Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and

socially conscious Social consciousness or social awareness, is collective consciousness shared by individuals within a society.Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

, Lamar began his career as a teenager performing under the stage name K.Dot. He quickly garnered local attention which led to him signing a recording contract with

Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Terrence "Punch" Henderson is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's f ...

(TDE) in 2005. After becoming a founding member of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, Lamar dropped his stage name and started using his first and middle names professionally. In 2011, he released his debut studio album ''

Section.80 ''Section.80'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 2, 2011, by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). In the years leading up to its release, Lamar previously produced various mixtapes under the moniker K ...

'', a

conscious hip hop Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning hip hop into a call for political and/or social action and a form of social and/or political activism. Inspired by 1970s political artists su ...

record. The album was met with positive reviews and included his debut single " HiiiiPower". In 2012, Lamar secured a record deal with

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

’s

Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre. It operates as a subsidiary of, and is distributed through, Interscope Records. Current acts include Dr. Dre himself, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, An ...

, under the aegis of

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

, and released his second studio album ''

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (stylized as ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'') is the second studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Record ...

''. The

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

and

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...

influenced album garnered widespread critical recognition and commercial success, while including the singles "

Swimming Pools (Drank) "Swimming Pools (Drank)" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 31, 2012 as the lead single (second overall) from his major-label debut studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012), by Top Dawg, Aftermath and Inter ...

", "

Backseat Freestyle "Backseat Freestyle" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It debuted on October 15, 2012 in the United Kingdom as the third single from Lamar's second studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012). It was released in the United States wit ...

" and "

Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" ( edited for radio as "Trick, Don't Kill My Vibe" or simply "Don't Kill My Vibe"), is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his major-label debut studio album ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (2012). The song, pr ...

". A visit to South Africa inspired Lamar’s

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

-flavored third studio album ''

To Pimp a Butterfly ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the U ...

'' (2015). It received universal acclaim and became his first number-one album on the ''Billboard'' 200. The same year, he topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the first time with the remix of " Bad Blood" by

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

. Lamar experimented with R&B, pop and

psychedelic soul Psychedelic soul (originally called black rock or conflated with psychedelic funk) is a music genre that emerged in the late 1960s and saw Black soul musicians embrace elements of psychedelic rock, including its production techniques, instrumenta ...

in his fourth studio album '' Damn'' (2017). It spawned his first solo number-one single " Humble" and became the first non-classical and non-jazz work to be awarded the

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted ...

. Following a four-year hiatus, Lamar released his

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

fifth studio album '' Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'' (2022), which served as his swan song from TDE. He has directed and produced several music videos and films with his creative partner

Dave Free David Friley (born November 13, 1986), known professionally as Dave Free, is an American filmmaker, record executive, and former record producer. He is best known for his creative partnership with rapper Kendrick Lamar, with whom he founded the ...

, with whom he founded the creative collective

PGLang PGLang (stylized as pgLang, an acronym for Program Language) is an American multi-disciplinary creative collective founded by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free. Launched on March 5, 2020, the collective houses a record label, a production company, a ...

. Having sold over 70 million records in the United States alone, all of Lamar’s studio albums have been

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

or higher by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). He has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including 14

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, two

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...

, six ''Billboard'' Music Awards, 11

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

, a

Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, and a nomination for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. He was named MTV’s Hottest MC in the Game in 2012. In 2015, Lamar received the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

’s Generational Icon Award. He has been featured in listicles such as the ''Time'' 100 and ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30. Three of his studio albums were included on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''’s 2020 ranking of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Early life

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

, on June 17, 1987, the son of a couple from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

.Born and raised in Compton, Kendrick Lamar Hides a Poet's Soul Behind "Pussy & Patron"
. LA Weekly (January 20, 2011). Retrieved May 3, 2011. Although not in a gang himself, he grew up around gang members; with his closest friends being Westside Piru Bloods and his father, Kenny Duckworth, being a Gangster Disciple. His first name was given to him by his mother, Paula Oliver, in honor of singer-songwriter

Eddie Kendricks Edward James Kendrick (December 17, 1939 – October 5, 1992), better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptatio ...

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

. He grew up on

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

and in

Section 8 housing Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (), often called Section 8, as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of low-income households in the United States. Fort Lauderdale, Florida Hou ...

. In 1995, at the age of eight, Lamar witnessed

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

and

film the music video for their single "

California Love "California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first sin ...

", which proved to be a significant moment in his life.(2011-08-31
Kendrick Lamar: Origins Of Excellence Pt. 3
. YouTube. Retrieved September 12, 2011. As a child, he attended McNair Elementary and Vanguard Learning Center in the

Compton Unified School District Compton Unified School District is a school district headquartered in Compton, California, United States. The district serves Compton, portions of Paramount, portions of Carson, and the unincorporated Los Angeles County neighborhoods of We ...

. He has admitted to being quiet and shy in school, his mother confirming he was a "

loner A loner is a person who does not seek out, or may actively avoid, interaction with other people. There are many potential reasons for their solitude. Intentional reasons include introversion, mysticism, spirituality, religion, or personal consi ...

" until the age of seven. Lamar was further educated at Centennial High School, where he graduated in 2005 as a straight-A student.

Career

2003–2009: Career beginnings

In 2003, at the age of 16, Lamar released his first full-length project, a

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

titled ''Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year)'', under the pseudonym K.Dot. The mixtape was released under Konkrete Jungle Muzik and garnered local recognition for Lamar. The mixtape led to Lamar securing a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

(TDE), a newly founded

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

based in

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

. He began recording material with the label and subsequently released a 26-track mixtape two years later, titled ''Training Day'' (2005). Throughout 2006 and 2007, Lamar would appear alongside other up-and-coming West Coast rappers, such as

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...

and

Ya Boy William Joseph Crawford (born January 28, 1984), known by his stage name Ya Boy (also known as Rich Rocka), is an American rapper from the Fillmore District of San Francisco, California. He was formerly signed to both of Akon's labels Konvict M ...

, as

opening act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

s for veteran West Coast rapper The Game. Under the

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

K.Dot, Lamar was also featured on The Game's songs "The Cypha" and "Cali Niggaz". After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, Lamar released his third mixtape in 2009, titled '' C4'', which was heavily themed around Wayne's album ''

Tha Carter III ''Tha Carter III'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on June 10, 2008, by Cash Money, Universal Motown & Young Money Entertainment. It follows a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip h ...

''. Soon after, Lamar decided to no longer go by the stage name of K.Dot and opted to use his birth name. He subsequently released a self-titled extended play in late 2009.Kendrick Lamar - Kendrick Lamar (EP)

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

2dopeboyz (September 14, 2010). Retrieved May 3, 2011. That same year, Lamar along with his TDE label-mates: Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q formed Black Hippy, a hip hop supergroup.

2010–2011: ''Overly Dedicated'' and ''Section.80''

Throughout 2010, Lamar toured with

Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two m ...

and Jay Rock on ''The Independent Grind'' tour. On September 14, 2010, he released the visuals for "P&P 1.5", a song taken from his mixtape, ''

Overly Dedicated ''Overly Dedicated'' (sometimes stylized as ''O(verly) D(edicated)'' and shortened as ''OD'') is the fourth solo mixtape by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on September 14, 2010, via Top Dawg Entertainment. The album features guest appea ...

'', featuring his Black Hippy cohort Ab-Soul. On the same date, Lamar released ''Overly Dedicated'' to digital retailers under TDE, and later on September 23, released it for free online. The project fared well enough to enter the United States ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart, where it peaked at number 72. KendrickLive

The mixtape includes a song titled "Ignorance Is Bliss", in which Lamar highlights

and

street crime Street crime is a loose term for any criminal offense in a public place. The difference between street crime and white-collar crime is that street crime is often violence that occurs in a public area whereas white-collar crime is non-violent crim ...

