Kendrick Lamar quotes:

I've got an extra-specific story about Dr. Dre. I saw him when I was 9 years old in Compton - him and Tupac. They were shooting the second 'California Love' video. My pops had seen him and ran back to the house and got me, put me on his neck, and we stood there watching Dre and Pac in a Bentley.

Sometimes you have the trends that's not that cool. You may have certain artists portraying these trends and don't really have that lifestyle, and then it gives off the wrong thing. And it becomes kinda corny after awhile. It's really about keeping hip-hop original and pushing away the corniness in it.

I'm Machiavelli's offspring, I'm the king of New York, king of the coast, one hand, I juggle them both.

When you go on your Twitter or look down your Timeline and it's all great positivity - I love that. But at the same time, it can really divert you from what your purpose is or what you're trying to do. And I've seen artists get caught up in that.

I always thought money was something just to make me happy. But I've learned that I feel better being able to help my folks, 'cause we never had nothing. So just to see them excited about my career is more of a blessing than me actually having it for myself.

Hip-hop and being a pro athlete go hand in hand. When they come together, it's a win, not just for your business brand but also for culture.

At first, I was scared to show fear because you can never be sure how people will perceive you. But I dared myself to do that, to stand out. Now I'll talk about being beaten up or robbed or making a stupid decision because of a girl or whatever.

God to me is love.

It's a great, great experience to finally get the reception that you know you rightfully deserve.

The best thing is to always keep honest people around, because when you have a bunch of yes men around that know that you're making a mistake but let you go on with it, that's when it ruins your mind state as an artist.

I'm sticking to the script, I'm putting that organic feeling back in the game.

My folks ain't graduated from high school or nothing like that, so we always had to struggle in the family - and I come from a big family.

My mom's one of 13 siblings, and they all got six kids, and till I was 13 everybody was in Compton.

The opposite of love? Vice. Temptation. The negative influences that we have. The bad energy that comes around us and makes us do certain things. To me, it's always been a war between the two.

Eventually you get to this point where you understand what you want to do and get across and sound like.

I had to come from something, come from a place that was negative and positive but the majority of it is a negative place.

You don't hear no artists from Compton showing vulnerability.

What separated me from all my homeboys is the fact that I didn't get caught inside the reality. I was always dreaming about doing something else or going somewhere else.

You can have the platinum album, but when you still feel like you haven't quite found your place in the world - it kind of gives a crazy offset.

I was a black sheep, but now I'm just a goat

If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it?

What happened to [Michael Brown] should've never happened. Never. But when we don't have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us? It starts from within. Don't start with just a rally, don't start from looting - it starts from within.

Let bygones be bygones...but where I'm from, We buy guns and more guns, to give to the young.

I always felt like there was a certain standard of music that I had to do from the beginning, even when I didn't have the recognition that I have now.

Just let me be me, That's the only way I know.

I am a sinner....who's probably gonna sin again...Lord forgive me!

The limit is the sky, and I live on cloud. And I recognize my nemesis gon try, to put a finish in my shine. But pussy we'll hurt you, life in the power circle.

So next time you feel like your world is about to end, I hope you studied because He's testing your faith again.

God to me is love. It's the ruler of all things, whether it's with a person or with music or with your TV. I feel like it's this energy. God is energy, love is energy.

I know if I'm generous at heart, I don't need recognition The way I'm rewarded, well, that's God's decision,

Thank God for rap, I would say it got me a plaque But what's better than that?

Loving you is complicated.

I met a little boy that resembled my features Nappy afro, gap in his smile.

Diggin' in my pocket ain't a profit, big enough to feed you.

I never liked you, forever despise you I don't need you.

I think my vice would be outdoing myself.

I always tell people that if I move anywhere it would be Toronto.

Found myself screaming in a hotel room. I didn't want to self-destruct.

If I'm gonna tell a real story, I'm gonna start with my name.

