One thing about making music is that you’re technically always on the job. It’s not like a typical career, where you clock in for your eight hours with a lunch break and go home. Instead, the creative process can be delicate, with no set time limit on when a session starts. Moreover, you probably have touring and promo runs to add on to the responsibility. It can be extremely time-consuming—not the kind of gig where you can just stop after a shift. This is even truer when you’re one of the biggest artists in the world, like Kendrick Lamar.
He knows firsthand the highs and lows of being a recording artist, especially one always in the spotlight. In a 2016 interview with Rick Rubin, the producer asks how Kendrick chooses to celebrate when something good happens. Kendrick grins, admitting that his team asks him that all the time. Ultimately, he can’t quite pinpoint if it’s the catharsis of finishing a piece of art or gaining the opportunity to work on something new that satisfies him more.
On the flip side, Kendrick Lamar candidly opens up about the disappointment that comes with his career path. There’s a lot of commitment that can cause artists like him to miss out on integral moments in his family life. Despite all the glory, you can never have some moments back. Consequently, finding the balance between family and music has proved to be a disappointment in Kendrick’s life.
Kendrick Lamar Admits Being Disappointed By Not Being With His Family Enough As an Artist
“When you’re doing this, it comes [with] a lot of sacrifice. You’re going to miss a lot of birthdays, you’re going to miss a lot of moments. Those are my earlier disappointments. The idea of knowing those times were coming and they came, and there’s going to be more of it and me not learning to find the balance. It always was a stress, you know?” Kendrick Lamar admits. “You have certain people you care about and you love. Sometimes, you may get lost in the music so far, you may forget how much you mean to the people that you came up with, your family… You can hear it, even if it’s not as blunt or as vocal, you can hear the sort of disappointment.”
Rick Rubin listens inquisitively, empathizing with Kendrick’s plight as an artist himself. Consequently, he asks whether the people in his life support his decision to make music, despite some of the drawbacks. Kendrick Lamar nods but also understands where some of his family can be unsettled. “Yeah, definitely. They’re supportive, but everybody has feelings. Sometimes, in the position that I’m in, they may not want to express those real feelings,” he explains. “They don’t want to bring worry or stress into my life. Them finding that balance and the time to do that can be a somewhat weary situation. “
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