it’s only right that another native son come along and adjust the “attitude” they left behind.

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