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The rapper had serious doubts about releasing his music to the world.

Kendrick Lamar Reveals Why He Almost Didn't Release 'Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers' By Devin /10.11.2022 Kendrick Lamar was going through something when he recorded his latest album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. In a rare interview for the cover of W magazine, the reclusive rapper opens up about the tough process of making his most personal project yet and why he was hesitant to release it to the world. Its stuff that Ive written thats just now seeing daylight, because I wasnt secure with myself in order to do it. It was really about not being insecure tormented by opinions, he tells the magazine while in Toronto for his Big Steppers Tour. When I did this, it was kind of the marker and the growth of everything Ive always wanted to say. I think that was really my purpose of writing my way out of things that I was feeling, from the time I was 9 years old, all the way up to 35. He admits that the album was difficult to make because it touched on topics that were close to home. In fact, his family didnt even know what the content would be until the album came out. Im a private person; it was tough for me, Lamar explains. The reason why I had to make that decision, whether they was for or against it, I just didnt want the influence. I could have cut corners and got flashy with it and worded my words a certain waynah, I had to be in the rawest, truest form I could possibly be in order for it to be freeing for me, in order for me to have a different outlook and the perspective on people Im talking to. I had to reap whatever consequences came behind that, and also be compassionate and show empathy if they were hurt by it. A post shared by W Magazine (@wmag) If he did have those difficult conversations prior to the albums release, or allowed other peoples feelings to get in the way of his own, Mr. Morale may not have seen the light of day. Them shits wouldve never came out, he says. While the celebrated rapper has won Grammys and even a Pulitzer Prize for his music, Kendrick wasnt looking for accolades this time around. Ive had rewards for my other albums in different ways, whether it was accolades, whether it was the Pulitzer, whether it was the Grammys, he adds. This one is the reward for humanity for me. Kendrick, who has two childrena son, Enoch, and a daughter, Uziwas also influenced by his family. My children allowed me, in their development as human beings beginning to walk and talk, to remove my ego, to know that my children, too, will have their own independence, says the 35-year-old, who has a tattoo with his daughters name on his arm. A post shared by W Magazine (@wmag) That allows me to understand the unconditional love on my endwill I allow them to be themselves? Will I allow them to journey off in the world and experience life for what they know of? Thats love, to me. And when I look at that, I try to apply it with how I express myself, how I look at my career, and how I meet other individuals. Am I allowing them to be themselves without any judgment? My children have taught me that. Amid his doubts, he thought of his kids. When I got to completion and I said, I may or may not put this out; Im not going to put this out; its way too much, I thought about my children, he says. I thought about when they turn 21, or theyre older in life, and when I got grandchildren, or if Im long gonethis can be a prerequisite of how to cope. Thats the beauty of it for me. In the end, his decision to release the album paid off. In addition to critical acclaim, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers has been a commercial success, becoming one of two albums to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify this year. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Read more