202-448: Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. 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 be honored. Lamar began releasing music under
404-621: A comedy feature with Free, Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Paramount Pictures , which is slated to be released on July 4, 2025. Tupac Shakur is Lamar's biggest influence, having impacted both his professional and personal lives. One of his earliest childhood memories is watching him and Dr. Dre film the second music video for their single " California Love " with his father at the Compton Swap Meet . Lamar has described himself as an "offspring" of Shakur's artistry and sociopolitical views. Although some publications regard him as
606-701: A conscious rapper , "Yeah, I'm a conscious artist because I have a conscience ," gave him a sense of perspective. Prodigy of Mobb Deep was a key influence on Lamar's earlier mixtapes, while his rapping technique was stemmed from Lil Wayne and his longevity. Eminem and his album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) introduced him to songwriting elements, such as ad-libs , and impacted his aggressive approach to records such as " Backseat Freestyle ". He took inspiration from N.W.A 's tenacity of representing his hometown with "courage, honesty and artistic brilliance." Various R&B and soul artists, including Marvin Gaye ,
808-426: A gang war . Despite his efforts to avoid them, Lamar soon became heavily involved with Compton's hedonistic gang culture, which led to numerous health scares and encounters with the police. He distanced himself from the lifestyle following an intervention staged by his father. When he was 16, Lamar was baptized and converted to Christianity following the death of a friend. He graduated from high school in 2005 as
1010-676: A joint venture recording contract with Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records ; under the deal, TDE continued to serve as his primary label. His first commercial single, " The Recipe " featuring Dr. Dre, premiered on rhythmic crossover radio on April 2. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City , Lamar's second album and first under a major record label, was released on October 22, 2012. He worked with producers such as Pharrell Williams , Hit-Boy , Scoop DeVille , Jack Splash , and T-Minus to create an atmospheric West Coast hip hop album with heavy gangsta rap influences. Its lead single , " Swimming Pools (Drank) ", marked Lamar's first top 20 single on
1212-465: A producer . They also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Rappers may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works a cappella or to a beat. Hip hop music predates the introduction of rapping into hip hop culture, and rap vocals are absent from many hip hop tracks, such as " Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop) " by Man Parrish ; " Chinese Arithmetic " by Eric B. & Rakim ; "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)" and "We're Rocking
1414-419: A straight-A student. He flirted with the idea of studying psychology and astronomy in college, but suspended his academic pursuits to focus on his music career. During high school, Lamar adopted the stage name K.Dot and began freestyling and battle rapping at school. His performances caught the attention of fellow student Dave Free , who traveled from Inglewood to watch him rap. They quickly formed
1616-515: A "brilliant combination of the timeless and the modern, the old school and the next-level." Damn became Lamar's most commercially successful album. It spent four non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, marking his third consecutive number-one album, and debuted with 603,000 units sold. All of the album's 14 songs debuted on the Hot 100, including the top-20 singles " Loyalty " and " Love ". Damn
1818-566: A "voice" for the disenfranchised youth of low-income and marginalized economic areas, as the hip hop culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives. Hip hop's early evolution occurred around the time that sampling technology and drum-machines became widely available to the general public at a cost that was affordable to the average consumer—not just professional studios. Drum-machines and samplers were combined in machines that came to be known as MPC 's or ' Music Production Centers ', early examples of which would include
2020-638: A 1984 history of hip hop. Hip hop and rap music are often used interchangeably but the term "hip hop" has also been historically used to describe a culture of which music is a part. Historically hip hop is a cultural movement that emerged in the South Bronx in New York City during the 1970s which included MCing (or rapping), graffiti art (or aerosol art), break dancing, DJing and knowledge. Musical genres from which hip hop developed include funk , blues , jazz and rhythm and blues recordings from
2222-523: A Butterfly was named Best Rap Album, "Alright" won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, "These Walls" won Best Rap/Sung Performance , and "Bad Blood" won Best Music Video . During the ceremony, Lamar performed a critically acclaimed medley of "The Blacker the Berry", "Alright", and an untitled song . He previously performed untitled songs on The Colbert Report (December 2014) and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (January 2016). After receiving
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#17327988173492424-531: A Butterfly , and its producer Tony Visconti praised Lamar as a "rulebreaker" in the music industry. Pharrell Williams called him "one of the greatest writers of our times" and likened him to Bob Dylan . Lamar has also been cited as a strong influence on the works of various modern artists, including BTS , Dua Lipa , Tyler, the Creator , Roddy Ricch , and Rosalía . Lorde regards him as "the most popular and influential artist in modern music." Despite becoming
2626-416: A DJ mixer. Prior to 1979, recorded hip hop music consisted mainly of PA system soundboard recordings of live party shows and early hip hop mixtapes by DJs. Puerto Rican DJ Disco Wiz is credited as the first hip hop DJ to create a "mixed plate," or mixed dub recording, when, in 1977, he combined sound bites, special effects and paused beats to technically produce a sound recording. The first hip hop record
2828-563: A Roland 808. Later, samplers such as the E-mu SP-1200 allowed not only more memory but more flexibility for creative production. This allowed the filtration and layering different hits, and with a possibility of re-sequencing them into a single piece. With the emergence of a new generation of samplers such as the AKAI S900 in the late 1980s, producers did not have to create complex, time-consuming tape loops. Public Enemy 's first album
3030-466: A basic chorus, to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (e.g. "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat"). Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic delivery, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort to differentiate themselves and to entertain the audience. These early raps incorporated the dozens, a product of African American culture. Kool Herc &
3232-663: A best-selling genre in the mid-1990s and the top-selling music genre by 1999. Hip hop became a category at the Grammy Awards in 1989 with the addition of the Best Rap Performance award and was given to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince for their song "Parents Just Don't Understand". In 1990, they became the first hip hop act to perform at the Grammys. The popularity of hip hop music continued through
3434-418: A big concept or it's so subtle you can't even tell until you get to 20 listens." Fans and publications have theorized that his albums are related to different forms of mass media . Section.80 is regarded as a short story collection inspired and themed around events that impacted the millennial generation , such as Ronald Reagan's presidency . The nonlinear narrative structure of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
3636-737: A black D.J., as were other white DJ's at the station. Dr. Hep Cat's rhymes were published in a dictionary of jive talk, The Jives of Dr. Hepcat , in 1953. Jockey jack is the infamous Jack the Rapper of Family Affair fame, after his radio convention that was a must attend for every rap artist in the 1980s and 1990s These jive talking rappers of the 1950s black appeal radio format were the source and inspiration of Soul singer James Brown , and musical 'comedy' acts such as Rudy Ray Moore , Pigmeat Markham and Blowfly that are often considered "godfathers" of hip hop music. Within New York City, performances of spoken-word poetry and music by artists such as
3838-525: A brief relationship with Nitty Scott , and was featured on XXL ' s 2011 Freshman Class list. He released his debut studio album, Section.80 , on July 2, 2011, which was supported by its lead single " HiiiPower ". The album explored conscious and alternative hip hop styles and experimented with "stripped-down" jazz production. Ogden Payne of Forbes considers it to be "the genesis to [Lamar] successfully balancing social commentary with mass appeal." Section.80 marked Lamar's first appearance on
4040-581: A catalyst in the upsurge of social conscience across multiple generations; challenging the status quo by encouraging listeners to reexamine social institutions. Throughout the Black Lives Matter movement and events following the 2016 U.S. presidential election , his work has been used as protest anthems . According to American studies and media scholar William Hoynes, Lamar's progressive elements places him amongst other African American artists and activists who "worked both inside and outside of
4242-411: A child due to the "empty" and "one-sided" nature of the sermons . After hearing a recording of his voice for the first time, Lamar became interested in rapping . He was introduced to police brutality after experiencing the first day of the 1992 Los Angeles riots . When he was five years old, he witnessed a murder for the first time while sitting outside of his apartment unit, as a teenage drug dealer
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#17327988173494444-550: A close-knit team of musicians, rather than constantly seek high-profile talent. He has been working with his longtime producer, Sounwave , since his 2009 self-titled EP. Kendrick Lamar marked a pivotal change in Lamar's artistry. Unlike his earlier mixtapes, which consisted of freestyles over CHR and urban radio singles, the EP incorporated melancholic and "doleful" original production that emphasized his lyrics. Austere jazz production
4646-542: A drug addict in the crime drama series Power (2018). After his two concert tours ended, he entered a four-year recording hiatus; although he contributed to Beyoncé's The Lion King: The Gift , Schoolboy Q's Crash Talk , and Sir 's Chasing Summer (all 2019). As his publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music was beginning to expire, Lamar signed a long-term worldwide deal with Broadcast Music, Inc. He and Whitney Alford welcomed their first child, Uzi, on July 26, 2019. On March 5, 2020, Lamar and Dave Free launched
4848-427: A form of empowerment and self-expression has solidified its significance beyond mere entertainment, making it a significant cultural force worldwide. The origin of the phrase "hip-hop" is unknown but a very old example of the phrase appears in scene II of an anonymously written satirical play from 1671 called The Rehearsal , thought to be written by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and others. A character in