, but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss", giving the message "we know not what we do;" it was this song specifically that made hip hop producer

want to work with Lamar after seeing the music video on YouTube. This, and a conversation between Dre and J. Cole. J Cole helped introduce Lamar to Dre which led to Lamar working with Dr. Dre and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

on Dre's often-delayed ''

Detox Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of ...

'' album, as well as speculation of Lamar signing to Dr. Dre's record label,

. In December 2010, ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' magazine spotlighted Lamar in an edition of their "Indie Intro" series. In early 2011, Lamar was included in ''XXL'''s annual Top 10 Freshman Class, and was featured on the cover alongside fellow up-and-coming rappers

Cyhi the Prynce Cydel Charles Young (born September 15, 1984), known professionally as CyHi the Prynce, is an American rapper and singer. In 2009, Young signed his first major-label contract with Konvict Muzik, with the backing of Def Jam Recordings. In 2010, h ...

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

Fred the Godson Frederick Thomas (February 22, 1985 – April 23, 2020), known as Fred the Godson, was an rapper from The Bronx, New York. At his death in April 2020, he became one of the most notable New Yorkers to have died of COVID-19 complications early in ...

, Mac Miller,

Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee, he embarked on his career independently in 2005, releasing one extended play (EP) and four mixta ...

and

Big K.R.I.T. Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he started his musical career in 2005. Af ...

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, ...

, and

Diggy Simmons Daniel Dwayne "Diggy" Simmons III (born March 21, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, model, and actor and the fourth child of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons of Run DMC. He is currently acting on the hit show ''Grown-ish'' as Doug Edwar ...

. On April 11, 2011, Lamar announced the title of his next full-length project to be ''

'', and the following day the first single "

HiiiPoWeR "HiiiPower" (also stylised as "HiiiPoWeR") is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, released on April 12, 2011, as his debut single. The conscious hip hop song also serves as the lead single from his independently released debut album, ''Se ...

" was released, the concept of which was to further explain the HiiiPoWeR movement. The song was produced by fellow American rapper J. Cole, marking their first of several collaborations. On the topic of whether his next project would be an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

or a mixtape, Lamar answered: "I treat every project like it's an album anyway. It's not going to be nothing leftover. I never do nothing like that. These are my leftover songs you all can have them. I'm going to put my best out. My best effort. I'm trying to look for an album in 2012." In June 2011, Lamar released "Ronald Reagan Era (His Evils)", a cut from ''Section.80'', featuring

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

leader RZA. On July 2, 2011, Lamar released ''Section.80'', his debut studio album. The album features

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from GLC, Colin Munroe, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul, while the production was handled by TDE in-house production team

Digi+Phonics Digi may refer to: * Short for "digital" as in digicam, digiscale, digiscrap, digibee * Digi Communications, a Romanian telecommunications company in Romania, Hungary, Spain and Italy *Digi International, an American electronics manufacturer *Digi- ...

as well as

Wyldfyer Wyatt Coleman, also known as Wyldfyer is an American music producer. He produced a promo album (from Jay-Z), The Black Album: Classik. He produced tracks for Nas's "Hip Hop Is Dead", and the collaboration between Nas and Jay-Z, " Black Repu ...

Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...

and J. Cole. ''Section.80'' went on to sell 5,300 digital copies in its first week, without any television or radio coverage, and received mostly positive reviews. In August 2011, while performing at a

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

concert, Lamar was dubbed the "New King of the West Coast" by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Game. On August 24, 2011, Lamar released the music video for the ''Section.80'' track, "

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...

". The video was directed by Vashtie Kola who had this to say of the video: "Inspired by "A.D.H.D"'s dark beat and melancholy lyrics which explore a generation in conflict, we find Kendrick Lamar in a video that illustrates the songs icuniversal and age-old theme of apathetic youth. (...) Shot in New York City during the sweltering July Summer heat". In October 2011, Lamar appeared alongside fellow American rappers

B.o.B Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. (born November 15, 1988), known professionally as B.o.B, is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Decatur, Georgia, Simmons was signed to Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment imprint in 2006. Two years late ...

, Tech N9ne,

MGK Colson Baker (born April 22, 1990), known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly (MGK), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is noted for his genre duality across alternative rock with Hip hop music, hip hop. Machine Gun Ke ...

, and Big K.R.I.T., in a cypher at the

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and w ...

. Also in October, Lamar partnered with

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design la ...

, and crafted an original song with producer

Nosaj Thing Jason W. Chung (born January 27, 1985), better known as Nosaj Thing, is an American artist, record producer, and DJ based in Los Angeles, California. He has produced tracks for Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi, Julianna Barwick, and i ...

entitled "Cloud 10", to promote

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

's new product. During 2011, Lamar appeared on several high-profile albums including Game's '' The R.E.D. Album'', Tech N9ne's ''

All 6's and 7's ''All 6's and 7's'' is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Tech N9ne. It was released on June 7, 2011, through Strange Music. The album was released to universal acclaim by music critics, and peaked at number four on the ''Billboard 200 ...

'',

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a The Wonder Years (9th Wonder album), The Wonder Years'' and Canadian recording artist

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning '' Take Care'', which featured Lamar on a solo track.

2012–2013: ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' and controversies

On February 15, 2012, a song by Lamar titled " Cartoon and Cereal", featuring fellow American rapper Gunplay, was leaked online. Lamar later revealed that the track was for his major-label debut studio album and that he had plans to shoot a video for it. Although the song would later be ranked No. 2 in ''Complex'''s Best 50 Songs of 2012 list, it would ultimately fail to appear on Lamar's debut. In February 2012, it was announced that '' Fader'' had enlisted both Kendrick Lamar and Detroit-based rapper

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". In 2010, after amassing ...

, to appear on the cover of the magazine's Spring Style issue. In February, Lamar also embarked on Drake's Club Paradise Tour,

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

along with fellow American rappers

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

and 2 Chainz. In March 2012,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

announced that Lamar had signed a deal with

and

, marking the end of his career as an independent artist. Under the new deal, Lamar's projects, including his album ''

'', would be jointly released via TDE, Aftermath, and Interscope. Also in March, Lamar appeared on ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''T ...

'', where he spoke on Dr. Dre and his hometown of Compton, California. On April 2, 2012, Lamar premiered his commercial debut single " The Recipe", on

Big Boy's Neighborhood KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Meruelo Group and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's studio ...

at Power 106. The song, which serves as the first single from ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'', was released for digital download the following day. The song was produced by West Coast producer

Scoop DeVille Elijah Blue Molina (born October 15, 1987), better known by his stage name Scoop DeVille, is an American record producer, rapper and DJ. DeVille has produced records for rappers such as Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nipsey Hussle, 50 Ce ...

and

features Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...

vocals from his mentor Dr. Dre, who also mixed the record. On May 14, 2012, J. Cole again spoke on his collaborative effort with Lamar. In an interview with Bootleg Kev, Cole stated: "I just started working with Kendrick the other day. We got it in, finally, again. We got maybe four or five ongstogether." On May 21, Lamar made his ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

'' debut alongside

Ace Hood Antoine Franklin McColister (born May 11, 1988), better known by his stage name Ace Hood, is an American rapper. He was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was signed to record producer DJ Khaled's label W ...

