Kendrick Lamar avoids social media to not get “lost in your ego”

Kendrick Lamar has discussed his sparse use of social media, saying he avoids it so as to not get “lost in your ego”.

• READ MORE: Inside Kendrick Lamar’s ‘The Big Steppers Tour’ Amazon livestream: “He is a global superstar”

The rapper was speaking in a rare interview with The New York Times, which saw him conversing with childhood friend and longtime collaborator Dave Free.

During the conversation, Lamar was asked about why he stays off of social media, with few if any posts on his official Instagram and Twitter accounts.

“My social media, most of the time, is completely off,” he said. “Because I know, like … I can easily smell my own [expletive]. I know.

“Like, I’m not one of those dudes that be like, Oh, yeah, I know how good I am, but I also know the reason why I’m so good is because God’s blessed me with the talent to execute on the talent, and the moment that you start getting lost in your ego, that’s when you start going down.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Kendrick opened up about his artistic connection to Compton and ambitious “Hood Beethoven” live show.

On how he and Free stay connected to their roots – both were raised in Compton, California – Lamar told The New York Times: “It’s nature versus nurture. I was nurtured in an environment where there’s, like, a lot of gang mentality. That certain language, certain lingo. How we walk. How we talk.

“All the little nuances and in-speaks that I have in Compton. I have that. That’s not going nowhere. That’s why I can go into any environment, any type of street environment, and be able to still connect even at this high of a level, as the son that never leaves. That’s nurture.”

Lamar’s ‘Big Steppers Tour’ ended earlier this month in Australia and New Zealand, following legs in North America, Europe and the UK. A stop in Paris earned a five-star review from NME, who wrote: “There’s a human touch here that can sometimes be lost in the midst of creative genius… [The tour] presents a creative vision that would boggle the minds of most mere mortals. It’s a stunning, moving display from a true great of modern rap.”

The tour came in support of Lamar’s fifth album, ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’, which arrived back in May. It scored a a five-star review from NME – who called it “a cathartic, soul-baring autobiography” – while the album also came in at Number Five on NME’s list of 2022’s best albums, and ‘N95’ scored Number 14 on NME’s Top 50 songs of the year.