Kendrick Lamar pays homage to Eazy-E in powerful essay

Kendrick Lamar has long acknowledged legendary rap group and fellow Compton natives, N.W.A., as inspiring trailblazers.

Oct 7, 2015

Kendrick Lamar has long acknowledged legendary rap group and fellow Compton natives, N.W.A., as inspiring trailblazers. The 28-year-old wrote an essay, explaining his thoughts on the debt he owes N.W.A., and the late Eazy-E in particular.

According to Complex, the essay was written as part of a feature in Paper Magazine that allows artists to share their feelings about how their icons helped shape and inspire them.

Lamar wrote, in part:

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.

And it’s not just me. Artists today wouldn’t be able to talk about the things they talk about if it wasn’t for Eazy-E and if it wasn’t for gangsta rap. Period. You don’t even have to be a gangsta rapper, but the fact that you can be able to talk about your community and some of its harsh realities, that comes from none other than Eazy-E, period. Period.

Read the whole essay on Paper Magazine.