American rapper and poet Kendrick Lamar. He began his musical career as a teenager and is now a critically and commercially successful performer. He started as a musician using the alias K-Dot to produce mix tapes. At sixteen, he signed his first recording deal with Top Dawg Entertainment.
Later, he started a hip-hop group, released albums and singles, and actively participated in concerts and tours. He has collaborated with musicians including Rihanna, Dr. Dre, Game, Taylor Swift, Jay Rock, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre during his career. Kendrick Lamar has won close to 45 awards out of the 135 nominations he has garnered. He has one of the highest net worth for someone who started from the bottom.
Seven Grammy Awards, The B.E.T. Awards, Teen Choice Awards, MTV Awards, MOBO Awards, Soul Train Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Webby Awards, and Youtube Music Awards are just a few of the important honors he has received. ‘The New King of the West Coast,’ as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Game have dubbed him, has been revealed. In 2016, Time magazine included him in their top 100 global influencers list.
Early Life And Family Background Of Kendrick Lamar
On June 17, 1987, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton, California. Kendrick dropped his last name and was known as Kendrick Lamar in the hip-hop world. Although Lamar’s father had ties to the infamous Gangster Disciples gang, his parents had relocated to Compton from Chicago to avoid the city’s gang lifestyle. As a result, Kendrick’s mother, Paula Oliver, was the closest person to the rapper.
Lamar grew up surrounded by dangerous street activity as the 1980s crack trade and West Coast gang presence intensified, yet he appeared to be more impacted than harmed by it. He adored writing, first stories and poems, then lyrics. Moreover, he was an excellent student. He finished his foundational education at Compton Unified School District’s McNair Elementary. Later, he went to Compton’s Centennial High School. Kendrick Lamar was a well-known A student who excelled in school.
Even as a young child, Lamar was a sharp observer and remained thoughtful and soft-spoken despite his family being personally affected by the street violence. He assumed the stage name K-Dot and started rapping his songs.
Career Of Kendrick Lamar
In 2003, when he was 16 years old, he released a mix tape titled Youngest Head Nigga in Charge, which generated many buzzes in his home region of Southern California and elsewhere. He began work with the label and, in 2005, released the album Training day’, a mixtape of 26 song recordings.
He collaborated with rappers Jay Rock and Ya Boy in 2006 and 2007. Furthermore, He appeared under his alias in the tracks “The Cypha” and “Cali Niggaz” by rapper The Games. 8 He appeared in the 2008 Warner Bros. Records single “All My Life (In the Ghetto)” by Jay Rock.
Along with Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul, he founded the hip hop trio “Black Hippy” in 2009. Each team member frequently appears in the movies and cassettes of the others.
Meeting Dr. Dre
His debut mixtape, “Overly Dedicated,” was published in 2010 under the name Kendrick Lamar, and that same year, the Album debuted on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Lamar continued to write songs and lyrics, tour, and work with increasingly well-known musicians, including Young Jeezy, The Game, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, and Lil Wayne. In addition, one of hip-most hop’s revered and significant producers, Dr. Dre, took the budding musician under his wing and served as both his musical and professional mentor.
Dr. Dre signed Lamar to his independent record company, Aftermath Entertainment, along with more well-known rap artists Eminem and 50 Cent, as the hype about him grew. Major label Interscope, which distributed Aftermath, had the marketing, sales, and distribution clout to advance Lamar’s career. Now the shy, perceptive child who did well in school was in line to become the newest rap icon.
Good Kid, m. A.A.D. Label Debut
Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, Lamar’s major-label debut, was released on October 22, 2012. The Album sold 242,100 copies in its first week and debuted at number two in the U.S. Later that year, “Backseat Freestyle” by Kendrick Lamar was ranked among the best 40 songs of 2012 by Fuse TV.
The Album received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America a few months later (RIAA). Additionally, Lamar received the “Emcee of the Year” award from HipHopDX for the 2012 calendar year. Lamar disclosed that the two are still working on a project in November after Cole posted photos of them in the studio. However, the two have not specified a release date for their collaborative Album.
‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ Featuring Snoop Dog And More
To Pimp a Butterfly, which featured musicians including Bilal, Snoop Dogg, and Pharrell Williams, was released by Lamar in 2015. Another critically acclaimed film, Butterfly, was praised for its funk-infused blend of bravado, neighborhood politics, and sensitivity. Later that year, Lamar received a record-breaking 11 Grammy nominations and took home the first prize of the 2016 ceremony for Best Rap Album.
Untitled unmastered, a collection of songs that were unfinished demos for To Pimp a Butterfly was released by Lamar in March 2016. The release topped the American Billboard 200.
With the April 2017 release of DAMN., which included songs like “Humble” and “Loyalty,” a collaboration with Rihanna, the musician kept impressing fans. DAMN. Not only earned double platinum status, but according to a compilation of year-end polls, B.B.C. News named it the best Album of the year among critics.
Awards And Achievements Of Kendrick Lamar
- In 2012 and 2013, Kendrick Lamar won the B.E.T. Hip Hop Award for “Lyricist of the Year.“
- In 2013, he won the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards’ Vanguard Award and two B.E.T. Awards for “Best New Artist” and “Best Male Hip-Hop Artist.”
- He also took home the ‘Album of the Year honor at the 2013 Soul Train Music Awards for Good Kid, m. A.A.D. City.
- He was named “Best Male Hip-Hop Artist” at the B.E.T. Awards in 2014 and 2015. In addition, he received multiple B.E.T. Hip Hop Awards in 2014, including Album of the Year and Lyricist of the Year.
- He took home the ‘Best Rap Song’ and ‘Best Rap Performance’ Grammys in 2015 for “I.”
- He won the Grammys for “Best Rap Performance” and “Best Rap Song” in 2016 for “Alright.”
- Additionally, he won the Grammy for “Best Rap/Sung Collaboration” for “These Walls” (with Bilal, Anna Wise, and Thundercat).
- He won the Grammy for “Best Music Video” in 2015 for the song “Bad Blood” (with Taylor Swift). In 2016, his album “To Pimp a Butterfly” won the Grammy Award for “Album of the Year.”
Kendrick Lamar | Relationship Status
Since April of 2015, Kendrick Lamar and Whitney Alford have been engaged. The rapper and the esthetician met while both students at California’s Centennial High School became high school sweethearts. She is currently 36 years old. In July 2019, Kendrick and Whitney gave birth to their daughter, who is their first child.
The musician published the Album’s cover image on his Instagram and Twitter accounts on May 11, 2022. Kendrick and Whitney were pictured on the record cover holding their first daughter and alleged second child.
Fans questioned whether the rapper’s music announcement also doubled as the birth of his and Whitney’s second child. However, neither confirmed that they welcomed another child to their growing family.
Kendrick Lamar | Net Worth
The American rapper named Kendrick Lamar has a 75 million dollar fortune. He is among the best-known and richest rappers in the world. Furthermore, Kendrick Lamar has made about $180 million in his career. He grossed $60 million in 2018 alone, ranking among the highest-paid celebrities of the year. Also, He has frequently worked with other well-known figures in the field and has received various honors for his talent.
Social Media Presence
Kendrick Lamar has an enormous fan following on social media that reaches up to 11.5M followers on Instagram and almost 12M on Twitter.
Instagram – kendricklamar
Twitter – @kendricklamar