Kendrick Lamar's Speech

This is a transcript of a speech by Kendrick Lamar at Compton College’s 2024 commencement. I specifically recommend reading the last four paragraphs:

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah, I said Compton what the deal, what’s up man? That’s right, that’s right, y’all look good out here man. It’s special, hold on lemme get my phone out, hold up. Hold up. Hold up. I gotta take my own- I don’t want to hold up too long but I gotta get this, hold up.

That’s right, man I wanted to come out here just to tell y’all how much I appreciate y’all. I’m proud of y’all, I’m proud of the city of Compton, I’m proud of Compton College. Most importantly, I’m proud of the graduates out here. That’s right. I know what it takes.

You know, y’all had a lot of hardship. Not only at your house, in your communities, but most importantly within yourself. And that’s the toughest thing to overcome. You know, we still growing day by day, brick by brick, making sure that we develop not only in the physical form, but in the spiritual as well, you know. So, seeing y’all out here is not only a representation of the world, but is a representation of me. When I walk out in these cities and these countries, I can be proud and say “this is where I’m from.”

You know, I still believe in Compton. Compton always been the future for me. I think we bring some of the most incredible individuals: creatives, intellectuals, talent. We had it since day one, that’s why I always screamed this city. I’ve traveled the world, it’s no place like this one right here. No place. No place. And I still believe, I still believe in everything that we doing. Brick by brick, I still believe, it’s time that we change the narratives.

You know, some people tell us you know, “this generation, they don’t have what it takes, Gen Z.” We talk about it all day. They trying to pull us down and say we don’t know what we doing. They wrong though. You know why, because not only y’all have what it takes but y’all have something even bigger. Y’all have the heart, y’all have the courage to be independent thinkers. Independent thinkers, it’s nothing more valuable than that.

Y’all can go out here and tell and express y’all thoughts and say it with conviction and passion and stand on it, and be unapologetic about it. And somebody pull you to the side, “you know what, you was wrong about that.” And you can be like, “I appreciate it.” You know, or they could say, “I appreciate you for giving the wisdom and the courage to be just as much as in depth and strong with conviction about the message that you have.” And it spreads, not only between the person that you talking to, but subconsciously through kids that’s younger than yourselves. And that’s something I can always appreciate.

This degree that y’all have right here, it’s just as big as any degree. I don’t care what school, I don’t care what institution. Compton College, this Compton degree, it’s just as big.

Now it’s all about taking these resources and taking what you learned and applying them. It’s simple as that, and applying them. You gonna have hardships, you gonna have tribulations just as you had coming up here. But guess what? You got somebody special behind your corner and all around and that’s God. Period. Period. Period.

Every step of the way, when you fall, and you have your shortcomings, He’s right there. When you have your victories, He’s right there. Give yourself grace, give yourself time to grow and appreciate it, because He’s growing with you. Every individual out here is experiencing a human life, a human experience and God is experiencing it with you. So when you go through things, He’s going with it. He’s right there with you. He’s talking to you. All you gotta do is talk back.

I’ve walked on the beach every day, and I’m talking to God, I’m just talking. Like he the homie, I swear to God, I put that on my grandmama grave, I talk to Him. Next to me, like the homie, just like the people that you grow with. I don’t care if you gotta curse, you gotta cuss, you talk to Him as if you known Him since you was born, the way He knows you. It’s the truth. It’s the truth.

So I want y’all to go out here, celebrate yourselves, enjoy yourself, but keep that spirit within you. Because it don’t stop from here. It don’t stop. I love y’all, and I hope we continue to spread, spread this love out here. I appreciate y’all. My love.