Kendrick Lamar: "I Wouldn't be Here Today if it Wasn't for Eazy E"

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Kendrick Lamar pens moving essay about late gangsta rap icon Eazy E. (photo: Complex)

Kendrick Lamar definitely has a career in journalism when his rapping days are wrapped up, as he’s once again showed off the power of his pen in a new essay on the importance of Eazy E in his life. The post is a part of a larger feature from Paper Magazine where artists share some very personal thoughts their icons, and how they helped shape their careers. Eminem, Swizz Beatz, and more will be included in the feature in coming days.

Kendrick’s own admiration for N.W.A. is no secret, and in this essay, he writes about how Eazy paved the way for him to rap with complete honesty and also how he has to always make sure he’s proud of where he comes from.

Read the full piece below.

What made Eazy special was that he was telling a different type of truth, a truth that wasn’t heard in music yet. Before them, rap was fun — you had your battles and whatnot, but this time around, when it came to what Eazy wanted to do, being a visionary, he had the idea of speaking the honest truth, and I think it really resonated with a lot of people because it was the shock value of, “Okay, these guys are really standing out and focused on telling their reality, no matter how pissed off you get by it.” And it got interest from people. People actually wanted to hear it and wanted to know what was going on.

I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Eazy and I wouldn’t be able to say the things that I say, talk about my community the way I talk about it, for good or for bad. He’s 100 percent influenced me in terms of really being not only honest with myself, but honest about where I come from and being proud of where I come from.

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