Kendrick Lamar meets teen whose life was saved by his music
Kendrick Lamar was moved after meeting a fan who credits the rapper and his inspirational music with saving her life.
The Swimming Pools (Drank) hitmaker was the main event at Maryland's Sweetlife music festival over the weekend (ends31May15), and during his set, he noticed a young girl near the front of the audience who was overcome with tears while watching him perform.
He tells MTV News, "I'm at the end of the show, and I see this
young lady crying, and I'm thinking, 'She must be really going
through something right now. Then I start hearing her murmur with
her lips, 'You saved my life.'
"So I'm like, Damn. This is serious. This is not for play, why
she's out here right now. Then she said, 'I was gonna kill myself
last year.' So I said, at that point, I gotta bring her up onstage
and show her some love and let her know this is real."
After Lamar brought the 16-year-old fan called Claire up to the
stage for a hug, he met with her again following his gig.
Lamar adds, "I wanted to bring her backstage and let her tell her
story. Let her know, it's more than just me bringing you onstage -
I actually feel you. Because that's why I do my music. And every
time I see something like that, it reminds me why I do what I
do."
Claire shared her own story with the news site, saying, "When I was
15, I was diagnosed with severe depression, and Kendrick got me
through it, and I couldn't have done it without him. I listened to
his music over and over and there were nights where I thought I was
going to end it all, and I didn't, and I think that's because his
words impacted me in a way that no other artist has ever done.
"I can't thank him enough. I can't thank the people behind him
enough for making him come to the earbuds that I listen to. I feel
inseparable from his music."