Kendrick Lamar on Being Yourself

In this clip, a young man asks Kendrick Lamar a great question, “What advice could you give to kids about not being like anyone else and how can they stay authentic while pursuing your path?”

Kendrick answers:

The number one thing people feel in a room—over love, over fear—is authenticity. I’ve been in rooms where people felt you so intensely that it inspired them, inspired the person next to them, even their whole household.

That’s why you have to believe in yourself and understand that there’s only one you. You’re amazing. You’re a miracle. Just knowing that you exist in this world as a singular, unique individual—that alone is powerful. You have to carry that authentic nature and allow yourself to say, This is who I am.

This is how people will see me, how they will respect me. And that authenticity will inspire others to embrace their own truth. Because when everyone is authentic, what comes out of that is true love.

There are no boundaries. No judgment. No need to ridicule anyone, because when you show up as your true self, you allow others to do the same, and carrying that nature will take you places.”

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I remember writing the bio for my personal website more than five years ago. One of the main themes was authenticity. At the time, one of my big realizations was that everyone I admired, everyone I looked up to—their success came from being their true selves.

That realization turned into my life’s thesis: I wanted to live a life that was authentic to who I am, on my own terms.

Looking back now, that’s exactly what I’ve done since then. I had no idea where it would take me, but I knew that everything else—success, fulfillment, whatever it may be—would come as a result of me embracing who I am.

Once I learned to believe in myself and commit to living my most authentic life, everything shifted. This is who I am. You can respect that or not. You can choose to be in my life or not. And that’s okay. Because, as Kendrick says, when you show up as your true self, there are no boundaries, no judgment, no need for ridicule, because when I show up as my true self, it inspires others to do the same as well.