, joining Birdman and

Mack Maine Jermaine Anthony Preyan (born July 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Mack Maine, is an American record executive, songwriter, and rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. Mack Maine has been the president of Young Money Entertainment since 2 ...

on stage to perform "B Boyz". Lamar also talked about his style and sound, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and his upcoming collaborative LP with J. Cole. On the same date, Lamar released "War Is My Love", an original song written and recorded for the video game '' Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier'', for which he appeared in a mini promotional clip earlier that month. On July 31, 2012, TDE, Aftermath, and Interscope serviced "

" as the lead single from Lamar's debut album. The song's music video, directed by Jerome D, premiered on August 3, 2012, on ''106 & Park''. The song peaked at number 17 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in its thirteenth week of gradually climbing up the chart. On August 15, 2012, singer

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

announced via Twitter that both had recorded a song titled "PartyNauseous" for his debut album. However, Gaga withdrew from participation in the last moment, citing that it was due to artistic differences and had nothing to do with Lamar. On August 17, 2012, Lamar released a song titled "Westside, Right on Time", featuring Southern rapper

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

. The song was released as part of the "Top Dawg Entertainment Fam Appreciation Week". During 2012, Lamar also toured with the rest of Black Hippy and MMG rapper,

Stalley Kyle Alfonso Myricks (born October 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Stalley, is an American rapper from Massillon, Ohio. Music career In 2008, Stalley made his mixtape debut, titled ''Goin Ape'', with fellow Ohio-native rapper Terry U ...

, on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

's Music Matters Tour. Lamar's major-label debut, ''

good kid, m.A.A.d city ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (stylized as ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'') is the second studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Record ...

'', was released on October 22, 2012. The album debuted at number two in the US, selling 242,100 copies in its first week. Later that year,

Fuse TV Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyl ...

listed Lamar's single, "

" among the top 40 songs of 2012. In a few months' time, the album was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

(RIAA).

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

named Lamar "Emcee of the Year" for their 2012 Year-End honors. In November, after Cole posted pictures of himself and Lamar working in the studio, the latter revealed that the two are still working on a project, but an exact release date was not given for the joint album: "We are going to drop that out the sky though. I don't want to give dates. I'm just going to let it fall" in an interview with the LA Leakers. Kendrick-lamar-1360479601

On January 26, 2013, Lamar performed the album's first singles "Swimming Pools (Drank)" and "

Poetic Justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...

" on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's sketch comedy and variety show, ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. In the same episode, Lamar also appeared alongside guest host Adam Levine and comedy band

The Lonely Island The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). The three ...

, in an

SNL Digital Short An ''SNL'' Digital Short is one in a series of comedic and often musical video shorts created for NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. The origin of the Digital Short brand is credited to staff writer Adam McKay, who created content for the show in c ...

, which spawned the single " YOLO". On February 22, 2013, Lamar released the video for "Poetic Justice", the

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

-sampling collaboration with Canadian rapper Drake. On February 26, Lamar performed "Poetic Justice" on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

''. Just nine months after its release, ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'' was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

by the RIAA, Lamar's first platinum certification. In August 2013, Lamar's verse on the

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

track "

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

", made waves across the hip-hop industry. In the verse, Lamar vows to lyrically "murder" every other up-and-coming rapper, namely J. Cole,

, Wale,

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 20 ...

, Drake, Big Sean,

Jay Electronica Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...

Tyler, The Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape Bast ...

and Mac Miller. During the song, Lamar also calls himself the "King of New York", which caused controversy among several New York-based rappers. Many New York rappers, including

Papoose Papoose (from the Algonquian ''papoose'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in t ...

, The Mad Rapper,

Mickey Factz Mark Williams (born July 13, 1982), better known by his stage name Mickey Factz, is an American Hip hop music, hip hop recording artist from the Bronx borough of New York City, New York (state), New York. Early life Mickey Factz attended Adlai E. ...

JR Writer Rusty Brito (born May 28, 1985) better known by his stage name J.R. Writer, is a Dominican American rapper and freestyle champion. He was also a member of East Coast hip hop group The Diplomats. Career Writer is from Harlem, New York. He has re ...

, Mysonne, Joell Ortiz and more, took offense to this. Furthermore, fellow American rappers such as Meek Mill,

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...

Cassidy Cassidy may refer to: Personal names * Cassidy (given name) * Cassidy (surname) People * Cassidy (musician) (born 1979), lead singer of Antigone Rising * Cassidy (rapper) (born 1982), American rapper * DJ Cassidy (born 1981), New York DJ * Jame ...

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

King L Louis King Johnson, Jr. (born December 27, 1987), better known by his stage name King Louie (or King L), is an American rapper from Chicago. Spin Magazine attributed King Louie as being one of the Chicago rappers who made Chicago the "hottest h ...

, Bizarre and

, among many others, released a response or

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...

, within a week. In the days following the track's release, Lamar's Twitter account saw a 510% increase in followers. On September 6, 2013, American recording artist and record producer

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years, in support of his sixth album ''

Yeezus ''Yeezus'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on June 18, 2013, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West gathered a number of artists and close collaborators for the production, ...

'' (2013), with Kendrick Lamar accompanying him on tour.

The Yeezus Tour The Yeezus Tour was a concert tour by American rapper Kanye West in support of West's sixth solo studio album, '' Yeezus'' (2013). The venture served as West's first solo concert tour in five years. Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Quest, Travis S ...

began in October. In October, it was also revealed that Lamar would be featured on

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

's eighth studio album ''

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' is the eighth studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was released on November 5, 2013 by Aftermath Entertainment, Shady Records, and Interscope Records. The album is Eminem's last to have the involvement of inde ...

''. On October 15, 2013, Lamar won five awards at the

, including Album of the Year and Lyricist of the Year (the latter of which he had also won the year before). At the award show, Lamar performed " Money Trees", and was also featured in a cypher alongside his Top Dawg label-mates Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q,

Isaiah Rashad Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain (born May 16, 1991), is an American rapper. His first big break was performing on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour with rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA among others. He is a founding member of the Chattanooga hip ...

, and Ab-Soul. During an October 2013 interview with ''XXL'', Lamar revealed that following The Yeezus Tour, he would begin to start working on his next album. Kendrick Lamar Yeezus

In November 2013, he was named '' GQ'' "Rapper of the Year," and was featured on the cover of the magazine's "Men of the Year" issue. During the interview, he stated that he would begin recording his second major-label studio album in January 2014. Following the issue's release, TDE's

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith pulled Lamar from performing at ''GQ''s party that accompanies the issue, calling out writer Steve Marsh's profile for its "racial overtones." ''GQ'' editor-in-chief Jim Nelson responded with the following statement: "Kendrick Lamar is one of the most talented new musicians to arrive on the scene in years. That's the reason we chose to celebrate him, wrote an incredibly positive article declaring him the next King of Rap, and gave him our highest honor: putting him on the cover of our Men of the Year issue. I'm not sure how you can spin that into a bad thing, and I encourage anyone interested to read the story and see for themselves." Lamar received a total of seven Grammy nominations at the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

(2014), including

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

, Album of the Year, and

Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several ...

, but did not win in any category. Many publications felt that

The Recording Academy The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy A ...

snub A snub, cut or slight is a refusal to recognise an acquaintance by ignoring them, avoiding them or pretending not to know them. For example, a failure to greet someone may be considered a snub. In Awards and Lists For awards, the term "snub" ...

bed Lamar, as well as

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based rapper

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; (formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper and songwriter. A native of Seattle, Washington, he has collaborated with producer Ryan Lewi ...

, who won

Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...

category for which Lamar was also nominated. At the ceremony, Lamar performed " M.A.A.D City" and a remix of "

Radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...