5050-431: A friendship over their love of hip hop and the television sitcom Martin . They recorded music together at Free's makeshift garage studio and at his older brother's Hyde Park apartment. Lamar's earliest performances were held at a "super hood" comedy club and behind a tattoo parlor. Free was his hype man during that time, while his older brother was his manager and disc jockey. Lamar recorded five mixtapes throughout
5252-481: A hip hop trio signed to Sugar Hill Records , the first all-female group to release a hit rap record, Funk You Up . The roots of rapping are found in African American music and bear similarities to traditional African music , particularly that of the griots of West African culture. The African American traditions of signifyin' , the dozens , and jazz poetry all influence hip hop music, as well as
5454-456: A historic building. The equipment consisted of numerous speakers, turntables, and one or more microphones. By using this technique, DJs could create a variety of music, but according to Rap Attack by David Toop "At its worst the technique could turn the night into one endless and inevitably boring song". KC the Prince of Soul , a rapper-lyricist with Pete DJ Jones, is often credited with being
5656-399: A kid sometimes—I would hurt myself and they would expect me not to cry." In school, Lamar was a quiet and observant student who excelled academically and had a noticeable stutter. His first grade teacher at Robert E. McNair Elementary School encouraged him to become a writer after she heard him correctly use the word "audacity". As a seventh grade student at Vanguard Learning Center, Lamar
5858-537: A later survey of albums up until the early 2000s. It was made available in "bookazine" format on newsstands in the US from April 27 to July 25. The new list contained 38 albums not present in the previous one, 16 of them released after 2003. The top listings remained unchanged. On September 22, 2020, another revision of the list was published. It drew upon a new survey conducted with "more than 300 artists, producers, critics, and music-industry figures", including: Each voter
6060-510: A lineage that runs through James Brown 's foundational work in the 1960s, 1970s psychedelia, Prince's "sweaty" phantasmagoria in the 1980s, and 1990s gangsta rap . He was ranked the tenth-best solo singer of the 21st century by The Times in 2023. Branded as a "master of storytelling " by The New Yorker , Lamar has been referred to as one of the greatest lyricists in modern hip hop by several publications and his peers. Pharrell Williams suggests that what makes his songwriting stand out
6262-571: A member of the Cold Crush Brothers , stated that "hip hop saved a lot of lives". For inner-city youth, participating in hip hop culture became a way of dealing with the hardships of life as minorities within America, and an outlet to deal with the risk of violence and the rise of gang culture. MC Kid Lucky mentions that "people used to break-dance against each other instead of fighting". Inspired by DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa created
Kendrick Lamar - Misplaced Pages Continue
6464-406: A national college tour with Steve Aoki and his first international tour. He struggled with depression, survivor's guilt and suicidal ideation during promotional events upon learning of the deaths of three close friends. From October to December 2013, Lamar opened for Kanye West on his Yeezus Tour , despite disapproval from his label and management team. He was baptized for a second time during
6666-665: A new direct licensing agreement with Interscope. Lamar's conflict with Drake re-escalated in March 2024 with his surprise appearance on Future and Metro Boomin 's track " Like That ". The song spent three consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lamar's third number-one single and his first song to debut at the top spot. From April to May, he released the Drake-aimed diss singles " Euphoria ", " 6:16 in LA ", " Meet
6868-614: A paradigm shift in the development of hip hop, with the introduction of samples from rock music, as demonstrated in the albums King of Rock and Licensed to Ill . Hip hop prior to this shift is characterized as old-school hip hop . In 1980, the Roland Corporation launched the TR-808 Rhythm Composer. It was one of the earliest programmable drum machines, with which users could create their own rhythms rather than having to use preset patterns. Though it
7070-443: A person that really didn't dive too headfirst into wanting and needing attention. I mean, we all love attention, but for me, I don't necessarily adore it." His lyrics have been a topic of media scrutiny, leading to both praise and controversy. Hip hop music African Asian Middle Eastern European North American Oceanic South American Hip hop or hip-hop , formerly known as disco rap ,
7272-447: A point system to weigh votes for 1,600 submitted titles. The Beatles ' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band topped the list, with Rolling Stone ' s editors describing it as "the most important rock 'n' roll album ever made". The Beach Boys ' Pet Sounds (1966) was ranked second in recognition of its influence on Sgt. Pepper . The list also included compilations and "greatest hits" collections. An amended list
7474-530: A prominent figure in popular culture, publications have noted Lamar's unconventional approach to celebrity culture . He is notoriously reserved, reluctant to publicly discuss his personal life and generally avoids using social media . He is also decisive when engaging with mainstream media outlets, although journalists have complimented his " Zen -like" calmness and down to earth personality. According to Lamar, he has become "so invested in who I am outside of being famous, sometimes that's all I know. I've always been
7676-545: A public dispute with Spotify regarding the streaming service's Hate Content & Hateful Conduct policy. Lamar was featured on five songs throughout the year: " Dedication " by Nipsey Hussle , " Mona Lisa " by Lil Wayne, " Tints " by Anderson .Paak , and "Wow Freestyle" by Jay Rock; he also executive produced the latter's album Redemption . At the American Music Awards , Black Panther: The Album won Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album. Lamar made his acting debut as
7878-519: A reaction against disco and eventually incorporated characteristics of hip hop during the early 1980s. The DJ-based genre of electronic music behaved similarly, eventually evolving into underground styles known as house music in Chicago and techno in Detroit. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles. New York City became a veritable laboratory for
8080-399: A record that "brims with comedy , complexity and the many voices in [Lamar's] head." The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 242,000 copies sold; the highest first-week album sales of the year by a male rapper. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City surpassed The Eminem Show (2002) to become the longest-charting hip hop studio album on the Billboard 200. In October 2022, it became
8282-454: A request from basketball player LeBron James to share the untitled works, Lamar released his first compilation album, Untitled Unmastered , on March 4, 2016. It contained eight untitled, dated, unfinished, and entirely self-written tracks that were intended to be included on To Pimp a Butterfly , and continued the album's exploration of jazz, funk, soul, and avant-garde styles. Untitled Unmastered received critical acclaim and debuted atop
Kendrick Lamar - Misplaced Pages Continue
8484-503: A result, the hip hop genre, barely known outside of the Bronx at the time, grew at an astounding rate from 1977 onward. DJ Kool Herc's house parties gained popularity and later moved to outdoor venues to accommodate more people. Hosted in parks, these outdoor parties became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers, where "instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy." Tony Tone,
8686-444: A second time during Tech N9ne 's Independent Grind Tour, where Overly Dedicated was introduced to Dr. Dre . After watching the music video for the song "Ignorance Is Bliss" on YouTube , he reached out to Lamar with hopes of working with him and Snoop Dogg on his unfinished album, Detox . He also considered signing him to his record label, Aftermath Entertainment , and was encouraged to by artists such as J. Cole . Lamar entered
8888-444: A strategy that impressed Henderson but bewildered Tiffith. He was offered a recording contract by TDE in 2005, joining Jay Rock as the label's first signings. Upon signing, he purchased a minority stake in the label for an undisclosed amount. Lamar had a brief stint as a security guard when he started working on music with Jay Rock at TDE's in-house recording studio. The bond he formed with him, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q led to
9090-470: A street organization called Universal Zulu Nation , centered on hip hop, as a means to draw teenagers out of gang life, drugs and violence. The lyrical content of many early rap groups focused on social issues, most notably in the seminal track "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five , which discussed the realities of life in the housing projects. "Young black Americans coming out of
9292-438: A way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of soldiers marching. Cowboy later worked "hip hop" into a part of his stage performance saying something along the lines of what was adopted by other artists such as The Sugarhill Gang in 1979 in one of the earliest rap records " Rapper's Delight "I said a hip-hop, a hibbit, hibby-dibby, hip-hip-hop and you don't stop". Universal Zulu Nation founder and music artist Afrika Bambaataa
9494-518: A wide range of literary and cinematic techniques , such as hip hop skits and voice-overs , to allow his audience to follow internal and external storylines . His fusion of various film styles and his sonic influence has elevated his works to be some of the most "consistently poignant" in hip hop, and promoted the advancement of the narrative device . Lamar, who self-identifies as a musician and writer, begins his songwriting process with an assortment of premeditated thoughts that he jotted down over
9696-418: Is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s from the African American community. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music (usually built around drum beats ) that often accompanies rapping , a rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. In the early 1990s, a professor of African American studies at Temple University said, "Hip-hop
9898-509: Is a tribute project to Lil Wayne 's Tha Carter III (2008) and was supported by his co-sign. Reeves felt that the mixtape was a "wrongheaded homage to a year-old, well-worn album." From February to July, he toured with the Game on his LAX Tour as a hype man for Jay Rock. Lamar disliked how his stage name diverted attention away from his true identity, and decided to retire it. He opted to use his first and middle names professionally and regards
10100-493: Is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone . It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in a special issue of the magazine in 2003 and a related book in 2005. Critics have accused the lists of lending disproportionate weight to artists of particular races and genders. In
