The Evolution of Kendrick Lamar: A Journey Musical Genius || Quotes Pin

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is the only musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music. His inclusion of social commentary and political criticism in his songwriting has influenced a rise in social conscience within his generation.

Lamar began releasing music under the stage name K.Dot while he was attending high school. He signed with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005, where he co-founded the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy. Following the success of his alternative rap debut album Section.80 (2011), Lamar secured a joint contract with Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. He rose to prominence with his gangsta rap-influenced second album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012) and its top 40 singles "Swimming Pools (Drank)", "Poetic Justice" and "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe". It is the longest-charting hip hop studio album on the Billboard 200, spending over ten consecutive years on the chart.

Inspired by a visit to South Africa, Lamar embraced jazz and G-funk styles on his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). It became his first of four consecutive number-one albums in the U.S., and was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 2010s. His work on the remix of "Bad Blood" (by Taylor Swift) garnered his first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. Lamar's critical and commercial success continued with his R&B and pop-leaning fourth album Damn (2017), yielding his second chart-topping single "Humble". He left TDE through the double album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), and scored his third number-one single with "Like That" (2024; with Future and Metro Boomin).