Kendrick Lamar On Signing With A Major Record Label: “I Don’t Feel No Pressure. The Situation Has To Be Right.”

13 years ago view-show 1,459,557

Kendrick Lamar is a serious indie rap success and his latest mixtape is proof of his budding stardom. He beat both serious pop forces, Adele and Lady Gaga in the iTunes chart with Section.80. His mixtape debuted as the top hip-hop/rap album and landed in the top 10 in over ten countries, including Australia, Germany and France, without radio play and the backing of a major label.

He sat down with LA Times to talk about what’s next in his career and he clearly expresses that he’s not rushing to sign a record deal with a major label.

As far as going to a major label … I don’t feel no pressure. The situation has to be right. Everybody has to be cohesive as to what the plan is and not try to sway things. In some situations, it could be the perfect marriage. I’ve always felt I needed to build a fan base from the bottom to the top. Whatever situation I get into, my people are going with me. I’m going to continue to make the positive music that I make.”

He talks about his life in Compton and how that influenced his career.

Growing up in Compton, that’s what I represent. I feel like I have to connect with my own backyard before I connect on a universal level. When I speak about me going to the county building with my mother every month or being influenced by the homeboys I grow up with in a neighborhood, being chastised by the police — that’s me, and the people can relate to that. I grew up in a household where my parents partied. It was a whole lot of gangster rap, and oldies being played in the house. I start penning my rhymes when I was 13.

Kendrick Lamar, only 24, seems to have all the answers and this collaborative album with J. Cole in the works could really bring him to that perfect major label deal. But let’s not rush things, only when the time is right.

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