*Funk legend George Clinton has expressed deep admiration for rapper Kendrick Lamar, placing him in a category reserved for some of the most influential artists in modern music history.
“I’ll put it like this: He, along with Motown, Sly Stone, the Beatles — that kind of institution is going to last. There are a lot of slick writers out here nowadays with lyrics and things, but he writes with soul,” Clinton told New York Times Magazine for the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters list.
He further reflected on Lamar’s artistic presence and perspective, highlighting his maturity despite his age. “He’s a young kid, but when I met him, he sounded my age. He’s like a psychiatrist on record — he talks about [expletive] that most people are afraid to talk about,” he said, PEOPLE reports.
Lamar first gained widespread attention with his debut studio album “Section.80,” which established his reputation for thoughtful, socially aware lyricism. His breakthrough arrived with “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” a concept-driven project that achieved long-running success on the Billboard 200 and elevated him into mainstream prominence. He continued building momentum with “To Pimp a Butterfly,” a chart-topping release that blended hip-hop with jazz, funk, and soul influences.
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Across his career, Lamar has achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success, earning multiple No. 1 albums and singles, with tracks like “Not Like Us” dominating the Billboard Hot 100 and winning top honors. Among his many accolades, Lamar has collected 27 Grammy Awards—more than any other rapper—and made history by winning the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018.
His work has earned recognition from institutions like the Academy Awards and Time, which named him one of the world’s most influential people, underscoring his lasting impact on music and culture.
Clinton also pointed to Lamar’s ability to sustain relevance across generations, noting how quickly audiences typically move on from artists. “Kids today, they want their new artist; they don’t want their older brother or sister’s artist or their mother and father’s. Kids don’t like you after a few years,” he said.
“When you can go past that and have the next generation after that still talking about you, you’re doing something,” the music icon added.
Clinton and collaborated on “Wesley’s Theory,” which appears on “To Pimp a Butterfly,” as well as the Funkadelic remix single “Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You?”, underscoring a creative relationship built on experimentation and shared musical vision.
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