10302-461: Is based on an "updated version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list". The podcast is hosted by Brittany Spanos, a staff writer at the magazine. The first version of the list, published as a magazine in November 2003, was based on the votes of 273 rock musicians, critics, and industry figures, each of whom submitted a ranked list of 50 albums. The accounting firm Ernst & Young devised
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#173279881734910504-407: Is because he "knows how to be very disciplined with a subject matter, he knows that stickiness is important, and he knows that it has to be great." American Songwriter notes that for as much as Lamar is a musician, lyricist, and emcee, he is also "a playwright , a novelist , a short story author. He's literary within the art form of music." Lamar's reflective narrative songwriting pulls from
10706-562: Is billed as a coming-of-age short film that chronicles Lamar's harsh teenage experiences in his native Compton. Its cinematic scope has been compared to the screenplays written by filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino . To Pimp a Butterfly unfolds as both a poem and blank letter that explores the responsibilities of being a role model and documents life as an African American during Barack Obama's presidency . Damn
10908-584: Is credited with first using the term as a five element culture of which the music belonged; although it is also suggested that it was sometimes used as a derogatory term. The term was used in an article of February 24, 1979 by reporter Robert Flipping Jr. in the New Pittsburgh Courier The article is about DJs and discothèque nightclubs in Pittsburgh and does not mention rap music but says this: "D.J. Starsky ( Lovebug Starsky ), one of
11110-491: Is labeled as an introspective satire that explores the dualities of human nature and morality . Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers takes on the form of a theatrical play , with confessional lyrics based on Lamar's experiences in therapy . As one of the most influential musicians of the 2010s decade , Lamar has been deemed a paradigm shift in contemporary hip hop and popular culture . His discography became
11312-552: Is not a member of a particular gang, he grew up with close affiliates of the Westside Pirus . Despite suffering hardships, Lamar remembered having "good memories" of his childhood that sparked his interest in hip hop music , such as sneaking into his parents' house parties . He was raised secular , although he occasionally attended church services and was taught the Bible by his grandmother. He felt "spiritually unsatisfied" as
11514-496: Is rooted in West Coast hip hop , and has continually reinvented his sound by branching out into other genres. Due to his contributions to its audience growth, through his appeal to mainstream listeners, music critics generally categorize Lamar as a progressive rap artist. He suggests that his music is genreless, explaining in a 2012 interview, "You really can't categorize my music, it's human music." PopDust opined that during
11716-451: Is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own." By the 21st century, the field of rappers had diversified by both race and gender. The music developed as part of the broader hip-hop culture , a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing /rapping, DJing/ scratching with turntables , breakdancing , and graffiti art . While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip hop" more properly denotes
11918-517: Is the longest-charting hip hop studio album on the Billboard 200 . To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), Lamar's third album, embraced historical African-American music styles such as jazz and funk . It became his first of four consecutive number-one albums on the Billboard 200 chart, and was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 2010s . Lamar's work on the remix of Taylor Swift 's " Bad Blood " garnered his first number-one song on
12120-638: Is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered at first without accompaniment and later done over a beats . This spoken style was influenced by the African American style of "capping", a performance where men tried to outdo each other in originality of their language and tried to gain the favor of the listeners. The basic elements of hip hop—boasting raps, rival "posses" (groups), uptown "throw-downs", and political and social commentary—were all long present in African American music. MCing and rapping performers moved back and forth between
12322-463: Is this dictionary is: "Hip-hop, adv. [v. hip + hop v.; or re-duplication of hop, with alternation of lighter and heavier vowel : cf. drip-drop, tip-top: With hopping movement; with successive hops." A similar phrase "hippity hop" of unknown origin goes to least back to the 1800s and appears in a poem, "Spring Weather", written by Elizabeth Cummings published in an 1882 children's magazine called Wide Awake . The illustrated poem begins "Hippity hop to
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#173279881734912524-481: Is usually considered new wave and fuses heavy pop music elements, but there is an extended rap by Harry near the end. Boxer Muhammad Ali , as an influential African American celebrity, was widely covered in the media. Ali influenced several elements of hip hop music. Both in the boxing ring and in media interviews, Ali became known in the 1960s for being "rhyming trickster". Ali used a "funky delivery" for his comments, which included "boasts, comical trash talk , [and]
12726-559: Is widely regarded to be the Sugarhill Gang 's " Rapper's Delight ", from 1979. It was the first hip hop record to gain widespread popularity in the mainstream and was where hip hop music got its name from (from the opening bar). However, much controversy surrounds this assertion as some regard the March 1979 single " King Tim III (Personality Jock) " by the Fatback Band , as a rap record. There are various other claimants for
12928-536: The Billboard 200 chart, where it peaked at number 113. It sold approximately 5,000 copies in its first week of tracking, with minimal coverage from mainstream media outlets. To promote the album, Lamar performed at small venues and college campuses across the U.S. He was dubbed the " New King of the West Coast " by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and the Game during a performance in West Los Angeles . Throughout
13130-507: The Billboard Hot 100 . His critical and commercial success continued with his R&B and pop -leaning fourth album Damn (2017), yielding his second Hot 100 number-one single " Humble ". The double album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022) concluded Lamar's tenure with TDE and Aftermath. His 2024 feud with Drake spawned the Hot 100 number-ones " Like That " and " Not Like Us ". His sixth studio album, GNX (2024),
13332-666: The 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. Two of his concert tours , the Damn Tour (2017–2018) and the Big Steppers Tour (2022–2024), are amongst the highest-grossing rap tours in history. Three of his works were included in Rolling Stone ' s 2020 revision of the 500 greatest albums of all time . Outside of music, Lamar co-founded the creative company PGLang and ventured into film with his creative partner, Dave Free . Kendrick Lamar Duckworth
13534-600: The 2000s ; his first, Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year) , was released on April 15, 2003, through Konkrete Jungle Musik. The mixtapes primarily consisted of freestyles over the production of popular hip hop songs . In a series of retrospective reviews for Rolling Stone , Mosi Reeves complimented Lamar's "unerring" sense of rhythm and timing found in Hub City Threat: Minor of
13736-576: The 64th Annual Grammy Awards . Lamar made additional contributions to Baby Keem's album The Melodic Blue by providing background vocals and appearing on the song " Range Brothers ". In November, he held a "theatrical exhibition of his musical eras" during his second headlining performance at Day N Vegas, and featured on Terrace Martin's album Drones . He co-headlined the Super Bowl LVI halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent , and Mary J. Blige on February 13, 2022, which won
13938-540: The BET Hip Hop Awards . In support of To Pimp a Butterfly , Lamar embarked on the Kunta's Groove Sessions Tour, which ran from October to November 2015 in select intimate venues across the U.S. For his work on the album and other collaborations throughout the year, Lamar earned 11 nominations at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards , the most by a rapper in a single night . He led the winners with five awards: To Pimp
14140-501: The Billboard 200 with 178,000 album-equivalent units , becoming Lamar's second consecutive number-one project. Throughout the year, he was featured on four commercially successful songs: Beyoncé 's " Freedom ", Maroon 5 's " Don't Wanna Know ", the Weeknd 's " Sidewalks ", and Travis Scott 's " Goosebumps ". On March 1, 2017, during a cover story for T , Lamar confirmed that he was working on his fourth album, Damn . He released
14342-619: The Do It Any Way You Wanna Do rhythm by the People's Choice as re-recorded by Sly and Robbie ), where he even used a New York accent, consciously aiming at the new NYC rap market. The Jamaican DJ dance music was deeply rooted in the sound system tradition that made music available to poor people in a very poor country where live music was only played in clubs and hotels patronized by the middle and upper classes. By 1973 Jamaican sound system enthusiast DJ Kool Herc moved to
14544-758: The Linn 9000 . The first sampler that was broadly adopted to create this new kind of music was the Mellotron used in combination with the TR-808 drum machine. Mellotrons and Linn's were succeeded by the Akai , in the late 1980s. Turntablist techniques – such as rhythmic " scratching " (pushing a record back and forth while the needle is in the groove to create new sounds and sound effects , an approach attributed to Grand Wizzard Theodore ), beat mixing and/or beatmatching , and beat juggling – eventually developed along with
14746-489: The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) . After releasing the promotional single " The Heart Part 5 ", Lamar's fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers , was released on May 13, 2022. He and Alford used the album's cover art to announce the birth of their son, Enoch. The double album drew on jazz, R&B, trap , and soul influences; Alford served as its primary narrator. It
14948-562: The State of the Union Address by The Guardian , while Billboard described it as " Shakespearean ". HuffPost opined that his work is a "great" piece of journalism because it "speaks from the prerogative of black communities facing oppression and directly attacks the institutions responsible for their pain," an achievement most reporters cannot attain. Lamar tries to carry a conceptual idea inside of his music, "whether it's
15150-421: The break section of the song, showing off athleticism, spinning on the stage to 'break-dance' in the distinctive, frenetic style. Although there were some early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood , Kurtis Blow , and Spoonie Gee , the frequency of solo artists did not increase until later with the rise of soloists with stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J . Most early hip hop
