Why Kendrick Lamar is so private outside of his music
Kendrick Lamar has been at the forefront of hip-hop for the last decade and is widely considered the best emcee of his generation. The Compton lyricist has received the highest accolades in music and even won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017.
However, although he is highly vulnerable in his music and, as proven this year, more than capable of being brash and bold in the theatre of lyrical war, outside of the industry, he is an extremely quiet, simple and private person.
The ‘Backset Freestyle’ rapper doesn’t consistently engage with fans and doesn’t have a huge presence on social media. As such, apart from when he sits down for interviews, the culture doesn’t really hear much from him, but the West Coast emcee has his reasons for this.
Lamar burst onto the scene in 2012 with his breakout album Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City and solidified his spot as one of the best rappers of his generation with his 2015 project To Pimp a Butterfly. His 2017 body of work, DAMN, is considered a classic, and since 2012 he has received nothing but critical acclaim.
However, with every project, Lamar has moved further and further away from the limelight, giving very few interviews. This has kept an air of mystery around his life, and in 2022, he spoke about his decision to lay low with Citizen magazine.
In his conversation with the publication, the ‘Humble’ rhymer explained how he desperately wants to stay true to who he was before fame and, therefore, tries to keep the renowned, praised, and revered artist separate from Kendrick Duckworth, the father, husband and son.
Explaining this, the lyricist detailed, “Distinguishing between Kendrick and Kendrick Lamar. I’m still learning the balance of that. Because I’m so invested in who I am outside of being famous, sometimes that’s all I know.” He continued, “I’ve always been a person that really didn’t dive too headfirst into wanting and needing attention. I mean, we all love attention, but for me, I don’t necessarily adore it. I use it when I want to communicate something.”
Lamar spoke about his daily life in an open letter on his website, published in the lead-up to the release of his 2022 album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, and it was poetic, to say the least. It began, “I spend most of my days with fleeting thoughts. Writing. Listening. And collecting old beach cruisers.”
The letter continued, “The morning rides keep me on a hill of silence. I go months without a phone. Love, loss, and grief have disturbed my comfort zone, but the glimmers of God speak through my music and family. While the world around me evolves, I reflect on what matters the most. The life in which my words will land next.”