💡Kendrick Lamar's secret creative sauce.
How to create art like Kendrick Lamar.
As a creative person, I bet your mind is always racing...
On the train, in the shower, while making breakfast. Ideas firing on all cylinders.
But here’s the question: are you catching them?
Kendrick Lamar does. Religiously.
He doesn’t just write lyrics. He archives everything that triggers emotions throughout his day.
To him, his notebooks, voice memos, typed notes are all time machines.
Emotional bookmarks.
See, in an interview Kendrick Lamar said that nearly 80% of his creative process happens before he even enters the studio.
Think about that...
He builds songs like monuments where months (sometimes years) go by before producers touch them.
Why?
Because Kendrick’s not letting the beat tell him how to feel. He starts with the soul in his notes. Then he wraps the music around the meaning.
Here’s the bigger picture takeaway:
Your best work isn’t just created. It’s curated over time.
Kendrick’s method is a masterclass in pre-meditated creativity. You don't have to be in the studio, at your desk, or on stage to be in your creative process. Your idea should be working on you while you’re engaging in everyday life. Catch phrases while you're walking. Capture scenes when you’re eating. Let your notes become a garden you visit daily.
Call it emotional seed-saving.
I wrote 6577 notes dating back 11 years before packaging my favorite notes on creativity into Create or Die.
The greatest creators don’t chase inspiration. They build nets. They store sparks. They prepare before the project begins. That way, when the time comes to create, they’re not fishing for brilliance. They’re assembling it from pieces they’ve already preserved.
Don’t just wait for the moment. Build it.
Carry the notebook. Record the voice memo.
Curate your future art in the present.
I’ve been studying Kendrick’s process for years. His rituals. His rhythms. His roots.
Click here for a handful of my notes on Kendrick Lamar’s creative process. In there you will find quotes, sources, and all the keys I found in his creative process.
A lot of creators can learn from him.
Stay creative,
Dwayne