Posted August 29, 2012 by Chelle B in Hip Hop News

Kendrick Lamar Talks Family Influences [VIDEO] & Announces Tour Dates

For the third episode of his VEVO Lift feature, Kendrick Lamar explains the impact his parents had on his upbringing and music.

“I grew up in Compton, the west side of Compton…[and] my moms and my pops were influential,” he said. “They played everything for me – gangsta rap to oldies. You’d hear Snoop, Dre, and then you’d hear Marvin Gaye on the next track. They’d say, ‘What you’ve got to do in life is find something positive. You know what reality really is.’Nothing is never sugar coated around here; [you] wake up every morning and pray to God that you see another.”

Check out the full interview above.

In other news, Kendrick kicks off his US tour September 7th in Norfolk, Virginia. Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Schoolboy Q, Chiddy Bang, Chevy Woods, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock will all appear on various dates of the tour. Lamar’s debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, drops October 22nd.

Check out full tour dates:

9/7 Norfolk, VA, The Norva
9/8 Richmond, VA, The National
9/11 Charlotte, NC, The Fillmore
9/12 Baltimore, MD, Rams Head
9/13 Philadelphia, PA, TLA
9/14 Washington, DC, Howard Theater
9/15 New York, NY, Terminal 5
9/20 Detroit, MO, Royal Oak
9/21 Minneapolis, MN, Epic
9/22 Milwaukee, WI, The Rave
9/23 Chicago, IL, The Congress
9/26 Tampa, FL, The Ritz Ybor
9/27 Miami, FL, The Fillmore
9/28 Orlando, FL, Plaza Live
9/29 Atlanta, GA, Tabernacle
9/30 New Orleans, LA, House of Blues
10/8 Denver, CO, The Ogden Theater
10/13 Portland, OR, Roseland Theatre
10/14 Seattle, WA, The Neptune
10/16 San Francisco, CA, Regency
10/17 Los Angeles, CA, Club Nokia
10/18 Pomona, CA, Fox Theater