Kendrick Lamar Explains Black Hippy's Unique Approach

Kendrick Lamar speaks on the origins of Black Hippy, and how the group has had a unique approach since its inception.

Kendrick Lamar has made a lot of noise on his own in the last year or so,particularly in the last week. The rapper is in the business for more than just himself however, as he's always had his Black Hippy crew in tow. The TDE rapper explained the unique approach of the group in a recent interview with Rock The Bells.

"Numbers. It's more strength. That's how I look at it." K-Dot said of the importance of the group fromat. "And when the audience can identify an artist, that's cool. But when they can identify a crew, they know it's something bigger than just the movement," he explained. "It's a lifestyle they're bringing to the table as far as music. Just living in the everyday world. So when we say Black Hippy, you know it's not just music. It's actually a group of individuals saying fuck the regular, and doing what they want to do in the world, and making a way for themselves without being caught up in the politics. Being themselves, and looking in the mirror, and identifying themselves. People can understand that, they can relate to that, and they can understand that as well."

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Lamar then spoke of the main idea behind Black Hippy from the beginning. "We had a plan with this shit. We said we was gonna get each individual artist off first, let the world identify them with these artists, and at the end, bring them together was a collective." he revealed.

The emcee expained that because of this approach, the group would never hit a wall with creative differences. "We feel when a group come together, from the jump, it's always a stigma where they eventually break up. And that's because later down the line, everybody have they own creative differences. So what we did was start off with our own creative space, and let each person know what it is, know what we workin' with, and be familiar with it and bring it together. And what that do is allow each other to know our different abilities. What we capable of and what we like to do, and how we can comprimise with that, rather than say, 'Fuck that, I don't want to do that, I don't want to be on this verse...' And that's what happens. That's why you don't see this motherfuckers today. They done fall out as friends, fall out as artists, together. We just do it the other way around, and it's working. Because everyone can identify with Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and [Schoolboy q]. And then, when it come together, it's Black Hippy, they know it's bigger than that."

Watch the interview below.