Kendrick Lamar Explains How He Wants His "Very Urgent" New Album To "Feel"

Kendrick Lamar speaks on new music and more for an insightful, expansive new The New York Times piece. Speaking to journalist Wyatt Mason for a feature about the importance of “artistic creation” in today’s sociopolitical climate, Lamar was his usual intelligent self when the topic came to God, how his records connect with fans who might not have had the same experiences as him, and other more challenging topics.

“I think now, how wayward things have gone within the past few months, my focus is ultimately going back to my community and the other communities around the world where they’re doing the groundwork,” Lamar explains to Mason. “To Pimp a Butterfly was addressing the problem. I’m in a space now where I’m not addressing the problem anymore … We’re in a time where we exclude one major component out of this whole thing called life: God. Nobody speaks on it because it’s almost in conflict with what’s going on in the world when you talk about politics and government and the system.” While the TDE rapper didn’t dive deep into the specific details regarding how his upcoming album would specifically meet that challenge, he did say his forthcoming LP would be a “very urgent” body of work. Concluding the exchange, Kendrick gave this statement to break down his next major release:

This is what goes on in my mind as a writer. One day, I may have a little girl. And it’s a girl in particular — funny you said that. She’s gonna grow up. She’s gonna be a child I adore, I’m gonna always love her, but she’s gonna reach that one point where she’s gonna start experiencing things. And she’s gonna say things or do things that you may not condone, but it’s the reality of it and you know she was always gonna get to that place. And it’s disturbing. But you have to accept it. You have to accept it and you have to have your own solutions to figure out how to handle the action and take action for it.

When I say “the little girl,” it’s the analogy of accepting the moment when she grows up. We love women, we enjoy their company. At one point in time I may have a little girl who grows up and tells me about her engagements with a male figure — things that most men don’t want to hear. Learning to accept it, and not run away from it, that’s how I want this album to feel.

You can check out a behind-the-scenes vignette for Kendrick Lamar’s latest interview above, and check out the full The New York Times piece here.