Kendrick Lamar’s poetry teacher is being hailed for the rapper’s lyrical success. NBC Los Angeles reports that Regis Inge, a veteran educator with the Compton Unified School District, recalls the 37-year-old rapper as a quiet, reflective student at Vanguard Learning Center with an unquestionable gift for storytelling.
Now a teacher at Compton Early College High School, Inge remembers exposing a young Lamar to poetry, which would go on to contribute to his success as one of the most renowned artists of his generation.
Inge was initially shocked to learn about Lamar’s rise to popularity.
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“Kendrick Duckworth is a rapper?” he inquired when he first heard about Lamar’s music career. “Quiet Kendrick?” However, upon consideration, he said the signs were always there.
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According to the publication, Lamar, who previously stuttered and was shy, discovered his voice through writing. The astute teacher recognized his abilities early on and helped him to improve. He handed Lamar a thesaurus and circled words that would help him tell better stories and broaden his vocabulary.
“The passion… which he was writing with, it was there already,” Inge said. “And what I was doing was, I was circling words that I felt that he could improve on because of the range of the words, the grade level of the words.”
That desire would drive Lamar to produce music that spans cultures and experiences, merging the ordinary with the educated.
His revolutionary work garnered him the Pulitzer Prize, not just for his music, but also for his linguistic authenticity and social critique. The “Not Like Us” rapper, who was just another Compton student who loved words, has also won almost two dozen Grammy Awards.
The rapper recently performed at Super Bowl LIX alongside Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, and Serena Williams, among others.
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What makes Inge the proudest is Lamar’s dedication to staying true to himself and impacting others, despite his accomplishments.
Though Inge has been given several teaching awards, he holds true to his desire to inspire all of his students and is still thrilled by Lamar’s appearances at huge events.
“It’s still surreal because I treat all of them like I treat Kendrick,” he said of his students. “They’re my children.”
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