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If I'm gonna tell a real story, I'm gonna start with my name.
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Whenever I make music, it reflects where I'm at mentally.
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My moms always told me, 'How long you gonna play the victim?' I can say I'm mad and I hate everything, but nothing really changes until I change myself.
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My passion is bringing storylines around and constructing a full body of work rather than just a 16-bar verse.
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I'm just writing, writing, writing. I keep these tablets on me until I'm inspired to go back in and make the music. I never take a break from my pen, because I pride myself on that.
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I've got an extra-specific story about Dr. Dre. I saw him when I was 9 years old in Compton - him and Tupac. They were shooting the second 'California Love' video. My pops had seen him and ran back to the house and got me, put me on his neck, and we stood there watching Dre and Pac in a Bentley.
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In all my days of schooling, from preschool all the way up to 12th grade, there was not one white person in my class. Literally zero.
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When I talk to kids, I'm really listening. When I do that, we have a little bit of a bigger connection than me being Kendrick Lamar and you being a student. It's almost like we're friends. Because a friend listens.
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As long as my music is real, it's no limit to how many ears I can grab.
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We're all put on this earth to walk in His image, the Master.
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I'm Machiavelli's offspring, I'm the king of New York, king of the coast, one hand, I juggle them both.
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When I went back to my old high school, all these kids looking at me like I'm the real big homie, the same way I look at Jay Z, Nas, or Dr. Dre. You would've thought Michael Jackson walked through that joint off the excitement that they had.
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I got a greater purpose. God put something in my heart to get across, and that's what I'm going to focus on, using my voice as an instrument and doing what needs to be done.
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My word will never be as strong as God's word. All I am is just a vessel, doing His work.
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When I'm in the studio, I'm looking for creativity I haven't matched yet, a feeling I haven't felt. It's a high.
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You don't hear no artists from Compton showing vulnerability.
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God to me is love.
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I'm constantly thinking.
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We're in the last days, man - I truly, in my heart, believe that. It's written. I could go on with biblical situations and things my grandma told me. But it's about being at peace with myself and making good with the people around me.
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I learned, when I look in the mirror and tell my story, that I should be myself and not peep whatever everybody is doing.
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My mom's one of 13 siblings, and they all got six kids, and till I was 13 everybody was in Compton.
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I think my vice would be outdoing myself.
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People are used to music that justifies street culture but something that's not touched on is why these kids act the way they act, live the way they live.
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Me, as a person, I grow. I'm like a chameleon. You know? That is a gift and a curse for me. But more so a gift, because it never puts me in a box.