Kendrick Lamar’s Secret Formula to Succeed in the Music Industry

A lot of people have their own different nicks, and you know, you don't have to be a super lyricist or a storyteller. It could just be the energy you bring.

People don't like to look themselves in the mirror. That's the hardest thing to do, you know, is to critique yourself.

When I started doing music, at first I was selfish doing music, you know what I mean, that I like.

You want the flashy things until, you know, you grow older, you know, as an adult, and you be able to understand yourself a little bit more.

He's an American rapper from Compton, California. His major label debut was in October of 2012 to critical success. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. He's Kendrick Lamar, and here is my take on his top 10 rules for success. As you guys watch and listen, if you hear something that Kendrick says that you really love, make sure to leave it in the comments below with quotation marks so we can keep track of what impacted you.

It's a whole world out there, man, that believes in what you can do and what you can say and the energy you bring, you know. I'm not even just justifying myself. A lot of people have their own different nicks, and, you know, you don't have to be a super lyricist or a storyteller. It could just be the energy you bring, you know what I'm saying? They believe in that. But the moment they feel like you don't believe in that no more and you just going with the next trend, whether it's 808s, or whether it's an uptempo or slow tempo.

Autotune.

Exactly.

They don't believe in you no more. You know, the culture don't believe in you no more. So stand behind what you do, and you know, the world is gonna move by it. And that's exactly how I look at it.

People don't like to look themselves in the mirror. That's the hardest thing to do, you know, is to critique yourself rather than pointing the finger, you know, and Everybody hates change. So to actually do that and say, "I'm wrong in a lot of areas," I look at myself in the mirror and I'm saying I'm wrong in a lot of areas, that takes a lot of willpower. You dig what I'm saying? So it start with self first.

The nickname, that been acquired since I was a kid, just being in the neighborhood. You know, something given to me by just my homeboys growing up in Compton. So that name will always be there. You know, I go back to the city now, they don't call me Kendrick. I just felt like it was a time for me to grow, you know, not only as an artist, but as a person. I want the world to know me for who I am. And I just sat back and reflect on why Tupac, you know, is one of the greatest, why Big is one of the greatest, why Jay is, because the people felt like they had a connection. It wasn't just a facade that you've seen on stage or on TV. People actually felt like, you know, they was a part, you know, of what you was going through and, you know, your worries and just life in general. You know, I said, you know, what better way to start that rather than, you know, giving them my real name, letting them know who I am as a person. My songs are personal. I do try to make them universal.

It took me a long time.

Time to figure that out, you know, and not stay just in that one box, because now I know the world is listening.

When I started doing music, at first I was selfish doing music, you know what I mean, that I like. Um, I got a whole community behind me now, you know what I'm saying? So it's more of a responsibility because they banking on me to have some positive light, you know what I mean, out the city of Compton. It's always been a negative stigma there. So I'm at a point now where I can walk through any neighborhood and they'd be like, yo, nigga, you better go, you better do it. For us because at the end of the day, we gonna be locked up. I mean, they locked up in the penitentiary calling me and say, yo, I need you to look out for my little son or my nephew through your music. Dig what I'm saying? So that's a responsibility I have and that's what keeps me humble, man. That and just life in general and my family. I'm the oldest of 4, you know, so I gotta make a way for them and make a positive life for them. My little brother's 17 now and he's in the city of Compton. He might go through the same steps and mistakes that I made, you know.

So that's what really humbles me, man, and keep my head level I think some of my best advice recently came from Dre, is to keep the passion for the music. You know, always keep that because so many people lose passion and everything starts to be about a dollar, and that's when you know the value of the music goes down.

When I was listening to N.W.A., anything that I did in the streets, it wasn't from N.W.A. It was from because my cousins was doing it, you know, I had uncles like, yeah, A song really didn't, the songs that they had was just autobiography of what I seen anyway, you know? So for me personally, knowing how kids react to music, that's why I tend to always have the reasoning behind it.

It's still gangster rap, it's still harsh, and some parents may not want their kids to listen to some records. Not all records, but some records.

