💡Kendrick Lamar's Keys of Creativity

Secrets and lessons from Kendrick Lamar's creative process.

There are rappers. There are writers.

And then there’s Kendrick Lamar.

Over the years, I’ve dug through interviews, documentaries, books, lyrics, behind-the-scenes footage…not just to admire Kendrick's work, but to decode it.

This post is a breakdown of my discoveries.

Each section begins with Kendrick’s quotes and sources, followed by a 🔑 key insight I distilled from them. These insights break down the creative principles behind his process so that you can understand not just what he does, but why it works.

This is Kendrick Lamar’s creative blueprint.

Let’s dive in!

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Embrace Deep Premeditation and Documentation

🔗 Kendrick Lamar - Storyteller of Compton
Lamar began to keep a diary. He said, “I didn’t want to forget how I was feeling when my album dropped, or when I went back to Compton.” He filled several notebooks with his writings and drawings. He said these ideas made writing lyrics easy. His notebooks helped him with his next album.

🔗 Kendrick Lamar - Wikipedia
Lamar, who self-identifies …