" in a mash-up with American rock band Imagine Dragons at the awards ceremony. The remix was again performed by Lamar and the band on February 1, 2014, during the airing of ''Saturday Night Live'', marking Lamar's second appearance on the show.

2014–2016: ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' and ''Untitled Unmastered''

In an interview with ''

'' in February 2014, Lamar stated he was planning to put out a new album the next September. During the same interview, which also included Schoolboy Q, Tiffith, and

, the possibility of a debut effort from the Black Hippy collective appearing in 2014 was announced. On July 31, 2014, it was announced that Lamar would premiere his short film ''m.A.A.d'' at Sundance's inaugural NEXT Fest in Los Angeles on August 9. The film is inspired by ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'', and was directed by Kahlil Joseph, who had previously worked with Lamar on the Yeezus Tour. Lamar featured on the

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

song "

It's On Again "It's On Again" is a song by American singer Alicia Keys featuring American rapper Kendrick Lamar. The song was written for the 2014 superhero film ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' by Keys and Lamar in collaboration with Hans Zimmer, who scored the fi ...

", which was written for the film ''

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (internationally titled ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro'') is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film was directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi A ...

'' (2014). On September 23, 2014, Lamar released " i" as the first single from his third album. On November 15, 2014, Lamar once again appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'' as the musical guest, where he performed "i" and " Pay for It", appearing alongside Jay Rock. Through his appearance, with blackout contacts and his braids partly out, Lamar paid homage to New York-based rapper

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

, whose debut album '' Tical'' celebrated its 20th anniversary that day. On December 17, 2014, Lamar debuted a new untitled song on one of the final episodes of ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

''. In early 2015, Lamar won

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

and

for his song " i" at the

57th Annual Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...

. On February 9, 2015, he released his third album's second single, titled " The Blacker the Berry". Originally expected to be released on March 23, 2015, his new album ''

'' was released a week early on March 16, 2015, to rave reviews. The album debuted atop the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart selling 324,000 copies in its first week, and established

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

's global first-day streaming record (9.6 million). Lamar was later featured on the cover of ''

'', with editor Josh Eells writing he's "arguably the most talented rapper of his generation." Kendrick Lamar 3 F

On May 17, 2015, Lamar featured on the official remix of American singer-songwriter

's song " Bad Blood", as well as appearing in the music video. The original song is in Swift's fifth studio album '' 1989''. The single reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the music video won them a

Grammy Award for Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

and a

MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' produced three other singles with accompanying music videos, "

King Kunta "King Kunta" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar, taken from his third album, '' To Pimp a Butterfly'' (2015). It was released as the album's third single on March 24, 2015. Lamar co-wrote the song with Thundercat, w ...

", "

Alright Alright, All Right or Allwright may refer to: Music Albums * ''Alright!'' (album), a 2007 album by Bogdan Raczynski * ''Alright'', a 2011 album by Jerry Williams * ''All Right'', a 1982 album by Himiko Kikuchi Songs * "Alright" (Cast song) * ...

" and " These Walls". The music video for "Alright" received four nominations at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year and

Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...

. The song "

For Free? (Interlude) "For Free? (Interlude)" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It is the second track on his third studio album ''To Pimp a Butterfly'', released on March 15, 2015. It features uptempo bebop instrumentals, with Lamar rapping over them. A musi ...

" also featured a music video, as did " u" with "For Sale" as part of the short film "God Is Gangsta." In October 2015, Lamar announced the Kunta's Groove Sessions Tour, which included eight shows in eight cities. In early 2016,

released the track "No More Parties in L.A." on his official

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

, a collaboration featuring Lamar and produced by West and

Madlib Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), ...

. Lamar also performed a new song, " Untitled 2" on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' in January. ''

'' critics commented at the end of the year, "twenty years ago, a conscious rap record wouldn't have penetrated the mainstream in the way Kendrick Lamar did with ''To Pimp A Butterfly''. His sense of timing is impeccable. In the midst of rampant cases of police brutality and racial tension across America, he spews raw, aggressive bars while possibly cutting a rug," while ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' editors noted it "forced critics to think deeply about music. It's an album by the greatest rapper of his generation." Producer

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

stated

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's album ''

Blackstar ''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...

'' (2016) was influenced by Lamar's work, "we were listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar ..we loved the fact Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn't do a straight-up hip-hop record. He threw everything on there, and that's exactly what we wanted to do." Visconti also stated this about Lamar while talking about "rule-breakers" in music.

"His album ''To Pimp A Butterfly'' broke every rule in the book and he had a number one album glued to the top of the charts. You'd think certain labels would learn from that. But they take somebody who is out there and say, 'That's what people want.' No, people want that for one week. You don't want the same song every single day of your life."

Lamar won five Grammys at the 58th ceremony, including Best Rap Album for ''To Pimp a Butterfly''. Other nominations included Album of the Year and Song of the Year. At the ceremony, Lamar performed a medley of " The Blacker the Berry" and "Alright". ''

'' and ''

'' called it the best moment of the night, with the latter writing "It was easily one of the best live TV performances in history." On March 4, 2016, Lamar released a compilation album ''

Untitled Unmastered ''Untitled Unmastered'' (stylized as ''untitled unmastered.'') is a compilation album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 4, 2016, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. It consists ...

'', containing eight untitled tracks, each dated. The tracks were unfinished

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

s from the recording of ''To Pimp a Butterfly''. The compilation album debuted atop the US ''Billboard'' 200.

2017–2018: ''Damn'', ''Black Panther'' soundtrack and hiatus

On March 23, 2017, Lamar released a promotional single "

The Heart Part 4 "The Heart Part 4" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 23, 2017, by Top Dawg Entertainment. The track features uncredited vocals from American singer Khalid. The song contains samples from "Do ...

". A week later, Lamar released the lead single, titled " Humble", accompanied by its music video. On April 7, 2017, his fourth studio album was made available for pre-order and confirmed to be released on April 14, 2017. On April 11, Lamar announced the album title, '' Damn'' (stylized as ''DAMN.''), as well as the track list, which confirmed guest appearances by

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

, Zacari, and U2. The album was released on April 14, 2017, to rave reviews, with a ''Rolling Stone'' writer describing it as a combination of "the old school and the next-level." It marked his third number one album on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and the single "Humble" became his first number one as a lead artist on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On May 4, 2017, ''Damn'' was certified

by the

(RIAA). Lamar later released the ''DAMN.'' Collectors Edition in mid-December 2017, with the tracklist from the original album in reverse order. Along with Tiffith, Lamar produced and curated the film soundtrack for the

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

superhero film ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

'' (2018), titled '' Black Panther: The Album''. A single from the soundtrack, "

All the Stars "All The Stars" is a song recorded by American rapper Kendrick Lamar and American singer SZA. Written by Lamar, SZA, Sounwave, and Al Shux and produced by the latter two, the song was released on January 4, 2018, as the lead single to the sou ...

", was released in January 2018 featuring singer SZA, and it earned him an

nomination for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. Shortly thereafter, another track, titled "

King's Dead "King's Dead" is a song by American rappers Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Future and English singer James Blake, from the soundtrack album of the Marvel Studios superhero film ''Black Panther'' and Jay Rock's third studio album '' Redemption''. ...