15352-494: The call and response patterns of African and African American religious ceremonies. Early popular radio disc jockeys of the Black-appeal radio period broke into broadcast announcing by using these techniques under the jive talk of the post WWII swing era in the late 1940s and the 1950s. DJ Nat D. was the M.C. at one of the most pitiless places for any aspiring musician trying to break into show business, Amateur Night at
15554-440: The mixing and mastering stages, and is known for working long hours in the recording studio. "You gotta be hands on and know the different sounds and frequencies ," Lamar explained to Variety . "What makes people move, what melodies stick with you, taking the higher octaves and the lower octaves and learning how to intertwine that in a certain frequency, how to manipulate sound to your advantage." Lamar chooses to work with
15756-571: The second-greatest rapper of all time , behind Jay-Z . Described as a "blazing" technical rapper and "relentless searcher" by The New York Times , Lamar's "limber, dexterous" flow switches from derivative to generative metrics , while incorporating internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes . His rhymes are typically manipulated within common time , allowing him to subtly control his metrical phonology and suggest formal ambiguities similar to pop and rock repertoires. Some of his rhyme manipulations feature "flexible" new school styles evoking
15958-570: 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 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 (2012) and its top 40 singles " Swimming Pools (Drank) ", " Poetic Justice " and " Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe ". It
16160-656: The "Graffiti Capital of the World" in 1971. Philadelphia native DJ Lady B recorded "To the Beat Y'All" in 1979, and became the first female solo hip hop artist to record music. Schoolly D , starting in 1984 and also from Philadelphia, began creating a style that would later be known as gangsta rap . Hip hop music was influenced by disco music, as disco also emphasized the key role of the DJ in creating tracks and mixes for dancers, and old school hip hop often used disco tracks as beats. At
16362-436: The 'talking blues' tradition. The first full-length Jamaican DJ record was a duet on a Rastafarian topic by Kingston ghetto dwellers U-Roy and Peter Tosh named Righteous Ruler (produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1969). The first DJ hit record was Fire Corner by Coxsone's Downbeat sound system DJ, King Stitt that same year; 1970 saw a multitude of DJ hit records in the wake of U-Roy's early, massive hits, most famously Wake
16564-514: The 1960s, 1950s, and earlier, including several records by Bo Diddley and gospel group The Jubalaires , whose 1946 song "Noah" is often named as the first recorded instance of rap . Muhammad Ali 's 1963 spoken-word album I Am the Greatest is regarded by some writers as an early example of hip hop. Pigmeat Markham 's 1968 single " Here Comes the Judge " is one of several songs said to be
16766-628: The 1970s, when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African American youth residing in the Bronx . At block parties, DJs played percussive breaks of popular songs using two turntables and a DJ mixer to be able to play breaks from two copies of the same record, alternating from one to the other and extending the " break ". Hip-hop's early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became widely available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with
16968-489: The 1990s, while others use "rigid" old school elements recalling the 1980s. Lamar frequently uses syncopation in his melodies to create contradictions between his lyrical content and rhythms. With Good Kid, M.A.A.D City , he liberally plays with pronunciation , inflections , and delivery to mirror the album's emotional range. Lamar possesses a versatile tenor vocal range and a raspy, half-shout timbre , where "his throat sounds dry and his mouth sounds wet." André 3000
17170-434: The 2010s, a decade that was arguably defined by hip hop, Lamar constantly pushed the boundaries of what the genre could be. Lamar did not care for music production during the beginning of his career. However, as he placed an emphasis on songwriting and "making material that's universal", he grew more exacting and adventurous with his compositions . He is heavily involved with every aspect of his production process, including
17372-468: The 2012 Rolling Stone list as a "soulless, canon-centric [list] of the same tired old titles", adding: "looking at their 500, when the only album in their top 10 less than 40 years old is London Calling , I think I prefer the NME' s less critically-correct approach." Responding to the 2020 revision, Consequence of Sound ' s Alex Young wrote that the lesser representation of white male rock musicians
17574-599: The Big Steppers was named Best Rap Album, while "The Heart Part 5" won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. In May 2023, Lamar was featured on the standalone version of Beyoncé 's single " America Has a Problem " and appeared on Baby Keem's single " The Hillbillies ". He won four awards at the BET Hip Hop Awards , and set four records in the process. Lamar was featured in the documentary concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé and executive produced Baby Keem 's short film adaptation of The Melodic Blue . He quietly shedded his ties with Aftermath Entertainment and signed
17776-413: The Big Steppers. Damn appealed to mainstream listeners through its pop and R&B-influenced production, while the scattered and distorted instrumentals of Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers was designed to make listeners feel anxious and uncomfortable. Several media outlets consider Lamar to be the greatest and most important rapper of his generation. Billboard , Forbes and Vibe named him
17978-462: The Black community. Old-school hip hop was the first mainstream wave of the genre, marked by its disco influence and party-oriented lyrics. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles and spread around the world. New-school hip hop was the genre's second wave, marked by its electro sound, and led into golden age hip hop , an innovative period between
18180-422: The Bronx to its global reach today, hip hop has served as a voice for the disenfranchised, shedding light on issues such as racial inequality, poverty, and police brutality. Artists such as Public Enemy , Tupac Shakur , and Kendrick Lamar have used their platforms to address systemic injustices, fostering dialogue and inspiring activism. Hip hop's ability to confront societal issues while simultaneously providing
18382-465: The Bronx, taking with him Jamaica's sound system culture, and teamed up with another Jamaican, Coke La Rock, at the mike. Although other influences, most notably musical sequencer Grandmaster Flowers of Brooklyn and Grandwizard Theodore of the Bronx contributed to the birth of hip hop in New York, and although it was downplayed in most US books about hip hop, the main root of this sound system culture
18584-732: The Caribbean, where Jocko Henderson and Jockey Jack were American DJs who were listened to at night from broadcast transmitters located in Miami, Florida. Jocko came to have an outsized influence on Jamaican Emcees during the '50s as the R&;B music played on the Miami stations was different from that played on JBC , which re-broadcast BBC and local music styles. In Jamaica, DJs would set up large roadside sound systems in towns and villages, playing music for informal gatherings, mostly folks who wandered down from country hills looking for excitement at
18786-472: The Damn Tour , from July 2017 to July 2018. It grossed $ 62.7 million in worldwide revenue, becoming one of the highest-grossing hip hop tours in history. At the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards , Lamar opened the ceremony with a performance of "DNA" and "Humble". He later won five awards, including Best Hip Hop Video , Best Direction, and Video of the Year for "Humble"; the latter win marked the first time an artist won
18988-404: The Furious Five who is sometimes credited with the term as it relates to Hip Hop as we know it today (although it was not documented). Lovebug Starski , Keef Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco rap . It is believed by some that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in
19190-529: The Grahams ", and " Not Like Us "; all of which were either positively received or acclaimed by critics. The latter installment marked the first rap song to lead the Hot 100 with a limited tracking week. A celebratory one-off concert, titled The Pop Out: Ken & Friends , was held on Juneteenth . On September 8, 2024, it was announced that Lamar would headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show , marking
19392-522: The Herculoids were the first hip hop group to gain recognition in New York, but the number of MC teams increased over time. Often these were collaborations between former gangs , such as Afrikaa Bambaataa 's Universal Zulu Nation —now an international organization. Melle Mel , a rapper with the Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC". During
19594-654: The Isley Brothers , Michael Jackson , Teddy Pendergrass , Sade , and Anita Baker , have influenced Lamar. He performed with Prince , who impacted his vocal register , at Paisley Park to celebrate the release of the latter's 2014 albums Plectrumelectrum and Art Official Age , which GQ described as "five minutes of brilliant insanity." To Pimp a Butterfly was influenced by the works of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis and funk collective Parliament-Funkadelic . The nature of Lamar's musical style has been described as "anti-flamboyant, interior and complex." He
19796-461: The Last Poets , Gil Scott-Heron and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a significant impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and '1970s, and thus the social environment in which hip hop music was created. AM radio at many stations were limited by the 'broadcast Day' as special licenses were required to transmit at night. Those that had such licenses were heard far out to sea and in
19998-574: The Music Play " (1983), Freeez 's "I.O.U." (1983), Midnight Star 's "Freak-a-Zoid" (1983), Chaka Khan 's " I Feel For You " (1984). DJ Pete Jones, Eddie Cheeba, DJ Hollywood , and Love Bug Starski were disco-influenced hip hop DJs. Their styles differed from other hip hop musicians who focused on rapid-fire rhymes and more complex rhythmic schemes. Afrika Bambaataa , Paul Winley, Grandmaster Flash , and Bobby Robinson were all members of third s latter group. In Washington, D.C. go-go emerged as
20200-570: The Palace theatre on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. There he was master of ceremonies from 1935 until 1947 along with his sideman, D.J. Rufus Thomas . It was there he perfected the dozens, signifyin' and the personality jock jive patter that would become his schtick when he became the first black radio announcer on the air south of the Mason–Dixon line. Jive popularized black appeal radio, it
