Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Kendrick Lamar wants to rival Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles in the legend stakes

Lamar's latest album was critically-acclaimed and now there's no stopping him

Jess Denham
Sunday 19 July 2015 16:27 EDT
Comments
Kendrick Lamar on stage at Wireless 2015
Kendrick Lamar on stage at Wireless 2015 (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Kendrick Lamar has set his ambitions sky-high by announcing his dream to be compared to Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.

The 28-year-old rapper’s recent album, To Pimp a Butterfly, was met with rave reviews from fans and critics alike, and now, he has his heart set on becoming one of the greats.

“I wanted this record to be talked about the same was Bob Dylan or The Beatles or Jimi Hendrix are talked about,” he told NME.

“When my time has come, I want it to live longer than me, for the grandkids and their kids.”

Lamar has been mentioned with his icons before, when producer Pharrell branded him “this era’s Bob Dylan” in 2013.

“Masterful story telling, listen to it, it will elevate you,” Pharrell gushed. “Just like that, music has changed.”

Lamar found the huge compliment “crazy” but admitted that he was trying to follow in Dylan’s footsteps despite their different genres.

“I always said, ‘If I’m going to do this, I’m going to say something. I’m not going to just rap a bunch of verses,” he told Arsenio Hall. “That was Dylan. He’s a legend and he said something.

“He voiced his opinion and the world gravitated towards it and I want to do that with my music.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in