", was released by

featuring Lamar,

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

and James Blake. The third single, " Pray For Me", by Lamar and

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

, was released in February 2018, ahead of the album's release in that month. '' Black Panther: The Album'' was released on February 9, 2018. In January 2018, Lamar's song publishing deal with

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

began to expire; TDE was seeking $20 to $40 million for the rapper's catalogue. Lamar opened the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong ...

with a medley of "XXX", "Lust", "DNA", "Humble", "King's Dead" and Rich the Kid's "

New Freezer "New Freezer" is a hip hop song by American rapper Rich the Kid featuring Kendrick Lamar released in 2017. The song, produced by Ben Jayne, was released as the lead single from Rich the Kid's debut album '' The World Is Yours''. The original versi ...

". He was also nominated for seven awards, including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album for ''Damn'', and the

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video for "Humble", and Best Rap/Sung Performance for "

Loyalty Loyalty, in general use, is a devotion and faithfulness to a nation, cause, philosophy, country, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another h ...

" with Rihanna. Lamar ultimately won five awards at the ceremony, for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video, and Best Rap/Sung Performance. After the ''Black Panther'' soundtrack, Lamar did not release music of his own for four years.

2020–present: PGLang and ''Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers''

On March 5, 2020, Lamar and Free launched

, which was described as a multilingual, artist-friendly service company. In a press release, Free claimed that the company "is not a record label, a movie studio, or a publishing house. This is something new. In this overstimulated time, we are focused on cultivating raw expression from grassroots partnerships." The announcement also featured a "visual mission statement," a four-minute short film starring Lamar,

Baby Keem Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr. (born October 22, 2000), known professionally as Baby Keem, is an American rapper and record producer. He initially gained major recognition following the release of his single "Orange Soda", from his second mixtape ''Di ...

Jorja Smith Jorja Alice Smith (born 11 June 1997) is an English singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Walsall, West Midlands, she has been writing songs since the age of 11. In 2012, Smith's friend uploaded her cover of Labrinth's "Earthquake" to YouTube, ...

, and

Yara Shahidi Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022) and its spin-off series '' Grown-ish'' (2018 ...

. On August 20, 2021, Lamar announced on a blog post that he was in the middle of producing his final album under TDE. A week later, he appeared on Baby Keem's single "

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States f ...

", from his debut studio album ''

The Melodic Blue ''The Melodic Blue'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and record producer Baby Keem. It was released on September 10, 2021, by PGLang and Columbia Records, with Keem serving as the executive producer. The standard version of the al ...

''. The song marked Lamar's first single release in three years, and won Best Rap Performance at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

. Lamar additionally made several appearances on ''The Melodic Blue'', on the tracks "

Range Brothers "Range Brothers" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American rappers Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar. The song was released on September 10, 2021 by Columbia Records and pgLang as the fourth track off of the former's debut album, ''The Melo ...

" and "Vent". On November 12, Lamar made his comeback performance by headlining the first night of Day N Vegas. On February 13, 2022, Lamar headlined the

Super Bowl LVI halftime show The Super Bowl LVI halftime show, officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, took place on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, as part of Super Bowl LVI. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by NBC, ...

alongside

, and

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

, which won him the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) is awarded to one live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live' ...

. On May 8, he released the promotional single "

The Heart Part 5 "The Heart Part 5" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was surprise released on May 8, 2022, through pgLang, Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records, as a promotional single to help anticipate the rel ...

". Lamar's fifth studio album, '' Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'', was released on May 13. Ahead of its release, he visited

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

to shoot a mini documentary with

. He also invited and met music executives and other Ghanaian artists such as

Stonebwoy Livingstone Etse Satekla (born 5 March 1988), better known by his stage name Stonebwoy, is a Ghanaian Afropop, dancehall and reggae musician. He is the CEO of Burniton Music Group. He won the Best International Act: Africa category at the 201 ...

Amaarae } Ama Serwah Genfi, known professionally as Amaarae, is a Ghanaian singer known for her work around representation of gender and race in music. After collaborating with local artists and putting out a few non-album singles, she released her debut ...

Black Sherif Mohammed Ismail Sherif Kwaku Frimpong (born 9 January 2002) professionally known as Black Sherif, is a Ghanaian singer and rapper. He gained popularity in 2021 with his song "First Sermon" in May 2021. This was followed up with "Second Sermon" ...

, and Smallgod during a private album listening party in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

. In June, he performed at

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather ...

's Men's Spring/Summer 2023 show, in honor of their late artistic director

Virgil Abloh Virgil Abloh (; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. He was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilitie ...

, inside the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

during

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (french: Semaine de la mode de Paris) is a series of designer presentations held semiannually in Paris, France with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the French Fashion Federation. ...

. He later headlined the final night of the

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

Artistry

Influences

Lamar cites

as his biggest influence, noting that he has impacted his music and everyday life. He has stated that Shakur,

the Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

and

are his top five favorite rappers. In a 2011 interview with ''

'', Lamar mentioned

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

and

as rappers that he listened to and took influence from during his early years. He also cited DMX as someone who "really ot me startedon music. "That first album 'It's_Dark_and_Hell_Is_Hot''.html" ;"title="It's_Dark_and_Hell_Is_Hot.html" ;"title="'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot">'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot''">It's_Dark_and_Hell_Is_Hot.html" ;"title="'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot">'It's Dark and Hell Is Hot''is classic, [so he had an influence on me]." He further added that Eazy-E also influenced him, saying, "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Eazy-E." In a September 2012 interview, Lamar stated that Eminem "influenced a lot of my style" and has credited him for his own aggression on records such as "

". Lamar also gave

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

's work in

Hot Boys The Hot Boys (often styled as Hot Boy$) are an American hip hop group formed in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1997. The group is made up of B.G., Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk. The group was originally formed in 1997, and released their debut rec ...

credit for influencing his style and praised his longevity. He has said that he also grew up listening to

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

, and

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American Hip hop music, hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albu ...

. In January 2013, when asked to name three rappers that have played a role in his style, Lamar said: "It's probably more of a west coast influence. A little bit of

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer who aided gangsta rap's rise via 1990s verses helping set lasting trends. He is one half of the rap duo Tha Dogg Po ...

, upac with some of the content of

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

." In a November 2013 interview with ''GQ'', when asked who are the four MCs that made him, he answered Shakur, Dr. Dre,

and

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Scien ...

, namely

Prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and ...

. Lamar professed to having been influenced by jazz trumpeter

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

and

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...

during the recording of ''To Pimp a Butterfly''.

Musical style and rapping technique

Lamar's musical style is known to be "anti-flamboyant, interior and complex." His work is generally categorized as

progressive rap Progressive rap (or progressive hip hop) is a broad subgenre of hip hop music that aims to progress the genre thematically with socially transformative ideas and musically with stylistic experimentation. Developing through the works of innovati ...

due to his contributions of broadening the genre's audience to reach

mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

listeners. He's stated in an interview that "You really can't categorize my music, it's human music." Lamar's debut studio album ''

'' was categorized as

. His second album ''

'' was heavily influenced by

West Coast hip hop West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the ea ...

and 1990s

. His next three albums, ''

'', '' Damn'' and '' Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'', are all classified as conscious hip hop records; with ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' incorporating elements of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

spoken word poetry Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

, ''Damn'' drawing on R&B, pop and

influences, and ''Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'' utilizing

production. Labeled as a technical rapper by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Lamar's "limber and dexterous" flow switches from

derivative In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...

generative metrics Generative metrics is the collective term for three distinct theories of verse structure (focusing on the English iambic pentameter) advanced between 1966 and 1977. Inspired largely by the example of Noam Chomsky's ''Syntactic Structures'' (1957) a ...

while incorporating

internal Internal may refer to: *Internality as a concept in behavioural economics *Neijia, internal styles of Chinese martial arts *Neigong or "internal skills", a type of exercise in meditation associated with Daoism *''Internal (album)'' by Safia, 2016 ...

and multisyllabic rhyme schemes. He's also known for his "willingness to experiment with his voice", often using

cadences In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (19 ...

to convey complex emotions and tell stories through multiple

personas A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatri ...

