S. Samuel
West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar recently dished out his top five favorite hip-hop artists ranging from the late Tupac Shakur to platinum-selling star Eminem.
Lamar credited rap mogul Nas‘ story-telling ability for him landing a spot on his Top 5 list.
“2 Pac because of the emotion he put into his music. The Notorious B.I.G. because of his wit and his confidence. Jay-Z because of how personal and personable he is on the record. Nas because he’s a great storyteller. Eminem because he’s an amazing wordsmith.” (Wild 94.9)
Roc Nation protege J. Cole recently said fans could anticipate a joint album alongside Lamar.
“I just started working with Kendrick the other day,” Cole said. “We got it in, finally, again.” After confirming the project will be an album, not a mix tape, he said the pair left the session with four of five songs together. “We actually worked, bouncing ideas, which was great,” Cole said. “The vibe was so good that it was like, ‘Man, that’s absolutely gonna happen.'” (Fay Observer)
In March, the rapper officially joined forces with Interscope Records.
According to Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony Tiffith, his company has secured a joint distribution deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment for the Compton rapper and his group Black Hippy. Under the new deal Kendrick Lamar’s projects, including his upcoming album Good Kid in a Mad City will be jointly released via Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope Records/Aftermath Entertainment while releases from the rest of Black Hippy (Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q) will be distributed via Top Dawg Entertainment and Interscope. (RapFix)
Last fall, Lamar’s mentor Dr. Dre talked about focusing on his upcoming music.
“I am never going to give music up,” he said. “Music is like air to me, [music] is like oxygen, so I am always doing that. As soon as I get back to Los Angeles, I am back in the studio doing my thing. I have a couple of new artists that I am excited about, Kendrick Lamar and Slim The Mobster. These are the next two artists, and these are probably my final two artists that I am going to be working with at least for the next couple of years. I am going to devote all my attention to them and make sure their sh*t comes out the way it should be. I am just having fun with life right now!” (Global Grind)
Check out Kendrick Lamar’s interview below:
