Kendrick Lamar

Mega-influencer • United States • EN

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper. Regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists of his generation, and one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is known for his technical artistry and complex songwriting. He was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to receive the honor. Lamar began releasing music under the stage name K.Dot while he was attending high school. He signed with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2005, where he co-founded the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy. Following the success of his alternative rap debut album Section.80, Lamar secured a joint contract with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. He rose to prominence with his gangsta rap-influenced second album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, which became the longest-charting hip hop studio album in the Billboard 200's chart history; Rolling Stone named it the greatest concept album of all time. Lamar's third album, To Pimp a Butterfly, infused hip-hop with historical African-American music genres such as jazz, funk and soul.