2017 MTV Video Music Awards - Press Room

poses in the press room during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 27, 2017 in Inglewood, California.

Dave Free is dishing out some valuable insight.

It’s no secret that Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free have found serious success with their imprint pgLang, and now, Free has shared some of their valuable trade secrets. During a recent interview with Elephant, he detailed both their vision and recipe for success. He broke what he calls the company’s “No Yapping” policy in the process, though fans certainly can’t complain.

“We want to treat artists like they’re start-ups,” Free began. “We want them to take ownership of their brand, which is really taking ownership of themselves. You always hear people talking about all these elements of the business that they don’t like, but it’s not like there are a lot of active participants putting their money where their mouth is. We were like, ‘Let’s not talk about what we want to see from the industry — let’s just do it.’”

Dave Free Discusses He & Kendrick Lamar’s Vision

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Honoree Dave Free accepts the Creativity & Impact Award onstage during Variety’s Hitmakers Brunch at City Market Social House on December 03, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Variety via Getty Images)

“Here’s the whole process,” he continued. “Kendrick or I will dream something up, although the idea could come from staff members too, and we’ll come into the office, and we’ll figure out how to create a system around the idea to make it self-sufficient. We make sure it’s going to be impactful, influential, financially stable, it’s going to shake people up, and it’s going to tell a story.”

“When it’s developed, we ask, ‘Does it move you?’ Eventually, after repeating that process enough times, we get to a place where we can’t poke any more holes,” Free also added. That’s what we call ‘break and repeat.’ Once there are no more holes to poke, I feel comfortable putting it into the universe. So that’s the process. We apply that to everything that we do.” What do you think of Dave Free opening up about his and Kendrick Lamar’s process and vision for their pgLang imprint? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.