Kendrick Lamar

"I thought I'd want jewelry and cars, but as soon as I got a taste, I realized it wasn't fulfillment," says Lamar, photographed Jan. 13 at the Page Museum in Los Angeles. For behind-the-scenes video, go here.
"I thought I'd want jewelry and cars, but as soon as I got a taste, I realized it wasn't fulfillment," says Lamar, photographed Jan. 13 at the Page Museum in Los Angeles. For behind-the-scenes video, go here.
Since October 2012, when he made his major-label debut with Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, he has been on a whirlwind victory lap, selling out shows worldwide, adopting the title "King of the West Coast" (also, paradoxically, "King of New York") and courting controversy by one-upping rappers (and others) on both sides of the country. "I'm tryin' to murder you," he growled on Big Sean's "Control (HOF)," name-checking the likes of Drake, A$AP Rocky and even a former Lakers coach ("If Phil Jackson come back, still no coaching me"). It was one of the most talked-about verses of the year, certainly one of the most tweeted-about.
"A thrill for me is being as creative as possible and supporting the people I love," says Lamar.
"I wanted to speak from the perspective of my block and neighborhood, but in a different manner," he says during a break from Grammy rehearsals. "Anyone can talk about bottles of champagne and getting signed, but I wanted to relate how I grew up and what I saw every day."
Lamar still hasn't decided his plan for the Grammys. Strobe lights? Waterfalls? Police riots? Imagine Dragons' lead singer, Dan Reynolds, seems to be leaning toward the incendiary. "In a perfect world," he suggests with a chuckle, "at the end, me and Kendrick would light each other on fire." Lamar, though, has only one rule for his first Grammys performance: "I don't want anybody to do anything fake."
Lamar posed with Dr. Dre in London in November 2012. In 2010, Dr. Dre's invitation to work on Detox (Dre's yet-unreleased final studio album) anointed Lamar, already hailed in underground circles, as rap's next great West Coast hope.