Dave Free Credits “No Yapping” Policy for Kendrick Lamar & pgLang Success

Kendrick Lamar's business partner and creative partner, Dave Free, sat down with him Elephant last week and talked about pgLang's formula for success.

“Here's the whole process,” the former TDE executive began. “Kendrick or I will dream something up, although the idea could come from staff members, and we'll come into the office and figure out how to build a system around the idea to make it self-sustaining. We're making sure it's going to be impactful, impactful, financially stable, shake people up and tell a story.”

He added, “When it develops, we ask, 'Does it move you?' Eventually, after repeating this process several times, we reach a place where we cannot make any more holes. This is what we call “break and repeat”. Once there are no more holes to drill, I feel comfortable putting it out into the universe. So that's the process. We apply it to everything we do.”

Free also talked about the advertising agency's “No Yapping” policy. “We want to treat artists like they are startups. We want them to take ownership of their brand, which is really ownership of themselves.”

He continued, “You always hear people talk about all these elements of the business that they don't like, but it's not like there are a lot of active participants who are putting their money where their mouth is. We were saying, “Let's not talk about what we want to see from the industry – let's do it.”

When asked about the company Website using only 'action words,' Dave Free replied simply, 'That's the 'no-yapping' rule we have here. We're not kidding. I don't have time for all that nonsense.”

Dave Free found him at the center of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud that has dominated much of the conversation surrounding rap music this summer. The duo dispelled rumors of any rifts between them, with Free not only making a cameo, but also directing the “Not Like Us” video alongside Lamar.

As a music video director, Free has won three MTV Video Music Awards, two BET Video Director of the Year Awards and has a Grammy for Best Music Video.

pgLang was released in March 2020, with Lamar officially ending his tenure on longtime label TDE with the album 2022 Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.