Hip hop has lost its foundation of originality and remains incredibly “stagnant” when it comes to creativity, rapper Kendrick Lamar charged yesterday.
It’s no secret that Lamar has no problem calling out hip hop artists whom he believes aren’t doing the music genre justice, so it was no surprise that Lamar didn’t hold back when discussing the current state of hip hop.
The “Collard Greens” rapper stopped by the Whollywood Shuffle, where he told DJ Whoo Kid that he isn’t too pleased with what’s happening in a genre that, in his opinion, used to be filled with creative, original artists.
“The state of hip hop is wild,” he said. “It’s in a place where creativity is at a stagnant point, I feel personally.”
Lamar was quick to add that there are some songs he likes to listen to, but it’s nothing that necessarily restores his faith in hip hop’s current top dogs.
“There’s a lot of records that I do enjoy, but at the same time it gets to a space where it looks like we just stuck now. They ain’t giving us respect because they feel that we ain’t out here representing the foundation of saying what you wanna say and how you feel rather than just listening to what the next man saying and what’s hot on the radio. Hip hop was built on originality.”
Of course, some rappers argue that Lamar isn’t bringing much to the table either.
Lamar is perceived to be in a rather interesting beef with Canadian-born rapper Drake, but the “Started from the Bottom” rapper seems to be a lot more fired up than Lamar is.
When Lamar was asked to address his presumed beef with Drake, he didn’t have much to say.
Instead, he said they both just come from two different worlds and that’s not something he’s interested in collaborating with.
“We come from two different worlds, two different backgrounds,” he said. “I really don’t see that playing out as entertaining—maybe to the people listening, but not to myself.”
When it comes to his music, Lamar explained that he has to remain focused on what he wants and nobody else.
“I’m just in a space where I’m only doing things that I like,” he said. “It’s very selfish. But I’ve done that with my mixtapes, I’ve done that with my debut. It’s just something I’m gonna continue to do. This is where my inspiration is drawn from.”
He also warned his fans not to expect anything from his new album.
“Don’t expect nothing,” he said. “Don’t expect anything. It’s just creativity, man. That’s life.”
There is one thing fans can expect from the new project, however, and that’s an appearance by the legendary Ronald Isley.
Lamar’s new single “i” features some vocals from the soulful crooner himself.
“I went out there actually to get his permission for the record,” he said. “I had to fly [to] St. Louis, we went in the studio. You can hear him on the ad-libs on the record. But, hearing him on the mic, that dude sound just like how he [used to].”
Meanwhile, he is still keeping his fans waiting and hasn’t confirmed when the album will be released.
His little brother, on the other hand, won’t have to wait.
Lamar revealed that there is currently one copy of his album out right now and it’s in the possession of his 10-year-old brother.
