On October 2nd Kendrick Lamar will release good kid, m.A.A.d. city, his major label debut album with Interscope and the legendary Dr. Dre. The LA based emcee has made major strides in just a year after releasing his critically acclaimed Section.8o. The young emcee has had a unique affect on the music industry, in a manner many have never known. At Pitchfork fest last weekend, K.dot’s set brought Lady Gaga out of the woodwork to watch, and he recently did a duet with Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino. With such a personal and factual tone in his music, Lamar has truly reached a status in which fans come from all genres and sincerely connect with his sound.
Yesterday Kendrick and his team strolled into the intimate listening party there with a giddy swagger, one that could only be accompanied by someone whose fan base is constantly growing at an exponential rate. It could also be because they confidently feel that Kendrick has one of the best albums in 20 years in his back pocket. After a nice meet and greet with the small room of listeners Kendrick and his DJ/Engineer/Future Dr. Dre, Ali, played a few cuts from the upcoming album. After 3 joints, and a bunch of nasty faces later, I was able to talk to Kendrick about his music and what really has allowed him to reach this catalyst point of stardom. He also talked about his personal troubles with Alcoholism, successfully gaining organic cross over appeal, and the family like team he enjoys at TDE that has helped him reach this point in such a short period of time.