But at the same time, when I do do these records, it's a sort of responsibility of me forgiving, like I said, the happenings behind it. You know, yeah, you can go kill somebody. I'm gonna talk about, you know, killing somebody, but I'm not gonna talk about it with saying that you risking your life for 25 years times 4, you know, in a state correctional facility. You know, it's not just doing it for fun with bottles and women around me. They say I'm talking about it with cuffs and chains, you know what I'm saying? So any kid that's listening to it, you're gonna have a precaution. So that's the realities that be. I'm just gonna continue to give people what I know, what I wanna know, what they don't know, what we all can learn.

The reason why every we on earth today, you, me, him, her, all these different walks of life, It's all a test. It's like, it's almost like an experiment, God's experiment. When are we gonna understand that we are put on Earth to love? That's all it's about. Everybody wanna figure out how complicated life is and break it down. This is what I truly think. I really think that It's gonna keep going on. War gonna keep going on. Frustration gonna keep going on. Anger gonna keep going on till we finally go back down to the simplest word, love. And when God sees that, then we have the answer. But until then, it's gonna be warfare.

You want the flashy things until, you know, you grow older. You know, as an adult, and you'd be able to understand yourself a little bit more. I learned that them things didn't make me happy, you know. I learned that, you know, really money really don't make me happy. I'm learning that now, you know. That's not really my peace of mind, having money, you know. That's something I learned this year. And years before that, I learned that, you know, jewelry and all that stuff didn't really make me happy. And when you learn that, you'd be able to grow, grow more as a person. You know, what makes me happy is really challenging myself and knowing that I defeated my last goal, you know, and took myself to the next level as a better person.

It was Pharrell, I think, that called you the Black Dylan.

That was crazy. Yeah.

Because Dylan was prolific. And I'm sure that's where he's coming from.

Yeah, definitely. I always said, man, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to say something. I'm not just going to rap a bunch of verses. You know?

And that's what Dylan—

you know, he's a legend. And he said something, he voiced his opinion, and the world gravitated towards it. And I wanna do that with music.

This young dedicated artist can't help but reflect on those who once doubted him.

They never said I wasn't talented enough.

They'll say something like, "The industry is shady. You don't need to be doing this." I respect their opinions, but at the end of the day, I had to follow my heart, and that's what I wanted to do.

It was a passion.

I couldn't shake it.

And I'd be hurt now if I didn't stick with it because it'll always be on my head.

Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because the Kingslayer asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know which of Kendrick's top 10 rules had the biggest impact on you and why. What change are you gonna make in your business after watching this video? And if you like some of the quotes that other people have shared from Kendrick down below in the quotations, give it a thumbs up to show your approval. Finally, I want to give a quick shout out to Jason J. Rice Fonseca from riseonline.com, friend of the channel who picked up another copy of the book.

J.

Rice, really appreciate the love. For those of you guys who want to have your chance at a shout out in a future video, make sure to pick up a copy of the book and email in your receipt so we can keep track. Thank you guys so much for watching. Continue to believe, and I'll see you soon.

Make sure you dedicated, you know, because doing it half-ass ain't gonna get you nowhere. And if it do get you somewhere, you ain't gonna be there too long, you know. You gotta, you gotta make sure you really dedicated to the music.

One of my teachers, he asked me, say, the day you stop being scared to touch people and talk to people, that's the day your mind open up to so many things. I try to imply what I learned in 7th grade even this to this day.

Challenge, right? Other rappers, uh, have you been, uh, hearing things coming out of other rappers that are, that are going back at you, or is it, is it dying down? Um, or do they just take it as a challenge?

Yeah, I think they just took it as a challenge, but you know, the whole point of the thing is not just a challenge for the moment, challenge for, you know, the whole extension of this, this hip-hop culture, not just off the hype, but what we're gonna do after, what we're gonna do to challenge ourselves, how we're gonna make better records, how we're gonna push forward and innovate the next generation coming up rather than just sticking in the moment of verse, you know. So that was the whole point of the joint, and I hope everybody really get the ideal behind it.