In a recent interview, Funk gawd George Clinton compared Kendrick Lamar to the likes of Prince and Sly Stone. The legendary musician—who worked with Kendrick on To Pimp A Butterfly and, most recently, a remix to Funkadelic’s “Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You“—said he’s never seen anyone with as high level of fame and creativity as Kendrick, since Prince. Clinton also said the Compton native does a good job of being “poetic and political but also very inclusive of everybody in the mainstream,” like funk and soul legend Sly Stone.
Clinton discussed his relationship with Kendrick (from meeting in Tallahassee to filming the video for the Funkadelic remix), his favorite song from Lamar (“Boo boo!”) and much more.
Check out some quotes below, and head to p&p to read the whole interview.
The finished sound of To Pimp A Butterfly…
“I wasn’t surprised that the album came out sounding the way it did. I could tell from the song I did with him, the way he was talking and his interpretation of funk, that it was going to be something new. Kendrick told me respect was going to be paid to the funk.”
Kendrick’s social awareness…
“He reminds me of Sly Stone in the way he’s poetic and political but also very inclusive of everybody in the mainstream. Kendrick is pointing out the faults of himself and greater society at the same time. When you can tell the truth like that and still appeal to the kids, still have street cred, you’re doing something really good.”
Comparing Kendrick to Prince…
“It’s hard to deal with and still try to be creative at the same time, but he has that in check. The only other person I’ve seen do it like that before is Prince! It’s a crazy amount of pressure, but for me, I learned the value of playing crazy—people think you’re crazy, they don’t bother you as much.”
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