What’s Your Vibe?: Tuning into your best life

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I think they're into it. It's more the record company that she had didn't really get "Night Crawling"— it was one of the best songs on Plastic Hearts , and I don't think they understood that. They wanted to go with Dua Lipa, they wanted to go with the modern, young acts, and I don't think they realized that that song was resonating with her fans. Which is a shame really because, with Andrew Watt producing, it's a hit song. We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly . It's a funny one, because you're dealing with your own Holy Grail," he explained. "They're very sacred those songs, so as soon as you do it, it's like why?

In 2009, he moved to Miami and took a break. Craig bought a luxurious all-white penthouse in the sunny city, and began taking major interest in body-building and getting into shape. The relationship’s… matured and it's carrying on being fruitful, and I think that's pretty amazing. Really, most people don't get to this place. Usually, they hate each other by now. [ Laughs ] We also give each other space. We're not stopping each other doing things outside of what we’re working on together. All of that enables us to carry on working together. I love and admire him. I respect him. He's been fantastic. I mean, just standing there on stage with him is always a treat. And he’s got an immensely great sense of humor. I think that's another reason why we can hang together after all this time because we've got the sense of humor to enable us to go forward. We had five years of being spat on [in the UK], and it was revolting. And they spat at you if they liked you. If they didn't like it they smashed your gear up. One night, I remember I saw blood on my T-shirt, and I think Joe Strummer got meningitis when spit went in his mouth.What was your intention going into working on your eighth studio album? Did that evolve as it started coming together? This is Craig as we've never seen him before - the always-positive showman, baring his soul for the first time. Steve has said that you like to mix up a variety of styles, yet everyone assumes you're the "Rebel Yell"/"White Wedding" guy. But if they really listen to your catalog, it's vastly different. With so many great songs under his belt, James also asked if there were any of his songs he'd like to rework, but the 'Unbelievable' singer admitted he'd rather leave them as they are. So it's got life lessons," he explained. "But in a way that they're wrapped around anecdotes and stories, because I felt they were the best way to resonate with it. Especially if you're trying to give wisdom, of some sort, to do it in a way that doesn't feel preachy, and I've really been conscious of that, because I really want people to be helped by some of my stories, and not have to go through some of the things that I went through, common things..."

Yeah, I feel like you can kind of see why things played out the way that they did when you have a little bit of hindsight. In the midst of something, you're trying to process and work out what's happening around you. When everything first blew up for me, it felt like zero to 100. One moment I'd been working at McDonalds, and selling double-glazed windows on the phone, cold-calling people. Ultimately, I was just wanting to put together some money so I could buy some more vinyl or that hi-fi equipment I wanted. I see now that all of those parts got me to this point in my life. That doesn't mean that I've actually now arrived somewhere, because my life is still continuing on. Longtime hitmaker Miranda Lambert delivered a soulful performance on the rootsy ballad "In His Arms," an arrangement as sparing as the windswept west Texas highlands where she co-wrote the song. Viral newcomer Zach Bryan dug into similar organic territory on the Oklahoma side of the Red River for "Something in the Orange," his voice accompanied with little more than an acoustic guitar.To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal , Anna Wise and Thundercat ). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift 's "Bad Blood." Yeah. Art usually reacts to things, so I would think eventually there will be a massive reaction to the pop music that’s taken over — the middle of the road music, and then this kind of right wing politics. There will be a massive reaction if there's not already one. I don’t know where it will come from exactly. You never know who's gonna do [it]. How did your beginnings as a radio and club DJ, as well as making mixtapes in your bedroom, influence your sound and your approach to music? I'm still learning, still a journeyman, with much to still absorb; still making mistakes, still striving. But I feel privileged now—after a lot of interesting twists and turns along the way—to share my journey with you. He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.