Kendrick Lamar | The Untold Story

Kendrick Lamar: Who Is He?
Born June 17, 1987, in Compton, California, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is the performer known as Kendrick Lamar. He began writing songs as a child and eventually turned his stories about the harsh Compton streets of his childhood into music. Rapper K-Dot gained notoriety after putting out a number of well-received mix tapes, attracting the interest of legendary hip-hop producer Dr. Dre. Good kid, m.A.A.d City, Lamar’s debut major-label album, was released to critical acclaim and excellent sales for an emerging recording artist. Both his 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly and its 2017 follow-up, DAMN., earned Grammys for Best Rap Album, and DAMN. became the first in its genre to win a Pulitzer Prize, cementing his sustained success.

History & Formative Years
Born June 17, 1987, in Compton, California, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (who did away with his last name to perform as Kendrick Lamar) was raised. Lamar’s father had been a member of the infamous Gangster Disciples gang, but they had migrated from Chicago to Compton to avoid the gang atmosphere there. Lamar grew up in an environment of unstable street activity as the crack trade and West Coast gang presence rose in the 1980s, yet he appeared to be more impacted than damaged by it. He was an excellent student who first enjoyed creating poetry and stories, then lyrics.

Even as a young child, Lamar was a sharp observer and remained thoughtful and soft-spoken despite his family being directly affected by street violence. He started rapping and performing his rhymes under the name K-Dot. In 2003, while he was sixteen years old, he released a mix tape titled Youngest Head Nigga in Charge, which generated a lot of attention both in his home state of Southern California and abroad.

The project was sufficient to land Lamar a recording contract with reputable independent California label Top Dawg Entertainment, which serves as a feeder to major labels. He continued to collaborate with other rising West Coast rappers including Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and Schoolboy Q, releasing two more critically acclaimed mix tapes, Training Day (2005) and C4 (2009). Eventually, Lamar and these other musicians started Black Hippy, a rap group of their own.

Getting to know Dr. Dre
2010 saw Lamar stop using the K-Dot moniker and start going by his actual name. In addition, he released Overly Dedicated, his fourth mix tape. Lamar signed with Top Dawg Entertainment and released his debut full-length independent album in the same year. The song, titled Section.80, was only available on iTunes.

Along with touring and working with increasingly well-known recording artists like Young Jeezy, The Game, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, and Lil Wayne, Lamar kept penning songs and lyrics. One of the most well-known and significant producers in hip-hop, Dr. Dre, took the young musician under his wing and served as a business and musical mentor.

Dr. Dre signed Kendrick Lamar to his independent record label, Aftermath Entertainment, in conjunction with more well-known rappers Eminem and 50 Cent (in a joint venture with Top Dawg), as word of him spread. Major label Interscope (Universal Music), which had the marketing, sales, and distribution clout to propel Kendrick Lamar’s career to the next level, distributed Aftermath. The quiet, perceptive young man who excelled academically was now on the verge of becoming the next big thing in rap.

“Amazing kid, amazing city”
Good Kid, M.A.A.d City, Kendrick Lamar’s eagerly awaited major-label debut album, was widely praised when it was released in October 2012. (Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar recorded a song together for the album, but “creative differences” eventually prevented it from being included.) Popular songs like “Swimming Pools (Drank)” and “Poetic Justice,” along with the rapper’s rise to fame, made it possible for him to promote the album by performing on major American television shows like Saturday Night Live, Late Night With David Letterman, and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. This increased his fan base among alternative rock and college students in addition to die-hard hip-hop enthusiasts.

The Comeback of Hip-Hop
Lamar continued to appeal to a broad audience after that. Hip-hop critics were drawn to the provocative lyrics on his debut album, and MTV named him the “Hottest MC” of 2012, placing him alongside famous rappers such as Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, and Kanye West who have all won the title.

Critics also noticed Kendrick Lamar’s verse on the Big Sean song “Control.” Even though another artist wrote the song, Kendrick Lamar’s verse gained popularity due to his criticism of various other well-known hip-hop figures, such as Drake, J. Cole, and Big Sean. Rappers, reviewers, and fans all praised Kendrick Lamar for his audacious statements in the contentious verse, which evoked feelings of the golden age of hip-hop.

Lamar’s astute insights of street culture, which frequently delve into the minds of crime victims, continue to make him popular. “I think that’s the most fascinating tale,” he stated to The Guardian, a British newspaper. “At first, I was afraid to display fear because you never know how other people may view you. However, I dared to stand out by doing that.”

“DAMN” and “To Pimp a Butterfly.”
2015 saw the release of Kendrick Lamar’s second album, To Pimp a Butterfly, which included collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, and Bilal, among others. Another much praised film was Butterfly, which was renowned for its funk-laden fusion of vulnerability, community politics, and bravura. Later following year, Lamar received a staggering 11 Grammy nominations and took home the inaugural trophy for the 2016 ceremony—best Rap Album. (He was the largest winner of the evening, having previously won four other Grammys prior to the presentation.) Later, he sang “The Blacker the Berry” and “Alright” in a politicized manner that included spoken word, live jazz, traditional African dance, and a nod to the adolescent Trayvon Martin’s death. This performance brought the house down.

Untitled unmastered, a collection of songs that were unfinished demos for To Pimp a Butterfly, was released by Kendrick Lamar in March 2016. The release peaked at number one on the American Billboard 200.

With the April 2017 release of DAMN., which included songs like “Humble” and “Loyalty,” a collaboration with Rihanna, the singer amazed fans even more. DAMN. not only reached double platinum status but was also selected the best album of 2017 by critics by BBC news using a collection of year-end polls.

Known for his seven Grammy nominations, Kendrick Lamar opened the 2018 awards ceremony with a politically charged performance that included U2’s Edge, Dave Chappelle, and Bono. His run of five Grammy victories that evening continued as he won Best Rap Album for DAMN. and Best Rap Song for “Humble,” sweeping the rap categories.

Pulitzer Prize Winner Kendrick Lamar created history in April 2018 when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music for DAMN. This achievement made him the first artist to win the prize for music other than jazz or classical music, as well as the first person to win the Pulitzer Prize for a hip-hop album. The Pulitzer committee described it as “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”

Lamar hoped to gain from the hardware as well as from his publishing arrangement with Warner/Chappell Music expiring. It was reported that proposals ranging from $20 million to $40 million were being considered by Lamar’s management business, Top Dawg Entertainment, for the rapper-songwriter’s back library.

Lamar’s invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ music branch in June 2018 for his work on the soundtracks for Divergent and Black Panther demonstrated his growing impact. He debuted as an actor the next month, playing a homeless man in 50 Cent’s crime drama Power.