The release and recording of a Black Hippy album has been up in the air for a while now, and even though Ab-Soul told us that the project is “never coming out,” Kendrick Lamar tells a different story.
While speaking to Lamar at the Samsung Galaxy Note II launch party in Los Angeles, last week, he explained what Ab meant. “They’re crazy,” he said, laughing. “They’re tired of people asking about it. [But people want to hear it] Which is dope.”
Rather it’s a Black Hippy release, or his debut, the 25-year-old is known for moving at his own pace. In putting together good kid m.A.A.d city he purposely took his time. “I didn’t want to rush greatness,” he continued. “That’s something I understood, plus at the same time, you still don’t want to miss your window. So I had to find a certain time [and] space to where I wanted to put it out, where I felt comfortable putting it out; where it was at the best of my abilities as far as working on it. I just really sat back and listened to some records as a collective, as a team—you know Top Dawg Entertainment—and we decided its ready.” And even though the stakes were high for a new artist of his caliber, the Compton native tackled the project with ease and confidence. “[No] jitters, I knew I was gon’ deliver. I think the world had more jitters than I did, you know the state of Hip-Hop, but I knew it was gon’ happen, I knew I was gon’ do something that was not only real to myself but real to people that [are] fans of the art, real to my city.”
Now that the album is finally out, Lamar won’t slow down his promo efforts, and plans to head to Europe soon. “Europe had some real big sales. I just really want to get back to them as well, a lot of people stop after first week sales, [thinking] that’s it. I want to continue to grow. I think more people need to hear this album.”
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