Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, and Terrace Martin Form New West Side Connection
Post by Chelle Jones, Jan 18, 2012 at 9:55 am
In a new interview, the new West Side Connection formally introduced themselves and spoke about what it was like to work with mentor figures such as Dr. Dre and 50 Cent. The group, which is composed of Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Terrace Martin, picked up their name from Ice Cube, WC and Mack 10 who formed the original group following the death of Tupac.
Jay Rock recently had the opportunity to spend some time in the studio with Dr. Dre, and when Rock was asked if the legendary producer would have a spot on his next album he said that simply being around Dr. Dre was inspiration enough, although he harbored hopes of putting something out with the good doctor. “Actually I hope so. Shit, I hope so. Nah that’s the big homie. I had the fortunate time just to be in the studio and see how he works and see how he gets down man. It was just a good feeling being around and seeing what he do and seeing how he gets down. And that was just a lot of motivation for me. That dude he go hard in the studio. Like I said just being around that good atmosphere it was a good look for me,” said Jay Rock to ThisIs50.
Kendrick Lamar, too, said he was learning from his predecessors and shared some advice that was offered by 50 Cent just prior to the taping of the interview. “It’s crazy cause Fif just came in right now and one of the key things he said hard work overrides talent when talent is not. I always had the natural talent and skill for it. I think we all got it as individuals. Just coming up, where we from, and being around music. But at the end of the day you put that effort in where you felt like ‘I really need to work for it and dedicate myself to what I want to do.’ That’s when things really start happening,” said Lamar.
Lamar was also full of praise for his West Side compatriots and when asked about working with Martin, the rapper highlighted the differences between Terrace Martin and other producers in the industry. “A lot of times you meet producers and they just give you a bunch of beat CD’s and let you rap over it. And in my eyes I think the artist really just produced the record because we putting the words over it. But this dude he’s going to give you direction because he’s planned everything [live] anyway. He’s hearing it on a different level so when you write shit, the shit you write down, how you project it and how you put it out on the mic he’s gonna coach you on that and really produce the record and add different sounds to what you’re talking about. And that’s what makes a dope record man. That’s what really enhances it. That’s what this dude do,” explained Lamar.
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