20402-635: The Planet" by Hashim ; and "Destination Earth" by Newcleus . However, the majority of the genre has been accompanied by rap vocals, such as the Sci-fi influenced electro hip hop group Warp 9 . Female rappers appeared on the scene in the late 1970s and early 80s, including Bronx artist MC Sha-Rock , member of the Funky Four Plus One , credited with being the first female MC and the Sequence ,
20604-679: The Shakur of his generation, he strives to maintain his individuality . Shakur's The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996), The Notorious B.I.G. 's Life After Death (1997), and DMX 's It's Dark and Hell is Hot (1998) influenced Lamar's artistic direction: "I don't look at these albums like just music; it sounds like an actual film." He also listened and took influence from Mos Def and Snoop Dogg during his childhood, and said, "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Eazy-E ." 50 Cent 's mixtape success inspired Lamar to become an independent artist , while his view on being categorized as
20806-555: The Temptations . He was an only child until the age of seven and was described as a loner by his mother. Eventually, his parents had his two younger brothers and younger sister, businesswoman Kayla Sawyer ( née Duckworth). His cousins include basketball player Nick Young and rapper Baby Keem . Lamar and his family lived in Section 8 housing, were reliant on welfare and food stamps , and experienced homelessness . Although he
21008-583: The Town and many others. As the tradition of remix (which also started in Jamaica where it was called 'version' and 'dub') developed, established young Jamaican DJ/rappers from that period, who had already been working for sound systems for years, were suddenly recorded and had many local hit records, widely contributing to the reggae craze triggered by Bob Marley's impact in the 1970s. The main Jamaican DJs of
21210-493: The U.S. Billboard Hot 100 . Its other singles, " Backseat Freestyle ", " Poetic Justice ", and " Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe ", enjoyed moderate commercial success. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City was met with widespread critical acclaim, who lauded Lamar's nonlinear songwriting and thematic scope. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune applauded him for giving gangsta tropes a "twist, or sometimes upend[ing] them completely" on
21412-628: The U.S. through the remix of singer-songwriter Taylor Swift 's " Bad Blood ". It won Video of the Year and Best Collaboration at the MTV Video Music Awards , while the music video for "Alright" won Best Direction . Lamar later re-recorded his featured appearance on the " Bad Blood " remix in support of Swift's counteraction to her masters dispute . He opened the BET Awards with a controversial performance of "Alright" and won Best Male Hip Hop Artist. He also won three awards at
21614-519: The United States and young immigrants and children of immigrants from countries in the Caribbean. Some were influenced by the vocal style of the earliest African American radio MCs (including Jocko Henderson 's Rocket Ship Show of the 1950s, which rhymed and was influenced by scat singing ), which could be heard over the radio in Jamaica. The first records by Jamaican DJs, including Sir Lord Comic ( The Great Wuga Wuga , 1967) came as part of
21816-595: The Year , but criticized his "clumsy" lyricism and that his flow was "overly beholden to ... Jay-Z and Lil Wayne". Free, who was working as a computer technician , introduced the mixtape to record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith while attempting to repair his computer. Tiffith was impressed with Lamar's burgeoning abilities and invited him to partake in an audition process for entry into his newly established independent record label , Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). During his audition, Lamar freestyled for Tiffith and record executive Terrence "Punch" Henderson for two hours,
22018-488: The Yeezus Tour ended, Lamar started working on his third album. He earned seven nominations at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards (January 2014), including Best New Artist , Best Rap Album , and Album of the Year for Good Kid, M.A.A.D City . He was winless at the ceremony, which several media outlets felt was a snub . Macklemore , who won Best New Artist and Best Rap Album, shared a text message that he sent Lamar after
22220-470: The album were " The Blacker the Berry ", " King Kunta ", " Alright ", and " These Walls "–all of which enjoyed moderate commercial success. Selling 324,000 copies in its first week, To Pimp a Butterfly became Lamar's first number-one album on the Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart . Billboard commented that "twenty years ago, a conscious rap record wouldn't have penetrated the mainstream in
22422-444: The album, regardless of credit, and produced on select songs. Music critics consider Black Panther: The Album to be a milestone achievement, giving praise towards its lyrics and cultural significance. It spent two consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, and earned the most single-week streams for a soundtrack album in history. Lamar opened the 60th Annual Grammy Awards with a critically acclaimed medley . He won five awards during
22624-450: The basis of hip hop music. Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He dubbed his dancers "break-boys" and "break-girls", or simply "b-boys" and "b-girls". According to Herc, "breaking" was also street slang for "getting excited" and "acting energetically". DJs such as Grand Wizzard Theodore , Grandmaster Flash , and Jazzy Jay refined and developed
22826-676: The beginning of the tour, and experienced a nervous breakdown near the end. Lamar won three awards each during the BET Awards and BET Hip Hop Awards , including Best New Artist at the former. Lamar was featured on six songs throughout the year: " YOLO " by the Lonely Island featuring Adam Levine , the remix of " How Many Drinks? " by Miguel , " Collard Greens " by Schoolboy Q, " Control " with Big Sean and Jay Electronica , " Give It 2 U " by Robin Thicke featuring 2 Chainz, and " Love Game " by Eminem . His performance on "Control"
23028-444: The birth of hip hop in the hip hop culture. It is hard to pinpoint the exact musical influences that most affected the sound and culture of early hip hop because of the multicultural nature of New York—hip hop's early pioneers were influenced by a mix of cultures, due to the city's diversity. The city experienced a heavy Jamaican hip hop influence during the 1990s. This influence was brought on by cultural shifts particularly because of
23230-402: The breaks. Rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat . Hip hop music was not officially recorded to play on radio or television until 1979, largely due to poverty during the genre's birth and lack of acceptance outside ghetto neighborhoods. The genre of music began spreading through block parties throughout
23432-569: The candy Shop four little men in a row" and the phrase appears a few more times. The hopping depicted in the illustration seems to crossover later to describing dances such as the Lindy Hop , which began in Harlem in the late 1920s. Later dance parties in the 1970s with DJs predated rap music but rap music would evolve out of them. In an article in Medium , Jeff Chang writes: "Father Amde Hamilton of
23634-484: The ceremony ended, in which he apologized for winning over him. The incident was the subject of widespread media attention, controversy and Internet memes . During the awards ceremony, Lamar performed a mashup of "M.A.A.D City" and " Radioactive " with rock band Imagine Dragons , which was met with critical acclaim. Lamar opened for Eminem on the Rapture Tour from February to July 2014. On August 9, he premiered
23836-524: The ceremony: Damn was named Best Rap Album, "Humble" won Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video and "Loyalty" won Best Rap/Sung Performance. Damn won the Pulitzer Prize for Music on April 16, 2018, marking the first time a musical composition outside of the classical and jazz genres received the honor. From May to June 2018, Lamar co-headlined The Championship Tour with several TDE artists. While on tour, he became embroiled in
24038-469: The civil rights movement have used hip hop culture in the 1980s and 1990s to show the limitations of the Hip Hop Movement." Hip hop gave young African Americans a voice to let their issues be heard; "Like rock-and-roll, hip hop is vigorously opposed by conservatives because it romanticises violence, law-breaking, and gangs". It also gave people a chance for financial gain by "reducing the rest of
24240-421: The course of one year. His personal experiences are a common source of inspiration, but he also pulls ideas from meeting new people, traveling, and experiencing different cultures . A devout Christian , he additionally shares his spiritual triumphs and struggles on his songs. He is an avid note-taker , and has developed keywords, phrases , and sounds to help him "trigger the exact emotions" he felt when writing
24442-513: The creation of new hip hop sounds. Early examples of the diversification process can be heard in tracks such as Grandmaster Flash's " The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel " (1981), a single consisting entirely of sampled tracks as well as Afrika Bambaataa 's " Planet Rock " (1982), and Warp 9 's " Nunk ", (1982) which signified the fusion of hip hop music with electro . In addition, Rammellzee & K-Rob 's "Beat Bop" (1983)
24644-522: The creative entity PGLang , which was described at the time as a multilingual, artist-friendly service company. In October, he signed a worldwide administration agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group . Lamar announced through an August 2021 blog post that he was in the process of producing his final album under TDE, confirming rumors that emerged last year that he would be leaving to focus on PGLang. The following week, he appeared on Baby Keem's single " Family Ties ", which won Best Rap Performance at
24846-413: The crossover success of its artists. During the late 2000s and early 2010s "blog era", rappers were able to build up a following through online methods of music distribution, such as social media and blogs, and mainstream hip hop took on a more melodic, sensitive direction following the commercial decline of gangsta rap. The trap and mumble rap subgenres have become the most popular form of hip hop during
25048-466: The crowd. Eventually, this introducing role developed into longer sessions of spoken, rhythmic wordplay, and rhyming, which became rapping. By 1979, hip hop music had become a mainstream genre. Herc also developed upon break-beat deejaying, where the breaks of funk songs—the part most suited to dance, usually percussion-based—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This form of music playback, using hard funk and rock, formed
25250-550: The earliest hip hop record. Leading up to hip hop, there were spoken-word artists such as the Last Poets who released their debut album in 1970, and Gil Scott-Heron , who gained a wide audience with his 1971 track " The Revolution Will Not Be Televised ". These artists combined spoken word and music to create a kind of "proto-rap" vibe. Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s in New York City . As expressed by Mark D. Naison of Fordham University , "Hip hop
25452-406: The early 1970s B-boying arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive and frenetic style. The style was documented for release to a worldwide audience for the first time in documentaries and movies such as Style Wars , Wild Style , and Beat Street . The term "B-boy" was coined by DJ Kool Herc to describe the people who would wait for
25654-556: The early 1970s were King Stitt , Samuel the First , Count Machuki, Johnny Lover (who 'versioned' songs by Bob Marley and the Wailers as early as 1971), Dave Barker, Scotty, Lloyd Young, Charlie Ace and others, as well as soon-to-be reggae stars U-Roy , Dennis Alcapone , I-Roy , Prince Jazzbo , Prince Far I , Big Youth and Dillinger . Dillinger scored the first international rap hit record with Cocaine in my Brain in 1976 (based on
25856-420: The early days of hip hop were characterized by divisions between fans and detractors of disco music. Hip hop had largely emerged as "a direct response to the watered down, Europeanised, disco music that permeated the airwaves". The earliest hip hop was mainly based on hard funk loops sourced from vintage funk records. By 1979, disco instrumental loops/tracks had become the basis of much hip hop music. This genre
26058-570: The end of the week. There the DJs would allow 'Toasts' by an Emcee, which copied the style of the American DJs listened to on AM transistor radios. It was by this method that Jive talk, rapping and rhyming was transposed to the island and locally the style was transformed by 'Jamaican lyricism', or the local patois . Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s in New York City from the multicultural exchange between African American youth from
26260-434: The endless quotabl[e]" lines. According to Rolling Stone , his " freestyle skills" (a reference to a type of vocal improvisation in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure) and his "rhymes, flow, and braggadocio " would "one day become typical of old-school MCs" like Run-DMC and LL Cool J , the latter citing Ali as an influence. Hip hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and
26462-512: The first hip hop studio album to spend over ten consecutive years on the chart. From September to October 2012, Lamar headlined the BET Music Matters Tour with Black Hippy and Stalley . He won Lyricist of the Year at the BET Hip Hop Awards , and was featured on ASAP Rocky 's single " Fuckin' Problems " alongside Drake and 2 Chainz , which reached the top 10 in the U.S. Lamar embarked on two headlining concert tours in 2013:
26664-596: The first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC". Street gangs were prevalent in the poverty of the South Bronx, and much of the graffiti, rapping, and b-boying at these parties were all artistic variations on the competition and one-upmanship of street gangs. Sensing that gang members' often violent urges could be turned into creative ones, Afrika Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation , a loose confederation of street-dance crews, graffiti artists, and rap musicians. By
26866-425: The first time a rapper has led the performance as a solo act. Three days later, he released an untitled song to his Instagram account. On November 22, he shared a song titled "GNX", exclusively on YouTube , followed with a surprise release of the album of the same name on streaming the same day. Outside of music, Lamar starred in the animated biographical film Piece by Piece (2024). He signed on to produce
27068-518: The formation of the hip hop supergroup , Black Hippy . Lamar released his second mixtape, Training Day , on December 30, 2005. Reeves complimented its varied production and "well-executed" concept, which was based on the 2001 film of the same name . In 2006, Lamar signed an artist development deal with Def Jam Recordings and was featured on two singles by the Game . He also heavily contributed to Jay Rock's first two mixtapes, Watts Finest Vol. 1 and Watts Finest Vol. 2: The Nickerson Files . Lamar
27270-481: The heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New York and the American-born Jamaican youth who were coming of age during the 1990s. In the 1970s, block parties became increasingly popular in New York, particularly among African American, Caribbean and Hispanic youth residing in the Bronx . Block parties incorporated DJs, who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music . Due to
27472-633: The influential rap precursors the Watts Prophets once told me that, when he was growing up along Central Avenue in 1950s Los Angeles, the older folks used to call teen house parties 'them old hippity hops'." The earliest known instance of "hip hop" as a compound phrase in a song lyric is in a song about dancing by the doo-wop group the Dovells in 1963 called You Can't Sit Down , the lyric is: "...you gotta slop, bop, flip flop, hip hop, never stop". Keef Cowboy , rapper with Grandmaster Flash and
27674-424: The initial demo . Considered to be a "radio-friendly but overtly political rapper" by Pitchfork , and a populist by The Wall Street Journal , Lamar's songwriting regularly infuses political criticism and social commentary concerning African-American culture . Common themes explored include racial inequality , institutional discrimination , and black empowerment . Lamar's critiques has been compared to
27876-421: The late 1970s, the culture had gained media attention, with Billboard magazine printing an article titled "B Beats Bombarding Bronx", commenting on the local phenomenon and mentioning influential figures such as Kool Herc. The New York City blackout of 1977 saw widespread looting, arson, and other citywide disorders especially in the Bronx where a number of looters stole DJ equipment from electronics stores. As
28078-411: The late 1990s to early-2000s "bling era" with hip hop influences increasingly finding their way into other genres of popular music, such as neo soul , nu metal , and R&B . The United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk , a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics, and alternative hip hop began to secure a place in the mainstream, due in part to
28280-452: The local dance hall culture, which featured 'specials,' unique mixes or 'versions' pressed on soft discs or acetate discs, and rappers (called DJs) such as King Stitt , Count Machuki, U-Roy , I-Roy , Big Youth and many others. Recordings of talk-over, which is a different style from the dancehall's DJ style, were also made by Jamaican artists such as Prince Buster and Lee "Scratch" Perry ( Judge Dread ) as early as 1967, somehow rooted in
28482-402: The mainstream to advance a counterculture that opposes the racist stereotypes being propagated in white-owned media and culture." He has been credited with reviving jazz rap and the music video as a form of social commentary. Lamar's music has consistently garnered critical acclaim and commercial success—a rare combination in the music industry —as well as support from artists who have paved
28684-552: The mid-1980s and mid-1990s that also developed hip hop's own album era . The gangsta rap subgenre , focused on the violent lifestyles and impoverished conditions of inner-city African American youth, gained popularity at this time. West Coast hip hop was dominated by G-funk in the early-mid 1990s, while East Coast hip hop was dominated by jazz rap , alternative hip hop , and hardcore hip hop . Hip hop continued to diversify at this time with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap and Atlanta hip hop . Hip hop became
28886-454: The mid-late 2010s and early 2020s. In 2017, rock music was usurped by hip hop as the most popular genre in the United States. In recent years, hip hop's influence has transcended musical boundaries, impacting fashion, language, and cultural trends worldwide. Amidst its evolution, hip hop has also been a vehicle for social commentary and political expression, reflecting the struggles and aspirations of marginalized communities. From its roots in
29088-480: The middle, unnoticed, of a large quarrelsome crowd." Praised for his willingness to use his voice as an instrument, Lamar adopts different cadences , tones , modulations , and timbres to suggest conflicting personalities, paint distinct emotions, and communicate stories using characters and personas . His falsetto register, which he calls the "ghetto falsetto", has been likened to Curtis Mayfield 's. MTV writes that by manipulating his voice, Lamar calls back to
29290-724: The more prominent based disc jockeys ... He is also responsible for the derivation of the 'Hip-Hop'." Lovebug Starsky is also credited for the term by Afrika Bambaataa in a January 1982 interview by Michael Holman in the East Village Eye . Holman stating "Hip hop: the all inclusive tag for the rapping, breaking, graffiti-writing, crew fashion wearing street sub-culture." The term gained further currency in September of that year in another Bambaataa interview in The Village Voice , by Steven Hager , later author of
29492-400: The music scene outside of New York City; it could be found in cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Atlanta , Chicago, Washington, D.C., Baltimore , Dallas , Kansas City , San Antonio , Miami, Seattle , St. Louis , New Orleans , Houston , and Toronto . Indeed, " Funk You Up " (1979), the first hip hop record released by a female group, and the second single released by Sugar Hill Records ,
29694-404: The name change as part of his career growth." For his eponymous debut extended play (2009), Lamar eschewed the creative process of his mixtapes in favor of a project heavily focused on his songwriting over "lovely yet doleful" production. Reeves described the EP as the "first standout project" of his career, praising its melancholic tone. He felt that the project restored his reputation following
29896-481: The original list, most of the selections were albums by white male rock musicians, with the top position held by the Beatles ' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). In 2012, Rolling Stone published a revised edition, drawing on the original and a later survey of albums released up until the early 2000s. Another updated edition of the list was published in 2020, with 269 new entries replacing albums from
30098-406: The people who helped establish hip hop culture, including DJ Kool Herc , DJ Disco Wiz , Grandmaster Flash , and Afrika Bambaataa were of Latin American or Caribbean origin. DJ Kool Herc is widely recognized as the creator of hip hop, credited with pioneering the technique of extending the instrumental "breakbeat" on a record during a party in the Bronx on August 11, 1973, which is considered to be
30300-446: The percussion breaks, creating a musical accompaniment or base that could be rapped over in a manner similar to signifying . Rapping , also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically and rhythmically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat . Beats, almost always in 4/4 time signature , can be created by sampling and/or sequencing portions of other songs by
30502-453: The play named Bayes says: "Ay, is't not, I gad, ha? For, to go off hip hop, hip hop, upon this occasion, is a thousand times better than any conclusion in the world, I gad." This play and two other later sources are mentioned as an entry "Hip-hop" in a multi-volume dictionary from 1901 called A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles , in Volume 5 H to K , on page 296; the definition
