Kendrick Lamar is a lyricist of the highest order and has been the most prevalent hip-hop musician since his debut album, Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, in 2012. The emcee (real name Kendrick Duckworth) has interacted with the most renowned rap stars in the world, one of whom has had a profound impact on him.
In a discussion with Interview magazine, Kendrick Lamar spoke highly of Queens rapper and media mogul 50 Cent, revealing that the rhymer (real name Curtis Jackson) helped change his perspective with something he said.
Lamar unveiled that since he was young, he has been a massive fan of 50 Cent and has studied his lyrics. As such, he professed he had acquired great wisdom. Opening up about his admiration for Jackson, the DAMN lyricist stated, “Now, I’ve always studied 50 Cent’s music and watched his interviews, and someone [once] asked if he was a conscious artist. He said, ‘Yeah, I’m a conscious artist because I have a conscience.'”
He continued, “That shit blew me away. It gave me a different perspective — 50 drops a lot of jewels that give me perspective, but that one right there gave me a sense of, okay, a lot of artists live and know how to project duality.”
He expressed how it opened his eyes to how rappers are often put in boxes when, in reality, they are just conscious beings expressing their truths. Lamar added, “That’s the true gift, because that’s what life is about in its wholeness. When I seen that I said, ‘I can relate to that,’ and what you’re saying is confirmation that that’s still alive. It’s really dope to hear another artist say it. Lets us know we not crazy.”
Jackson and Lamar have only collaborated once on the 22013 single ‘We Up’. However, from their one meeting, Fifty was struck by the Section.80 artist’s maturity. He once professed his respect for Lamar in an interview with XXL.
Opening about Lamar, the Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ mogul stated, “I love Kendrick. Obviously, there is a huge difference in the two of us, in our characters, and the way we present ourselves ’cause to me he possesses the ability to appear like he didn’t know this was going to happen.”
He concluded, “There’s a level of confidence required for you to withstand the level of doubt, and I had so much doubt prior to it actually working for me that I would appear at points a little arrogant.” The two are both highly respected within the culture, and although they have different styles, they are both icons respectively.
You can watch 50 Cent explain why Kendrick Lamar is such a special artist to Larry King below.
