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It’s no secret that Kendrick Lamar is a major N.W.A. fan, but Eazy-E, more specifically, is certainly one of his biggest influences to this day.

While speaking with Paper Magazine for their Nowstalgia column, the To Pimp A Butterfly rapper reflected on the late rapper, and spoke on understanding him through his own musical career’s journey.

He penned, “I think the concept of the video was that he was actually in jail and he had to get to his show and the only way to get to his concert was to film him from jail, and he eventually busted through the jail and came onstage,” he says. “I remember looking at that video and just feeling like, ‘Man, this dude feels like an action superhero.’ Little did I know, Eazy-E came from my same neighborhood in Compton.”

K. Dot even spoke on how he came to understand just how big of an influence Eazy was on him after dropping his first studio album.

He revealed, “I didn’t get that idea until my debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, came out and that’s when I truly understood how N.W.A felt. Coming from this small neighborhood but going all the way around the world and seeing these people singing these words lyric-for-lyric and understanding the trials and tribulations that are going on in the community. I understand how they feel now. It’s an inspiring thing. Once I got the idea that people are actually listening, it made me want to continue making music more.”

He concludes his note by stating, “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Eazy and I wouldn’t be able to say the things that I say, talk about my community the way I talk about it, for good or for bad. He’s 100% influenced me in terms of really being not only honest with myself, but honest about where I come from and being proud of where I come from.”

Check out Kendrick’s full tribute to Eazy-E here.

SOURCE: Paper Magazine | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

Kendrick Lamar Discusses Eazy-E’s Major Influence On Him With Paper Magazine  was originally published on globalgrind.com