Kendrick Lamar On His Vulnerability Throughout "Mr. Morale" Album: "It Was Tough For Me"

BYHayley Hynes2.1K Views
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Lollapalooza Buenos Aires 2019 - Day 3
Kendrick Lamar performs during the third day of Lollapalooza Buenos Aires 2019 at Hipodromo de San Isidro on March 31, 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Santiago Bluguermann/Getty Images)
The father of two joined W Magazine's Briana Younger to reflect on his most recent release and some important life lessons.

2022 has been a huge year for Kendrick Lamar, and though he's worn his crown of thorns like a champion, in a recent interview with W Magazine, the father of two opened up about some of the struggles he endured while piecing together his long-awaited fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

"It’s stuff that I’ve written that’s just now seeing daylight because I wasn’t secure with myself in order to do it... It was really about not being insecure [or] tormented by opinions," the California native told reporter Briana Younger during their chat in Toronto.

Glastonbury Festival 2022 - Day Five
US rapper and musician Kendrick Lamar headlines on the Pyramid Stage during day five of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 26, 2022 in Glastonbury, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

He continued, "When I did this, it was kind of the marker and the growth of everything I’ve 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 nine years old, all the way up to 35."

As they spoke, K-Dot also told the journalist about his rapid growth as a person, saying, "I’m not even the same person I was yesterday, that's what keeps me creative."

"I have so much discipline as far as repetition — I don’t give a f*ck if it’s a thousand push-ups or pull-ups or whatever, but it’s always that extra 5 percent I’m like, What am I on today? What’s going to be the evolution for myself today?" he shared.

According to Lamar, his past projects have brought him material prizes such as Grammys and a Pulitzer, but with Mr. Morale, the rapper is celebrating "the reward for humanity" that his music was able to give back to the culture.

Elsewhere, the "Money Trees" hitmaker discussed his own private life, admitting that his tendency to keep himself and those closest to him sheltered from the public made getting so raw and vulnerable on his album that much more difficult.

"It was tough for me," Kung-Fu Kenny admitted. "I had to reap whatever consequences came behind that, and also be compassionate and show empathy if they were hurt by it," he added of his decision to keep his project hidden from the ears of even friends and family before it dropped, as some of these songs might not have been released if the thoughts and opinions of others got into his head.

You can read Kendrick Lamar's full W Magazine profile here, and tap back in with HNHH later for more hip-hop news updates.

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About The Author
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.

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