Kendrick Lamar Talks Grammy Nominations And Explains His Writing Process

17 January 2014, 09:08

Watch Kendrick Lamar reveal how it feels to be nominated for seven Grammys, plus what a day in the life of the rapper is like.

Ahead of this month's Grammy Awards seven-time nominee Kendrick Lamar has detailed his road to the top, writing process and how it feels to be nominated, in a video posted on the Grammys YouTube page.

The Compton, California rapper explained how far he has come from his beginnings in the industry:

"I always go back to just the thought of one person listening to my mixtape or demo or song to get your community to listen to it, or your neighborhood, your state, the West Coast, the East Coast and build up all the way to the Grammy nominations, believe it or not".

With a 'Best Rap Album' nomination in the bag for his debut studio album 'good kid, m.A.A.d city,' an album that spawned three top 40 hits including 'Swimming Pools (Drank), 'B***h, Don't Kill My Vibe,' and 'Poetic Justice', Lamar uses the two-minute clip to describe his day-to-day life when he's in the writing process:

"I'm meeting different people, different cultures, so I'm constantly writing," he said.

"The process now is so spontaneous. It's whatever I get my hands on. Whenever an idea approaches, I gotta write it down. I gotta keep a mental note. Whether it's a napkin, my phone, a book, or anything. Inspiration is everything. That's my main focus, my art, knowing it wasn't the hype, it wasn't press, it wasn't publicity stunts. It was the music from Day 1. I have to remember that"

Watch the full video 'Kendrick Lamar: Grammy best new artist nominee – a day in the life' above.