For Gentlemen's Quarterly 'GQ+A' Compton's Kendrick Lamar talks his relationship with mentor Dr. Dre, real scenario skits for debut album 'good kid, m.A.A.d city', Sherane from 'Sherane a.k.a. Master Splinter's Daughter'. Kendrick say he wants to go toe-to-toe lyrically Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, Rakim, Kurupt. Read a few excerpts from Kendrick Lamar's interview by GQ's Mark Anthony Green. Head over to GQ.com for the full interview.
GQ: Were those real scenarios? Kendrick Lamar: All of those were real scenarios. The fact that I took my mother's car, that was real life. Being in a situation where you're young and a teenager and you don't really have respect for authority. You respect them as your mother and father, but sometimes when they lay some rules down, you break them. And that was one of those situations. Taking that car got me in a whole lot of different situations as a teen, that I tell in the stories. That's what that concept really represents: abusing the authority of losing his Domino's, losing his jewelry, anything else that he possessed that I felt like taking at the time.
GQ: I feel like rappers from LA have a bit of an inferiority complex. They have to represent the resurgence of West Coast hip-hop from the moment they get a little buzz. Did you feel that? Kendrick Lamar: You know, it's crazy. From the moment I started writing raps, I was always aware of the pressure. I always wanted to live up to how huge Snoop got, how huge Dre got, how huge Pac got. I was always aware. But by the time I got [the pressure], it was a whole new story. When you get that attention, you really have to execute. That pressure turned into a little bit more excitement, a little more dedication in the studio.
GQ: How important has Dre been to you as far as a personal relationship and mentorship? Kendrick Lamar: He told me all the mistakes I shouldn't make in this business, being a new artist. I'm in a position where a lot of dollars will be thrown my way, and it's up to me to maintain. One of the first things he told me was that anybody "can get a mansion." He said, "You can get it. It's nothing to get. You can get it tomorrow. The best thing to do is maintain it—that's the hardest thing. Keeping it."
GQ: What is Sherane doing right now? Kendrick Lamar: I have no idea. Hopefully she's doing good, you know, but karma is a bitch.
GQ: I assume she knows that you're doing, ya know, OK. Does that drive you any?
Kendrick Lamar: They watch the smallest things, from the YouTube video with 500 hits to the number-one single and gold album. The worst part of success is, to me, adapting to it. It's scary. Andre 3000 said, "I hated all the attention, so I ran from it." I think about that. The last six months, I've been going crazy, thinking, "Is it supposed to be like this?" Because when the cameras are on and the people are watching, that can make a person want to shut down from everything and everybody.
GQ: Who are the artists that you'd love to go toe-to-toe with, lyrically?
Kendrick Lamar: Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, Rakim, Kurupt...
GQ: Right now, where do you think you stack up in that group?
Kendrick Lamar: I'm on their toes, for sure. I remember when I was a young buck listening to them, I was thirteen or fourteen going back to the albums and how crazy they were. They just have a little more experience than me. I wouldn't get in the studio with them and be nervous, I'll put it to you that way. I wouldn't be nervous.
