Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar reveals he battled depression and suicidal thoughts while recording his third studio album, To Pimp A Butterfly.
In an interview with MTV, Kendrick explains how this album was the result of him writing music as therapy.
“When I was on that tour bus, there are things happening back in my city and my family that I can’t do nothing about, it’s out of my control and put in God’s hands. I couldn’t understand that and that can draw a thin line between you having your sanity and you losing it, and this is how artists deteriorate if you don’t catch yourself,” he says.
“Psychologically it messes your brain up. You living this life, you know what I’m saying, but you still have to face the realities of this. I gotta get back off that tour bus and go to these funerals,” Kendrick says while reflecting on how the album is full of “survival skills” in living a humble life and one as a global hip hop icon.