. Tirhakah Love of

writes that by expanding his

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

, Lamar "calls back to a lineage that runs through

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

's foundational work in the ’60s; the psychedelic ’70s;

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

’s sweaty

phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or semi- ...

in the ’80s; and gangsta rap's run in the ’90s. In each of these eras, artists stretched the human voice in order to challenge listeners to consider the forces residing in our bodies, awaiting a sound to call them to life."

Songwriting

Lamar's

introspective ''Introspective'' is the third studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 10 October 1988 by Parlophone. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Background The album was unusual in that it reversed the typi ...

and

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but sim ...

songwriting is often based on his personal life. He has been branded a "master of storytelling" by ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', while his lyricism has been described by ''

'' as "

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

an". Considered a "radio-friendly but overtly political rapper" by ''

'', Lamar's writing often contain

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

centered around

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

life and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

, exploring themes of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, black empowerment and

social injustice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

. It has been compared to a

State of the Union The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditio ...

address by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Jacob Uitti of ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' notes, "For as much as he is a musician and a lyricist and an emcee, Lamar is also a playwright, a novelist, a short story author. He’s literary within the art form of music." All of Lamar's studio albums have been classified as

concept albums A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

. ''Section.80'' is themed around

Generation Y Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s ...

and dwells on related subjects such as the 1980s

crack epidemic The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in Ameri ...

, medication tolerance and the

presidency of Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...

. ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' is a nonlinear narrative that chronicles Lamar's harsh teenage experiences in his native Compton. ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' combines political and personal themes such as

racial inequality Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...

, depression, and

institutional discrimination Institutional discrimination is discriminatory treatment of an individual or group of individuals by society or institutions, through unequal consideration of members of subordinate groups. These unfair and indirect methods of discrimination are ...

to document the Black American experience. ''Damn'' explores the dualities of

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

and delves into themes of

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

and

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. ''Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'' details Lamar's experiences in

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

and explores personal themes such as

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

and

generational trauma Transgenerational trauma is the psychological and physiological effects that the trauma experienced by people has on subsequent generations in that group. The primary modes of transmission are the uterine environment during pregnancy causing epigen ...

accountability Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the publ ...

and celebrity worship.

Controversies

Lyrics

Lamar's 2015 song " The Blacker the Berry" gathered controversy following the lines, "So why did I weep when

Trayvon Martin Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic American. Martin had accompa ...

was in the street, when gang-banging make me kill a nigga blacker than me? Hypocrite!" Some fans perceived the line to be Lamar judging the black community. Lamar later explained the motivation behind the lyric in an

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

interview, saying, "It's not me pointing at my community; it's me pointing at myself, I don't talk about these things if I haven't lived them, and I've hurt people in my life. It's something I still have to think about when I sleep at night." While Lamar's 2022 song " Auntie Diaries" was met with praise from critics and transgender listeners, the song was also met with heavy criticism due to Lamar's

epizeuxis In rhetoric, epizeuxis is the repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, typically within the same sentence, for vehemence or emphasis. A closely related rhetorical device is diacope, which involves word repetition that is broken ...

usage of "

faggot Faggot, faggots, or faggoting may refer to: Arts and crafts * Faggoting (metalworking), forge welding a bundle of bars of iron and steel * Faggoting (knitting), variation of lace knitting in which every stitch is a yarn over or a decrease * F ...

", as well as

deadnaming Deadnaming is the act of referring to a transgender or non-binary person by a name they used prior to transitioning, such as their birth name. Deadnaming may be unintentional, or a deliberate attempt to deny, mock or invalidate a person's g ...

and

misgendering Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...

his transgender relatives to express his own personal growth from childhood misunderstanding.

Feuds

In August 2013, Lamar was featured on the song "

" by

. In his verse, Lamar called out several rappers, telling them he was going to murder his competition. The verse gathered responses and diss tracks from artists such as

, Diddy,

, and

. ''Rolling Stone'' called the single "one of the most important hip-hop songs of the last decade". Lamar has been reported to be in a feud with

. ''

'' called their relationship "complicated",

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

called it a "subliminal war", and '' GQ'' called it a "cold war" due to the mass popularity of both artists. Before Lamar's "Control" verse, Lamar had been featured on Drake's "Buried Alive Interlude", Drake was featured on Lamar's single "

", and both were featured on A$AP Rocky's song "

Fuckin' Problems "Fuckin' Problems" (edited version titled as "F**kin' Problems", and "Problems") is a song by American rapper ASAP Rocky, featuring Canadian rapper Drake, and fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 24, 20 ...

". Drake responded to Lamar's "Control" verse in an interview with ''Billboard'', saying, "I know good and well that Kendrick's not murdering me, at all, in any platform." In September 2013, Drake's third album, ''

Nothing was the Same ''Nothing Was the Same'' is the third studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on September 24, 2013, through OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records. Work on the record began in 2012 and ...

'', was released. Publications such as ''Complex'' speculated that Drake had directed subliminal insults at Lamar in the song "The Language". In an interview with ''Pitchfork'' a day later, Drake showed disapproval of "Control", saying he wasn't impressed with it and added, "Mind you, it'll go on– ''Complex'' and Rap Radar will give it like, verse of the millennium and all that shit or whatever." Drake later said his only competition was

, after being asked about Kendrick saying he was murdering his competition. Lamar further escalated tensions in the 2013 BET Hip-Hop Awards cypher when he referred to Drake during the cypher, saying, "Yeah, and nothing's been the same since they dropped 'Control' / And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes."

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

noted that Lamar was referencing Drake's third studio album, ''Nothing was the Same'', and also Drake being called overly sensitive by the media. In December 2013, Drake, whilst being interviewed by ''Vice'', said he "stood his ground" and he has to realize "I'm being baited and I'm not gonna fall", then refusing to deny that the line on "The Language" was directed to Lamar, saying he "doesn't want to get into responses". Drake later went on to say that he acknowledged the lines in Lamar's cypher were for him and that it wasn't enough for him to prepare a response before saying they haven't seen each other since the BET cypher. Several more reported subliminal lines were spoken by each rapper, four by Kendrick on the songs, "Pay for it", "King Kunta", "Darkside/Gone", and "Deep Water" and two by Drake on the songs "Used To" and "4PM In Calabasas". In June 2016, former NFL player and broadcast show host

Marcellus Wiley Marcellus Vernon Wiley Sr. (born November 30, 1974) is an American sportscaster and former American football defensive end who played 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers, Dallas ...

alleged that on his ESPN show, Drake or Lamar had given an interview in which they started "talking noise" and claimed that they had problems with the other individual. The interview was eventually not aired and Wiley said it had been "destroyed". Wiley said that the interview would have escalated the reported feud to become official with diss tracks being directed at the other side. Following an almost year-long hiatus from music, Lamar released "

". It was speculated that Lamar's line, "One, two, three, four, five / I am the greatest rapper alive" was a response to Drake's line, "I know I said top five, but I'm top two / And I'm not two and I got one" on the song "Gyalchester". Kendrick proceeded to insult rappers who have

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

s in an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' in August 2015. It was speculated that the insult was directed towards Drake, who has seen controversy due to the use of "ghostwriters" on songs such as "

RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

". Lamar has also feuded with Detroit rapper and former collaborator

. Following the release of Sean's track "Control" in August 2013 where Lamar calls Sean out and claims he's gonna "murder" him, Sean responded in praise, saying, "Alright, that's what it need to get back to, it need to get back to hip-hop, that culture." In January 2015, Sean later spoke on "Control", saying that the song was "negative" and a month later released the "Me, Myself, and I". In October 2016, Big Sean released "No More Interviews" with shots directed at Lamar.