Life Will Put Many Red Lights In Front Of You, But Sometimes We Must Push On The Gas And Trust God

Believe in God, it's only one God. F*** all that religion s***. Believe in one God, and do right. Try your best to do right, we ain't perfect. Just do that and everything will be straight,

My pops and my mom started playing Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers and all these people, but at the same time, they always had Snoop on right behind it in the same mix.

What is love? Love to me is god.

Build your own pyramids, write your own hieroglyphs.

People are used to music that justifies street culture but something that's not touched on is why these kids act the way they act, live the way they live.

The worst part of success is, to me, adapting to it. It's scary.

Sonnymoon and Quadrants are a couple of bands that really inspire me in terms of the melodics of things and certain tones and just what feels good. It takes me back to the type of music that I grew up on in my household. We played a lot of gangsta rap, but we also played a lot of oldies, and I think that mix is part of what inspires my sound.

Groups break up because they never got across what they wanted to do personally, and they have creative differences, and egos start to clash.

My whole thing is to inspire, to better people, to better myself forever in this thing that we call rap, this thing that we call hip hop.

People gonna be they own individuals and have they own worlds and I can't knock it.

From the moment I started writing raps, I was always aware of the pressure. I always wanted to live up to how huge Snoop got, how huge Dre got, how huge Pac got. I was always aware.

As long as my music is real, it's no limit to how many ears I can grab.

It's easy to forget who you are.

I don't vote. I don't do no voting.

I'm putting out this free music, constantly putting it out.

I knew I was blessed with a gift of having both parents.

[ Drizzy] is a good dude , he's been looked out and reached out, and I admire the talent.

[Drizzy] ,it was dope. A great experience, especially with the topic he was talking about and to be... organic.I'm glad that it worked out the way it did where I got to tell my story, tell his story at the same time... and actually have it make sense as far as the whole concept of the album.

[Drizzy] reached out to me through Chase N Cashe, they're brothers, they're one. Chase N Cashe made the connection, played some of my music and he [Drake] got up on it, got interested in the music and just reached out and said "You know what, let's work."

A dollar might turn to a million and we all rich that's just how i feel

A lot of incredible rap albums over the past couple of decades have deserved Album of the Year. To Pimp a Butterfly is an extension of those albums.

Although the butterfly and the caterpillar are completely different, they are one and the same.

And I'm not sure why I'm infatuated with death, My imagination is surely an aggravation of threats... Maybe cause I'm a dreamer, and sleep is the cousin of death, Really stuck in the scheme of wondering when I'mma rest.

Being able to tell one from start to finish, and making that puzzle come together at the end. That's the art for me.

Brother Kendrick Lamar: he's not a rapper, he's a writer, he's an author. And if you read between the lines, we'll learn how to love one another. But you can't do that, I said you can't do that, without loving yourself first.

But what love got to do with it when you don't love yourself ?

Consequences from evil will make your past haunt you

Don't you know your imperfections is a wonderful blessing, from heaven is where you got it from

Every time I write these words they become a taboo, Making sure my punctuation curve, every letter here's true, Living my life in the margin, and that metaphor was proof.

Everybody looking at you crazy, What you gon' do? Lift up your head and keep moving, Or let the paranoia haunt you?

From what I remember, I remember always being a big fan of Kardinal Offishall. He just had that different flow and different flavor. He put himself on the record and that's the type of energy that we love.

Hip-hop is not the problem, our reality is the problem.

How am I influencing so many people on this stage rather than influencing the ones that I have back home?

I aint a drinker Im a thinker, call it what you want

I be off the slave ships, building pyramids, writing my own hieroglyphs

I can be calm and reflective from time to time and other times I can have a burst of energy, that's just me.

I can say is if anyone gets a chance to work with [Dr.]Dre, it's a moment you will always take with you throughout your career. And as of right now, the Compton album is the only thing to talk about.

I can't help the way you was born if you was gay.

I cut off my ears before i hear your advice and vice versa

I don't really believe in the type of pressure that people are wanting to put on the type of music that I make.

I don't talk about these things if I haven't lived them, and I've hurt people in my life. It's something I still have to think about when I sleep at night.

