Kendrick Lamar recently opened up about his seven Grammy nominations. Not surprisingly, the guy is still a little stunned by all the acclaim he’s received in recent months.
The rapper could walk home with quite a few awards during next month’s event. Although this sort of situation is probably hard to put into words, Lamar released a video that discussed what he thinks about the attention he’s receiving at the moment. He also provided fans with some insight into his writing process.
“The reality of my existence now, I kind of had an idea of what it would be like, but it’s definitely a lot more work than the eye could see,” Kendrick Lamar explained.
He added, “I always go back to just the thought of one person listening to my mixtape or demo or song to get your community to listen to it, or your neighborhood, your state, the West Coast, the East Coast and build up all the way to Grammy nominations.”
Kendrick Lamar also discussed his writing, which is deeply inspired by the people and cultures he encounters during his life. Since he’s always on the go these days, the rapper said he spends a considerable amount of time with pen and paper.
“The process now is so spontaneous. It’s whatever I get my hands on. Whenever an idea approaches, I gotta write it down. I gotta keep a mental note,” Lamar said.
He continued, “Whether it’s a napkin, my phone, a book or anything. Inspiration is everything. That’s my main focus, my art, knowing it wasn’t the hype, it wasn’t press, it wasn’t publicity stunts. It was the music from day one. I have to remember that.”
Kendrick Lamar is up against Drake ( Nothing Was the Same ), Jay Z ( Manga Carta… Holy Grail ), Macklemore and Ray Lewis ( The Heist ), and Kanye West ( Yeezus ) for the Best Rap Album Grammy at this year’s awards ceremony. Although they’re both competing for the honor, Macklemore said he thinks Lamar deserves the trophy .
“In terms of [that category], I think it should go to [Kendrick Lamar]. He’s family. TDE is family, and I understand why Hip-Hop would feel like Kendrick got robbed [if he didn’t win]. I’m not trying to compare albums; I think you can make an argument for both. With that being said, I am a huge supporter of what Kendrick does,” the rapper explained.
He continued, “And because of that, I would love to win in a different category. We obviously had massive success on commercial radio, and I think that, in ways, ‘The Heist’ was a bigger album, but Kendrick has a better rap album.”
Tune into the Grammys on February 10 to see how many awards Kendrick Lamar wins.