30704-470: The positive reception, DJs began isolating the percussive breaks of popular songs. This technique was common in Jamaican dub music , and was largely introduced into New York by immigrants from the Caribbean, including DJ Kool Herc, one of the pioneers of hip hop. Herc has repeatedly denied any direct connections between Jamaican musical traditions and early hip hop, stating that his own biggest influence
30906-405: The practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music , though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of the culture, including DJing , turntablism , scratching , beatboxing , and instrumental tracks . Hip hop as both a musical genre and a culture was formed during
31108-498: The predominance of songs packed with a mix of boasting, 'slackness' and sexual innuendo and a more topical, political, socially conscious style. The role of the MC originally was as a Master of Ceremonies for a DJ dance event. The MC would introduce the DJ and try to pump up the audience. The MC spoke between the DJ's songs, urging everyone to get up and dance. MCs would also tell jokes and use their energetic language and enthusiasm to rev up
31310-500: The prize for a video they co-directed. Throughout the year, he was featured on the remix to Future 's " Mask Off ", SZA's " Doves in the Wind ", and Rich the Kid 's " New Freezer ". He won Best Male Hip Hop Artist at the BET Awards , while Damn won Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Album at the American Music Awards . A collector's edition of the album, which featured its tracklist in reverse order,
31512-486: The promotional single " The Heart Part 4 " on March 23, before releasing the album's lead single " Humble " on March 30. The song debuted at number two on the Hot 100 and reached the top spot in its second week of charting. It is Lamar's second single, and first as a lead artist, to top the chart. Damn was released on April 14. It utilized a more mainstream musical palette than To Pimp a Butterfly , exploring R&B and pop elements. Rolling Stone described its sonics as
31714-484: The publicity surrounding the list, rock critic Jim DeRogatis , a former Rolling Stone editor, published Kill Your Idols: A New Generation of Rock Writers Reconsiders the Classics in 2004. The book featured a number of critics arguing against the high evaluation of various "great" albums, many of which had been included in the list. Jonny Sharp, a contributor to NME ' s own 500 greatest albums list , described
31916-497: The same rhyming, cadence laden rap style. Once the white owned stations realized the new upstarts were grabbing their black market share and that Big Band and swing jazz was no longer 'hip', some white DJ's emulated the southern 'mushmouth' and jive talk, letting their audience think they too were African American, playing the blues and Be-Bop . John R Richbourg had a southern drawl that listeners to Nashville's WLAC nighttime R&B programming were never informed belonged not to
32118-411: The same time however, hip hop music was also a backlash against certain subgenres of late 1970s disco. While the early disco was African American and Italian-American-created underground music developed by DJs and producers for the dance club subculture, by the late 1970s, disco airwaves were dominated by mainstream, expensively recorded music industry -produced disco songs. According to Kurtis Blow ,
32320-465: The short film M.A.A.D , which he starred in, commissioned and produced, during the Sundance Institute 's Next Fest. He released " I " as the lead single to his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly , on September 23, which won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards . His performance of "I" during his appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live
32522-595: The song that first popularized rap music in the United States and around the world. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa released the single " Planet Rock ", which incorporated electronica elements from Kraftwerk 's " Trans-Europe Express " and "Numbers" as well as YMO 's "Riot in Lagos". The Planet Rock sound also spawned a hip-hop electronic dance trend, electro music , which included songs such as Planet Patrol 's "Play at Your Own Risk" (1982), C Bank's "One More Shot" (1982), Cerrone 's "Club Underworld" (1984), Shannon 's " Let
32724-502: The sting of criticism he received over C4 . After striking a music publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music , Lamar released his fourth mixtape, Overly Dedicated , on September 14, 2010. It was his first project to be purchased through digital retailers. Reeves described Overly Dedicated as a partial "victory lap" that marked a shift in his songwriting. The mixtape peaked at number 72 on Billboard ' s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Lamar served as Jay Rock's hype man for
32926-427: The title of first hip hop record. By the early 1980s, all the major elements and techniques of the hip hop genre were in place, and by 1982, the electronic (electro) sound had become the trend on the street and in dance clubs. New York City radio station WKTU featured Warp 9 's " Nunk ", in a commercial to promote the station's signature sound of emerging hip hop Though not yet mainstream, hip hop had begun to permeate
33128-483: The two previous editions. It was based on a new survey and did not consider the surveys conducted for the 2003 and 2012 lists. The 2020 list featured more artists of color and female artists, topped by Marvin Gaye 's What's Going On (1971). It received similar criticisms as the previous lists. Another revision was published in 2023. Since 2020 Rolling Stone has also produced a weekly podcast called Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums , which, according to magazine,
33330-412: The use of breakbeats, including cutting and scratching. As turntable manipulation continued to evolve a new technique that came from it was needle dropping. Needle dropping was created by Grandmaster Flash, it is prolonged short drum breaks by playing two copies of a record simultaneously and moving the needle on one turntable back to the start of the break while the other played. The approach used by Herc
33532-461: The way [Lamar] did with To Pimp a Butterfly . His sense of timing is impeccable. In the midst of rampant cases of police brutality and racial tension across America, he spews raw, aggressive bard while possible cutting a rug." Pitchfork opined that the album "forced critics to think deeply about music." Lamar announced his engagement to Alford in April 2015. He earned his first number-one single in
33734-413: The way for his advancement, earning him the nickname " King Kendrick ". His Pulitzer Prize win was considered a sign of the American cultural elite formally recognizing hip hop as a "legitimate artistic medium". Senior artists such as Nas , Bruce Springsteen , Eminem, Dr. Dre , Prince, and Madonna have praised his musicianship. David Bowie 's final album, Blackstar (2016), was inspired by To Pimp
33936-419: The world to consumers of its social concerns." In late 1979, Debbie Harry of Blondie took Nile Rodgers of Chic to such an event, as the main backing track used was the break from Chic's " Good Times ". The new style influenced Harry, and Blondie's later hit single from 1981 " Rapture " became the first single containing hip hop elements to hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 —the song itself
34138-412: The year to reach one billion streams on Spotify. In support of Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers , Lamar embarked on the Big Steppers Tour , which ran from July 2022 to March 2024. The tour grossed $ 110.9 million in worldwide revenue, becoming the highest-grossing rap tour ever at the time. Lamar wrote, co-directed, and executive produced the short film adaptation of the song " We Cry Together ", which
34340-438: The year, he appeared on the Game's The R.E.D. Album , Tech N9ne's All 6's and 7's , 9th Wonder 's The Wonder Years , and Drake 's Take Care . Lamar began planning his second album before Section.80 was released. From February to April 2012, he opened for Drake on his Club Paradise Tour . He began working with J. Cole on a collaborative album around that time. On March 8, The Fader reported that Lamar had signed
34542-431: Was James Brown , from whom he says rap originated. Even before moving to the U.S., Herc says his biggest influences came from American music: I was listening to American music in Jamaica and my favorite artist was James Brown. That's who inspired me. A lot of the records I played were by James Brown. Herc also says that he was not influenced by Jamaican sound system parties, as he was too young to experience them when he
34744-466: Was "the biggest takeaway". According to CNN 's Leah Asmelash, "The change represents a massive shift for the magazine, moving to recognize more contemporary albums and a wider range of tastes." Conversely, Jonathan McNamara of The Japan Times criticized the list for underrepresenting Asian and non-Anglophone artists, stating that "It seems a shame then that Rolling Stone 's musical brain trust of writers and industry contributors [...] didn't take
34946-507: Was Jamaican. The roots of rap in Jamaica are explained in detail in Bruno Blum 's book, 'Le Rap'. DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock provided an influence on the vocal style of rapping by delivering simple poetry verses over funk music breaks, after party-goers showed little interest in their previous attempts to integrate reggae-infused toasting into musical sets. DJs and MCs would often add call and response chants, often consisting of
35148-415: Was a surprise release . Lamar has received various accolades throughout his career, including 17 Grammy Awards ( the third-most won by a rapper ), a Primetime Emmy Award , a Brit Award , four American Music Awards , six Billboard Music Awards , 11 MTV Video Music Awards (including two Video of the Year wins) and 37 BET Hip Hop Awards (the most won by any artist). Time listed him as one of
35350-528: Was a 'slow jam' which had a dub influence with its use of reverb and echo as texture and playful sound effects. " Light Years Away ", by Warp 9 (1983), (produced and written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher) described as a "cornerstone of early 80s beatbox afrofuturism," by the UK paper, The Guardian , introduced social commentary from a sci-fi perspective. In the 1970s, hip hop music typically used samples from funk and later, from disco. The mid-1980s marked
35552-500: Was a commercial failure, over the course of the decade the 808 attracted a cult following among underground musicians for its affordability on the used market, ease of use, and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, "booming" bass drum . It became a cornerstone of the emerging electronic, dance, and hip hop genres, popularized by early hits such as Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force 's " Planet Rock ". The 808
35754-439: Was asked to submit a ranked list of 50 favorite albums. This time, the list included more musicians who were female and people of color, with many such artists represented at higher rankings than on the previous lists. 86 of the entries were 21st-century releases. One hundred fifty-four new entries were not on either of the two previous editions, and rap albums figured three times as much. Marvin Gaye 's What's Going On (1971)
35956-665: Was blended with alternative rap styles on Section.80 , with instrumentals drawing from R&B, boom bap , psychedelia , and downtempo . Good Kid, M.A.A.D City abandoned the tastes of contemporary hip hop by exploring a subtle, atmospheric side of West Coast hip hop and gangsta rap . To Pimp a Butterfly is an amalgamation of genres synonymous with African-American music , most prominently jazz, funk , and soul. It redefined jazz rap by highlighting improvisation and soloing rather than primarily using sampling . Minimalist arrangements are incorporated in Damn and Mr. Morale &
36158-430: Was born multicultural", gaining influences from African American and Anglo-Caribbean musical traditions, as well as African American and Latin American dancing traditions. Hip hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and a voice for the disenfranchised youth of marginalized backgrounds and low-income areas, as the hip hop culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives. Many of
36360-598: Was born on June 17, 1987, in Compton, California . He is the first child of former gang hustler Kenneth "Kenny" Duckworth and hairdresser Paula Oliver. Both of his parents are African Americans from the South Side of Chicago . When they were teenagers, they relocated to Compton in 1984, due to his father's affiliation with the Gangster Disciples . Lamar was named after singer-songwriter Eddie Kendricks of
36562-468: Was called "disco rap". Ironically, the rise of hip hop music also played a role in the eventual decline in disco's popularity. The disco sound had a strong influence on early hip hop music. Most of the early rap/hip-hop songs were created by isolating existing disco bass-guitar bass lines and dubbing over them with MC rhymes. the Sugarhill Gang used Chic 's " Good Times " as the foundation for their 1979 hit " Rapper's Delight ", generally considered to be
36764-476: Was created with the help of large tape loops. The process of looping a break into a breakbeat now became more commonly done with a sampler, now doing the job which so far had been done manually by the DJs using turntables. In 1989, DJ Mark James, under the moniker "45 King", released "The 900 Number", a breakbeat track created by synchronizing samplers and vinyl records. Rolling Stone%27s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "
36966-515: Was described as a "wake up call" for the hip hop industry and commenced his decade-long feud with Drake. Rolling Stone noted that his verse made the track one of the most important hip hop songs of the last decade. Lamar was named Rapper of the Year by GQ during their annual Men of the Year edition. Following the issue's release, Tiffith pulled him from performing at GQ ' s accompanying party and accused Steve Marsh's profile on him of containing "racial overtones". After his opening stint for
37168-406: Was dominated by groups where collaboration between the members was integral to the show. An example would be the early hip hop group Funky Four Plus One , who performed in such a manner on Saturday Night Live in 1981. The earliest hip hop music was performed live, at house parties and block party events, and it was not recorded. DJs would play breaks from popular songs using two turntables and
37370-439: Was entirely profane , but it helped him manage his psychological trauma and depression , which he struggled with during his adolescence. Inge played a vital role in his intellectual growth, often critiquing his lexicon and suggesting prompts to strengthen his prose. Lamar later attended Centennial High School . He was enrolled in summer school during the tenth grade, which he dreaded because it forced him to be embroiled in
37572-585: Was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine; its popularity with hip hop in particular has made it one of the most influential inventions in popular music, comparable to the Fender Stratocaster 's influence on rock. Over time sampling technology became more advanced. However, earlier producers such as Marley Marl used drum machines to construct their beats from small excerpts of other beats in synchronisation , in his case, triggering three Korg sampling-delay units through
37774-484: Was featured at the number one spot. A revision to the 2020 list was created in 2023, replacing some older albums with newer releases from the 2020s. The original Rolling Stone 500 was criticized for being male-dominated, outmoded and almost entirely Anglo-American in focus. Writing in USA Today , Edna Gundersen described the list as predictable and "weighted toward testosterone-fueled vintage rock". Following
37976-437: Was in Jamaica. In a 2020 interview, DJ Kool Herc's sister Cindy Campbell said that she wanted Jamaica to reclaim hip hop because, as she put it, "we are the ones who bought the style and the technique to America, which [later] became hip-hop." Because the percussive breaks in funk, soul and disco records were generally short, Herc and other DJs began using two turntables to extend the breaks. On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc
38178-539: Was introduced to poetry by his English teacher, Regis Inge. Inge integrated the literary form into his curriculum as a response to the growing racial tensions amongst his students. Through its connection to hip hop, Lamar studied rhymes, metaphors and double entendres , which made him fall in love with songwriting: "You can put all your feelings down on a sheet of paper, and they'd make sense to you. I liked that." Instead of completing assignments for other classes, Lamar would scribe lyrics in his notebooks. His initial writing
38380-405: Was killed in a drive-by shooting . "It done [ sic ] something to me right then and there," Lamar later admitted to NPR Music . "It let me know that this is not only something that I'm looking at, but it's something that maybe I have to get used to." His parents nicknamed him "Man-Man" due to his precocious behavior, although he confessed it "put a stigma on the idea of me reacting as
38582-731: Was lauded by contemporary critics. Lamar was featured on three songs in 2014: " It's On Again " by Alicia Keys , " Babylon " by SZA , and " Never Catch Me " by Flying Lotus . He won Lyricist of the Year for the second consecutive time at the BET Hip Hop Awards . Originally scheduled to arrive at a later date, To Pimp a Butterfly was released on March 15, 2015. The album incorporated various genres synonymous with African American music , such as jazz , funk , and soul . To capture its essence, Lamar recruited producers such as Sounwave , Pharrell Williams, Terrace Martin , and Thundercat . Whitney Alford, Lamar's high school sweetheart , contributed background vocals on select tracks. Other singles from
38784-499: Was performed by the Sequence , a group from Columbia, South Carolina which featured Angie Stone . Despite the genre's growing popularity, Philadelphia was, for many years, the only city whose contributions could be compared to New York City's. Hip hop music became popular in Philadelphia in the late 1970s. The first released record was titled "Rhythm Talk", by Jocko Henderson . The New York Times had dubbed Philadelphia
38986-471: Was released as a book in 2005, with an introduction by guitarist Steven Van Zandt . Some compilation albums were removed, and Robert Johnson 's The Complete Recordings was substituted for both of his King of the Delta Blues Singers volumes, making room for a total of eight new entries on the list. On May 31, 2012, Rolling Stone published a revised list, drawing on the original and
39188-523: Was released in December. On January 4, 2018, Lamar announced that he would be curating and executive producing Black Panther: The Album , the soundtrack from the 2018 film of the same name . It was released on February 9 and was supported with three commercially successful singles: " All the Stars ", " King's Dead ", and " Pray for Me ". Lamar contributed lead and background vocals to every track on
39390-442: Was released worldwide in September 2022. An accompanying concert film for the tour, Kendrick Lamar Live: The Big Steppers Tour , was released in November. Lamar won Favorite Male Hip Hop Artist at the American Music Awards , and Favorite Hip Hop Album for Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers . He received six awards at the BET Hip Hop Awards , including Album of the Year . During the 65th Annual Grammy Awards , Mr. Morale &
39592-464: Was soon widely copied, and by the late 1970s, DJs were releasing 12-inch records where they would rap to the beat. Popular tunes included Kurtis Blow 's " The Breaks " and the Sugarhill Gang 's " Rapper's Delight ". Herc and other DJs would connect their equipment to power lines and perform at venues such as public basketball courts and at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York, now officially
39794-412: Was the DJ at his sister's back-to-school party. He extended the beat of a record by using two record players, isolating the percussion "breaks" by using a mixer to switch between the two records. Herc's experiments with making music with record players became what we now know as breaking or " scratching ". A second key musical element in hip hop music is emceeing (also called MCing or rapping). Emceeing
39996-446: Was the first rapper that introduced him to singing sensibilities in hip hop, and he writes melody-driven songs as practice for his albums. Lamar became comfortable with his vocals over time, to the point where he feels confident enough to create singing-based albums. Pitchfork noticed how his harmonies on To Pimp a Butterfly never made him sound alone throughout his "desolate" performance; comparing his vocal layering to "standing in
40198-564: Was the language of the black youth, the double entendres and slightly obscene wordplay was a godsend to radio, re-invigorating ratings at flagging outlets that were losing audience share and flipping to the new format of R&B with black announcers . The 10% of African Americans who heard his broadcasts found that the music he promoted on radio in 1949 was also in the jukeboxes up north in the cities. They were also finding other D.J's like Chicago's Al Benson on WJJD , Austin's Doctor Hep Cat on KVET and Atlanta's Jockey Jack on WERD speaking
40400-678: Was the seventh best-selling album of 2017, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), while "Humble" was the sixth best-selling single of the year. By June 2018, it became the first album by a rapper or solo artist to have every song featured earn a gold certification or higher from the Recording Industry Association of America . To support Damn , Lamar embarked on his first headlining arena tour,
40602-430: Was ultimately let go from Def Jam after an encounter with its president and chief executive officer, Jay-Z ; he later described it as "one of those situations where I wasn't ready." Lamar and Jay Rock released a collaborative mixtape, title No Sleep 'til NYC , on December 24, 2007. Reeves thought the project was a "fun cypher session, nothing more, nothing less." Lamar's third mixtape C4 , released on January 30, 2009,
40804-418: Was widely acclaimed by critics, who applauded Lamar's vulnerable songwriting and scope. Every track from the album charted on the Hot 100; its three singles–" N95 ", " Silent Hill ", and " Die Hard "–debuted in the top-10. Selling 295,000 units in its first week, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers became Lamar's fourth consecutive number-one album on the Billboard 200. It later became the first hip hop album of
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