I felt like, what better way for people to understand me by taking the initiative in giving my real name, my name that moms taught me so y'all actually know what's going on in my life and my music.

I learned, when I look in the mirror and tell my story, that I should be myself and not peep whatever everybody is doing.

I like to let things breathe.

I live this life at a pace that anyone can go. Know your place, and dedicate your role ...To the faith that you'll die alone

I penetrate the hearts of good kids and criminals

I started doing music when I was thirteen; I actually started writing my first rhymes.

I stole a Bible, is that a sin?

I think my worst problem is actually living in the moment and understanding everything that's going on. I feel like I'm in my own bubble.

I want you to recognize that I'm a proud monkey.

I wanted the next family to hurt, because you made my family hurt. Them emotions were still running in me... Whether I'm a rap star or not, if I still feel like that, then I'm part of the problem rather than the solution.

I was raised inside the gang culture.

I went back and studied the game, was a student of the game and worked on my craft and dedicated myself, you know? A lot of my music revolves around me growing up in Compton. I want to tell a different story that's never been told before, of a good kid in a mad city.

I'd rather not live like there isn't a God Then die and find out there really is Think about it

I'm a person of my own opinions, that's how I was raised. I speak what I feel. A lot of people feel the same way but they're scared to talk. They're really scared of the truth - they only want half of the truth. I've been living like that - forever in fear - but I know what to say and how to say it now. I ain't scared of myself. Y'all may be scared; I'm not scared.

I'm African American / I'm African / I'm black as the moon,

I'm constantly thinking.

I'm listening to a lot of oldies.A lot of Al Green, Marvin Gaye. Luther Vandross... they were some of my icons.

I'm standing on a field full of landmines doing the moonwalk hoping i blow up in time

I'm usually homeboys with the same ni**as I'm rhyming wit/But this is hip-hop and them ni**as should know what time it is/And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big KRIT, Wale/Pusha T, Meek Millz, A$AP Rocky, Drake/Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller/I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you ni**as/Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you ni**as/They dont wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you ni**as

It's a long time coming as far as the work that I put in. Now I know that I got the stamp but what counts is what comes behind. That's what's really important. Upholding that stamp and not only keeping the energy my way but also spreading that energy out to other artists that are coming up on the West Coast.

It's deep-rooted, the music of being young and dumb, It's never muted, in fact, it's much louder where I'm from.

It's the beauty in her, But when the makeup occur, I don't see it, All i see is a blur

K. Dot was a kid who was trying to find himself in music, finding trends, um, bending towards - ready to bend towards what the industry was telling me to do and after you mature at a certain time in your life, you come into your own...your own niche, your own personality, not only as an artist but as a person.

Look inside my soul and you can find gold and maybe get rich. Look inside of your soul and you can find out it never exists...

My lyrics say I have morals, I have confidence, I have weaknesses, I have strong points, that I am a human being.

My mind is living on cloud 9 and this 9 is never on vacation.

Once I looked in the mirror and decided this is who I am, and I'm not scared of who I am, and I'm not scared that I can't be like you, and I'm good with just doing me, that's when I found myself, as a man.

Poetic justice, poetic justice.. if I told you that a flower bloom in a dark room would you trust it. I mean I write poems in these songs.

Since day one, since the first time I touched the pen, I wanted to be the best at what I do.

Teenagers expressing this on a daily basis in the middle of the streets - you can't help but believe we are in the mind state of taking our losses and changing people's perceptions of us and our community. We are strong. Our families are tired of being hurt.

Tell me how I stay positive When they never see good in me

The best way to describe myself would be...unpredictable.

The HiiiPower Movement is a movement that's going on all throughout the world like a virus. It's about being on a higher level than the industry. It's a movement we started to be above all the bullshit that's been going on.

The message I'm sending to myself - I can't change the world until I change myself first.

The moment I made that decision to get in the studio and actually work and study the culture of hip-hop, then everything just started to open up and blossom for me.

The one in front of the gun lives forever

The people definitely shape the two, put stamps and classify mainstream and underground music.