Spotify

In May 2018, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith,

of Top Dawg Entertainment, contacted

Daniel Ek Daniel Ek (born 21 February 1983) is a Swedish billionaire entrepreneur and technologist. He is the co-founder and CEO of music streaming service Spotify. Early life and education Ek grew up in the Rågsved district of Stockholm, Sweden. He gra ...

, CEO of

, and the streaming service's head of artist relations Troy Carter to express his frustrations with their Hate Content & Hateful Conduct policy. Conceived in light of the #MeToo movement, the removal policy sought to promote "openness, diversity, tolerance and respect" by removing content that promotes, advocates, or incites hatred and violence against an individual or group based on characteristics. In accordance to the policy, the streaming platform removed

XXXTentacion Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...

and

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

's music their editorial and algorithmic playlists due to their publicized acts of violence against women. Tiffith claimed that the policy was

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

and threatened to pull music from his label, including Lamar's, from the platform if they kept the policy as it stood. In the midst of Tiffith's threat, Lamar praised XXXTentacion's debut studio album '' 17'' on Twitter. In response to the criticism, Spotify reversed their policy and reinstated XXXTentacion's music back onto playlists after other artists threatened to pull their music.

Other ventures

Acting and filmmaking

Lamar began his filmmaking career by writing the music video for his song "Ignorance Is Bliss". He made his directorial debut with the music video for "

". Since then, he has directed several of his music videos alongside his creative partner

under the collective name The Little Homies. In 2014, Lamar produced and was featured in ''M.A.A.D'', a short film inspired by his second studio album ''

''. In December 2015, he co-directed, edited and starred in the short film ''God Is Gangsta'', which was inspired by his third studio album ''

''. He began executive producing music videos in 2020 with

's "Hooligan". In January 2022, Lamar and Free announced that they will be producing an untitled comedy film with ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' creators

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...

and

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...

. In July 2018, Lamar made his acting debut in the fifth season of the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

drama series ''

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

'', portraying a Dominican drug addict named Laces. His casting stemmed from his friendship with rapper 50 Cent, who stars in and executive produces the series. Lamar wanted to portray a character that did not resemble his musical persona, and drew inspiration from various people he knew when growing up in Compton. He also compared his acting preparation to his songwriting, saying that he prefers to "always have that open space to evolve". Lamar's performance was praised by critics and viewers, and earned him an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy or Drama Series.

Business and fashion

Lamar owns a percentage of his former record label Top Dawg Entertainment. In December 2014, he was announced as a

brand ambassador A brand ambassador (sometimes also called a corporate ambassador) is a person engaged by an organization or company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to emb ...

for sportswear brand

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

, and designed six sneakers with the company. After ending his ambassadorship with Reebok in 2017, Lamar began a partnership with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

and collaborated on five sneakers. In 2022, he collaborated with

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

on two sneakers.

Impact

Lamar's work has earned universal acclaim from music critics, industry peers, and cultural figures. He has been named by numerous media outlets as one of the most influential artists of the 2010s, with ''

'' listing him as one of the greatest rappers of all time. He has been credited by

NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...

with the revival of

jazz rap Jazz rap (or jazz hip hop) is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American music of the ...

, which waned after the 1990s. Writing for '' Esquire UK'', editor Olivia Ovended opined, "Even if you're not overly familiar with Lamar's back catalogue, his influence in music is everywhere, from the West Coast hip-hop now being made by Anderson .Paak. to the trap of

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...

. He is—and we'll brook no argument here—the greatest rapper making music today." ''

'' journalist Carrie Battan considered him "California's biggest hip-hop artist since the nineteen-nineties." Lamar has been branded as the "New King of Hip Hop" numerous times by media outlets. Steve Batlin of ''Forbes'' writes that although he "may or may not be the greatest rapper alive right now", he's "certainly in the very short lists of artists in the conversation." Lamar frequently refers to himself as the "Greatest Rapper Alive" and has once declared himself the "King of New York". His music was also used during protests following the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

. According to American studies and media scholar William Hoynes, Lamar's

music places him in a long line of African-American artists and activists who "worked both inside and outside of the mainstream to advance a counterculture that opposes the racist stereotypes being propagated in white-owned media and culture".

History.com History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

considered Lamar's Pulitzer Prize win as "a sign of the American cultural elite's recognition of hip-hop as a legitimate artistic medium." ''NPR Music'' writer Marcus J. Moore noticed Lamar's rap-jazz aesthetic present on his repertoire, "he's at the vanguard of this movement, proving that he too is a rule breaker, just like Miles,

Herbie Herbie, the Love Bug is a fictional sentient 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, who has been featured in several Walt Disney motion pictures starting with the 1968 feature film ''The Love Bug''. He has a mind of his own and is capable of driving himself, ...

, Coltrane, Glasper and Hargove, who all took bold creative risks to push

into uncharted territory," and stated that Lamar is introducing jazz to a generation "who might only know it through their parents' old record collections." '' Esquire US'' writer Matt Miller opined about the rapper's videography in 2017, crediting Lamar for "reviving" the music video as "a powerful form" of

, citing as examples "Alright" and "Humble". Multiple artists have cited his work as an inspiration, including

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.

Roddy Ricch Rodrick Wayne Moore Jr. (born October 22, 1998), known professionally as Roddy Ricch, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame in 2018 with his single, " Die Young", which peaked at number 98 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...

Christine and the Queens Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier (; born 1 June 1988), known professionally as Christine and the Queens and Redcar, or occasionally simply Chris, is a French singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Nantes, he started learning piano at the age o ...

Jhené Aiko Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo (; born March 16, 1988) is an American singer who embarked on her music career contributing vocals and appearing in several music videos for R&B group B2K. In an effort to promote Aiko and cultivate a following for he ...

, Cordae, Car Seat Headrest and

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

praised ''Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'' as "history making" and "mind-bogglingly brilliant".

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

called Lamar "one of the greatest writers of our times", explaining that he "knows how to be very disciplined with a subject matter, he knows that stickiness is important, and he knows that it has to feel great."

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer-songwriter. Taking inspiration from aristocracy for her stage name, she is known for her unconventional musical styles and i ...

described him as "the most popular and influential artist in modern music".

's final studio album ''

'' (2016) was influenced by ''To Pimp a Butterfly'', which was noted by ''Rolling Stone'' as one of the albums that made Lamar "the decade's deepest, rangiest, most musical and consequential rapper."

Achievements

KENDRICK LAMAR Grandoozy 2018 (44346900965)

Lamar has won fourteen

s. At the 57th Grammy Awards in 2015, his single " i" earned him his first two wins:

and

. At the 58th Grammy Awards, Lamar led the list of nominations with 11 mentions, passing

and

as the rapper with the most nominations in a single night, and second overall behind

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

, who hold the record of 12 nominations. Lamar was the most-awarded artist at the ceremony with five. ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'', ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' and ''Damn'' have all been nominated for Album of the Year, with the latter two winning for

. Those three albums were featured on ''Rolling Stones industry-voted list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020. ''DAMN.'' won the 2018

, making Lamar the first non-jazz or classical artist to win the award. In collecting his award on May 30, 2018, new Pulitzer administrator

Dana Canedy Dana Canedy (born June 8, 1965) is an American journalist, author, and publishing executive who worked at the ''New York Times'' for over 20 years, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2001. She was appointed senior vice president and publisher of Simon ...

