Kendrick Lamar is undoubtedly the most renowned rapper concerning contemporary West Coast artists. That said, his California predecessors greatly impacted him. From G-Funk to Hyphy and more, Lamar (real name Kendrick Duckworth) has always paid homage to other MCs.
However, on his iconic 2012 album, Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, Lamar paid tribute to one particular Cali emcee and called one of his projects “a favourite.” On the track ‘Money Trees’ featuring Jay Rock, the TDE musician dedicated four lines to the Bay Area legend E-40.
During the song, Lamar named Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire as one of his favorite albums of all-time. In a 2021 interview with HipHopDX, E-40 expressed his love for Lamar and his appreciation for the shut-out. During his in-depth conversation, the Bay Area rapper revealed, “It make me feel good. Especially somebody of his magnitude, and he is a factor, man. That dude right there is going down in history as one of the best that ever did it, straight up.”
He continued, “Just to hear somebody like that saying one of his favourite albums of all time, his top 25 albums, one of them was mine, Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire. It’s a beautiful thing. It make me feel good.”
The artist (Earl Stevens) then recited the lyrics, rapping, “That quote was so raw … ‘Living life like rappers do, bump that new E-40 after school.’ He said Earl Stevens, the whole woo-ha. That was one of the biggest shout-outs, ever. I love Kendrick, man.”
E-40 and Lamar had a relationship in the early days of Kendrick’s commercial emergence in 2010 when he released his Overly Dedicated mixtape. Unveiling that they used to go on tour together, Stevens disclosed, “Kendrick, man, we was on tour in 2010 … I think it was called the Independent Tour'”
He continued, “It was Strange Music then, so it was me, Tech N9ne, Big Scoob, Glasses Malone. Who else was on that thing? Of course, Kendrick, Jay Rock, Ali. You know, Krizz Kaliko, just everybody you can name.”
You can listen to Charlie Hustle: The Blueprint of a Self-Made Millionaire below.