The moment Kendrick Lamar crossed paths with Dr Dre and Tupac Shakur at nine years old
Kendrick Lamar signed a deal with Dr Dre’s Aftermath label when he was 24, but he first crossed paths with the NWA legend 15 years earlier. K. Dot, like Dre, is also from Compton and, aged nine, stumbled upon Dre filming the second music video for ‘California Love’ with Tupac Shakur.
King Kenny told the story during a conversation with Erykah Badu, recalling the unforgettable moment he shared with his father. What made it even more remarkable is that it was in the years before Tupac lost his life.
“I saw [Dre] when I was nine years old in Compton—him and Tupac,” he told Badu for Interview Magazine. “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.”
He continued, “I’ll never forget this moment—it was probably about a year and some change before ‘Pac died. So the moment I met Dre 15 years later, that’s what was playing in my head. He was talking to me, and the whole time I was like, I hear him, but I’m not listening, because all I could think about was that moment when I was a kid.”
Kendrick admitted that he had to put his fandom aside to focus during their first studio session. “It was tricky at first because right after that, he said, ‘Go in the booth,’ so I had to, in a split second, stop being a fan and get professional,” he said. “That moment was make-or-break for me in my career, but I executed.”
He released his good kid, m.A.A.d city album in 2012, and the rest is history. The album is considered a hip-hop classic, with Kendrick going on to release To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN. and Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers on Dre’s label.
During another interview with the Recording Academy, Kendrick revealed that seeing Dre and Tupac that day inspired him to become a rapper. When he eventually met Dre, he even remembered the kids standing out there on the street that day. It was a full-circle moment that neither of them could have predicted.
“I think it was a white Bentley, that moment right there, whether I knew it or not, branched me off to what I’m doing now, it was already designed in destiny,” he said. “15 years later, I meet Dr Dre, and I explained that story to him, and he remembered that same exact moment, and he remembers them kids that were out there, and I said, ‘Dre, I was one of the kids that were there.’ It’s a crazy feeling.”
On the 20th anniversary of Tupac’s death, Kendrick wrote on social media, “I couldn’t describe how I felt at that moment. So many emotions. Full of excitement. Full of joy and eagerness. 20 yrs later I understand exactly what that feeling was. INSPIRED. The people that you touched on that small intersection changed lives forever. I told myself I wanted to be a voice for man one day. Whoever knew I was speaking out loud for u to listen.”