, the first woman and African American to lead the organization, told him: "Congratulations, looks like we're both making history this year." In 2019, he was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

for "

". At the

74th Primetime Emmy Awards The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2021, until May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). The awards ceremony was held live on September 1 ...

, he won Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for the

. Lamar has received two honors in his hometown. On May 11, 2015, he received the

's Generational Icon Award from State Senator

Isadore Hall III Isadore Hall III (born December 10, 1971) is an American politician and a former member of the California State Senate. He is a Democrat who represented the 35th district, encompassing parts of the South Bay. Prior to being elected to the st ...

( D–

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

) who represents California's 35th district. From the senate floor, Lamar told the legislature, "Being from the City of Compton and knowing the parks that I played at and the neighborhoods, I always thought how great the opportunity would be to give back to my community off of what I do in music." On February 13, 2016, Mayor of Compton, California

Aja Brown Aja Lena Brown ( Clinkscale; born April 17, 1982) is an American politician who is the former mayor of Compton, California. She won the election, defeating both incumbent mayor Eric J. Perrodin and former mayor Omar Bradley. Early life Brown ...

presented Lamar with the

key to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

, for "representing Compton's evolution, embodying the New Vision for Compton." He appeared for the first time on the ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' 100 list of most influential people in 2016. His debut major-label release, ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'', was named one of "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time" by ''Rolling Stone''. ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' was ranked by many publications as one of the best albums of the 2010s (decade), with ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' placing it first.Decade-end critics' lists: * * * * In 2015, ''Billboard'' included Lamar in "The 10 Greatest Rappers of All-Time." ''

'' magazine has ranked Lamar atop "The 20 Best Rappers in Their 20s" annual lists in 2013, 2015 and 2016. He has also won six ''Billboard'' Music Awards, seven

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

(including Album of the Year), and 25

—the most for an artist.

Personal life

While attending Centennial High School, Lamar began dating beautician Whitney Alford. In April 2015, during an interview with ''

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...

'', Lamar revealed that they were engaged. The couple have two children together: daughter Uzi (born July 2019), and son Enoch. Lamar is an older cousin of fellow rapper

, and a younger cousin of basketball player Nick Young. He is a notable fan of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, and the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. Lamar is a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, having converted following the death of a friend. He has been outspoken about his faith in his music and interviews. He has been

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

twice; first when he was 16 and again in 2013, which he announced during his opening set at

. Lamar has credited

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

for his fame and his "deliverance" from crime that often plagued Compton in the 1990s. He also believes his career is

divinely inspired Divine inspiration is the concept of a supernatural force, typically a deity, causing a person or people to experience a Creativity, creative desire. It has been a commonly reported aspect of many religions, for thousands of years. Divine inspirati ...

, saying in an interview with ''

'' in 2014, "I got a greater purpose, God put something in my heart to get across and that's what I'm going to focus on, using my voice as an instrument and doing what needs to be done." The introductory lines to his second studio album ''

'' (2012) includes a form of the

Sinner's Prayer The Sinner's prayer (also called the Consecration prayer and Salvation prayer) is an evangelical Christian term referring to any prayer of repentance, prayed by individuals who feel convinced of the presence of sin in their lives and have the ...

. His song " I" and his fourth studio album '' Damn'' (2017) further discusses his Christian faith and spiritual struggles. In 2014, Lamar dressed up as

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

for Halloween, explaining, "If I want to idolize somebody, I'm not going to do a scary monster, I'm not gonna do another artist or a human being—I'm gonna idolize the Master, who I feel is the Master, and try to walk in His light. It's hard, it's something I probably could never do, but I'm gonna try. Not just with the outfit but with everyday life. The outfit is just the imagery, but what's inside me will display longer." On the cover of '' Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'' (2022) and during select promotions for the album, Lamar wore a diamond

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instru ...

designed by Tiffany & Co.. During his headlining performance at Glastonbury Festival, Lamar explained that he wore the crown as both a "nod of respect to the artists who came before him" and as a reminder of his imperfections, while adding, "They judge you, they judged Christ." He repeated the chant at the end of his performance with

theatrical blood Theatrical blood, stage blood or fake blood is anything used as a substitute for blood in a theatrical or cinematic performance. For example, in the special effects industry, when a director needs to simulate an actor being shot or cut, a wide ...

pouring down his face; this time, he added "Godspeed for women's rights" in response to the overturning of ''Roe v. Wade''. In the lead up to the 2012 presidential election, Lamar stated, "I don't vote. I don't do no voting, I will keep it straight up real with you. I don't believe in none of the shit that's going on in the world." He went on to say that voting was useless: "When I say the president can't even control the world, then you definitely know there's something else out there pushing the buttons. They could do whatever they want to do, we reall puppets." Several days before the election, he reversed his previous claim that he was not going to vote and said that he was voting for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

because

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

did not have a "good heart". Lamar later met Obama in January 2016 in promotion of Obama's

My Brother's Keeper Challenge My Brother's Keeper Challenge is a public–private partnership of the United States federal government which promotes intervention by civic leaders in the lives of young men of color. The program was initiated in 2014 with sponsorship of the Whit ...

. Speaking about the meeting, Lamar said, "We tend to forget that people who've attained a certain position are human." Before the meeting, Obama said in an interview that his favorite song of 2015 was Lamar's "How Much a Dollar Cost".

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2012) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Damn'' (2017) * '' Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'' (2022)

Filmography

Film

Television

Concert tours

Headlining *Section.80 Tour (2011) *Good Kid, M.A.A.D City World Tour (2013) *Kunta Groove Sessions Tour (2015) *

The Damn Tour The Damn Tour (stylized as The DAMN. Tour) was a concert tour by American rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar, in support of his fourth studio album, '' Damn'' (2017). The tour's North American leg began on July 12, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona ...

(2017–18) * The Big Steppers Tour (2022) Co-headlining *

The Championship Tour The Championship Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by the independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment. The tour featured artists Kendrick Lamar, SZA, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, Sir, and Lance Skiiiwalker. The tour began in Vancouv ...

(2018) Supporting *

–

(2013–14) *

– Club Paradise Tour (2012)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamar, Kendrick 1987 births Living people 21st-century American rappers African-American Christians African-American male rappers African-American male songwriters African-American record producers Aftermath Entertainment artists American hip hop record producers American hip hop singers American male rappers American male songwriters American music video directors Black Hippy members Brit Award winners Converts to Christianity Creative directors Filmmakers from California Grammy Award winners for rap music Interscope Records artists Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners MTV Europe Music Award winners Musicians from Compton, California PGLang artists Primetime Emmy Award winners Pulitzer Prize for Music winners Rappers from California Record producers from California Songwriters from California Top Dawg Entertainment artists West Coast hip hop musicians

Early life

Career

2003–2009: Career beginnings

2010–2011: ''Overly Dedicated'' and ''Section.80''

2012–2013: ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' and controversies

2014–2016: ''To Pimp a Butterfly'' and ''Untitled Unmastered''

2017–2018: ''Damn'', ''Black Panther'' soundtrack and hiatus

2020–present: PGLang and ''Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers''

Artistry

Influences

Musical style and rapping technique

Songwriting

Controversies

Lyrics

Feuds

Spotify

Other ventures

Acting and filmmaking

Business and fashion

Impact

Achievements

Personal life

Discography

Filmography

Film

Television

Concert tours

See also

References

External links