Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, born on June 17, 1987, is an acclaimed American rapper and songwriter hailing from Compton, California.

He first captured significant attention with the 2010 mixtape O(verly) D(edicated). By 2011, his album Section.80, released solely on iTunes, rapidly became one of the year's top digital hip-hop releases. In 2012, he broke into the mainstream with his major label debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city, which was almost instantly deemed a classic. In 2015, he released To Pimp a Butterfly to critical acclaim, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The subsequent year, Kendrick surprised fans with the release of untitled unmastered. On Good Friday in April 2017, Kendrick released DAMN. After a five-year hiatus, on May 13, 2022, he released his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.

Renowned for his storytelling, vivid imagery, clever wordplay, passion, and diverse song structures, Kendrick delivers powerful lyricism with narratives to a West Coast scene not typically recognized for its lyricists.

Kendrick Lamar holds a highly esteemed position in the rap industry. He was ranked No. 2 on Billboard’s 10 Best Rappers of All Time list, joined by artists such as Jay-Z, Nas, and Notorious B.I.G. He has been nominated for 47 Grammy Awards, winning 17, including three for Best Rap Album. He is notably the only rapper to have won all the Grammy Awards in the rap category during the same ceremony, achieving this in 2016 and 2018.

Lamar is part of the hip-hop collective Black Hippy, which includes Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul—all of whom rose together through Top Dawg Entertainment. However, in 2022, it was announced that Kendrick would leave TDE after his fifth studio album's release. He is also signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment under Interscope Records.

In February 2018, Kendrick and TDE unveiled Black Panther: The Album (Music from and Inspired by), debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Later that April, he earned the Pulitzer Prize in music for DAMN.

After several relatively inactive years, Kendrick resurfaced with features or collaborative ventures. In March 2020, Lamar and Dave Free established PgLang, a production company meaning “program language.” In August 2021, Kendrick launched a new website and announced his next project's release date in April 2022. As anticipated, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers was released on Friday, May 13, a double album five years in creation.

In 2024, Kendrick re-emerged with a surprise feature on Future and Metro Boomin's March collaboration, “Like That.” This verse ignited a well-publicized battle with Drake, leading to four diss tracks from Kendrick, the most popular of which, “Not Like Us,” became his second solo number one single. The track's music video was released on July 4, two months after its initial launch.

Following the battle, Kendrick announced his Superbowl Half Time performance via social media on September 8, 2024. On November 22, 2024, K-Dot released his much-awaited sixth studio album, GNX, after teasing it just thirty minutes prior.