Kendrick Lamar didn't want the "responsibility" of being a role model.
Kendrick Lamar
The Compton-born rapper experienced a huge wave of success following the release of his 2012 major-label debut album 'good kid, mAAd city' and admitted he found it difficult having so many young people look up to him.
He said: "Being a leader wasn't even an ambition, to be real with you.
"It's something I didn't wanna take responsibility for. Nobody do, especially when you're still searching for answers for yourself. I don't have the answers!
"I tell people that all the time. I'm still learning, but I think that's what makes people connect with me; I don't point the finger."
The 28-year-old musician has received a "whole new perspective" since touring South Africa and visiting the Robben Island prison where Nelson Mandela was previously incarcerated.
He told NME magazine: "My teachers always made Africa seem like this hellhole place.
"It's like they didn't want you to go, so when I get out there and see all these beautiful people, I see kids living in tents and they still had these smiles on their faces.
"And then you have this whole other side, as far as scenery - it's this paradise that nobody ever spoke about at school. I got a whole new perspective on life from going out there, it was refreshing."
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