Photo by Gregory Harris
One of the biggest comedians in the field, Dave Chappelle, caught up with one of the biggest rappers in the world, Kendrick Lamar, for a chat for Interview Magazine. The pair hadn’t seen each other since Kendrick was with J. Cole and Eminem and Australia a few years ago, but that didn’t stop them from getting into an interesting conversation.
Dave asks the questions, Kendrick answers. He talks about controversy in comedy, what he thinks about when he writes, returning to Compton after success, how Africa changed his perspective, the story on “DUCKWORTH.” and more.
Check out an excerpt of their chat below.
CHAPPELLE: I know you’re a big Tupac fan. And Tupac used to talk about this phenomenon, as he got successful, that he was out of context. He’d say, “Where am I supposed to go? I can’t be around the ‘hood anymore, and they don’t want me in the Hollywood Hills. Where am I supposed to go?” Have you run into any altitude sickness from your ascent, fighting all the way up to where you are now?
LAMAR: I think I’m still growing. The more people I meet, the more cultures I start to embrace, the more people I open myself up to—it’s a growing process I’m excited about. But it’s also a challenge for me, to be at this level and still be able to connect with somebody who’s living that everyday life. At first it was something I struggled with, because everything was moving so fast. I didn’t know how to digest it. The best thing I did was go back to the city of Compton, to touch the people who I grew up with and tell them the stories of the people I met around the world. Making To Pimp a Butterfly was me navigating those experiences. I went to Africa and I was like, “This is something I can enjoy and something I can challenge myself with.”
You can read the whole interview over at Interview Magazine’s website.
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