Kendrick Lamar:
What inspired me as a kid really was, uh, illustrating my thoughts on that sheet of paper
Life's to me like a box of chocolates
(?) something for something, that's the obvious
Flow's so sick, don't you swallow it
Biting my style, you (?)
Come from the same blocks where they pick cotton
Oh, you forgotten, ah, forget it
That life ain't sane
You see gangbanging, drug paraphernalia. You see things from the streets. So what you gon' do? You gon' find something that you love to do and have a passion for it, or you gon' stay, you know, mingling in the streets until something major happens
So the moment I defined myself and freed myself was the time I locked myself in the studio and said, "You need to do music."
Tonight's for everybody, understand me
The plan B is the one in your hearts
This here is family, Kendrick Lamar
Words like a sword in the hands of a Spartan
Marching on Rosecrans in Compton
You can't cause conflict or corrupt my spirit
I'm on point like period
I've been there and gone before you get near it
Ooh wee, that boy remind me of a young Martin Luther
The way he piece up troopers, then round up shooters
Like Malcolm X did, I stand for what I believe in
That's family, God and honor
From Chicago, my daddy and my momma
Came into Compton to accomplish one thing: reign supreme
Raise a king named Kendrick
I ain't lying, it stand for "King" and I am one
My unborn son and grandson will live royal
From the coochee to the soil
The meek shall inherit the Earth
Well, I've had this world since birth
Feel the good kid's hunger
The Crips made strong, the Pirus made stronger
But it's muscle in my heart
I stare in the eyes of Mozart and tell him I'm the genius
I love myself, really love myself
And I means this with all sole
And you can't control greatness 'less you hating
With the heart of Satan
But even that can't stop it
I tell 'em, "Get out my wallet and passion in your logic"
Passion in your life, the passion of my Christ is in me
And if you say it ain't, you may offend me
Damn, that boy good
I'm bright as Thomas Edison but I'm Gucci Mane in the hood
I stood alone for so long, prolonged my whole career
But now I'm here, you can shoot shots and cheer
Because I am, we are Kendrick Lamar
Getting into that success level where you can go back to your neighborhood and people feel like, you know, uh, they look up to you. Sometimes the most riskiest things you can do can end up being, you know, the most important. Yeah
Teriq Tyson:
My dream's more vivid than Dr. T's, (?) evolutionary
Reporting live, Centennial High, 2014
Kendrick Lamar:
I am Kendrick. I am Kendrick. I am Kendrick. I am Kendrick