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His birth name was given to him by his mother in honor of singer Eddie Kendricks. Learn 50 facts about rapper Kendrick Lamar.
1. Kendrick Lamar was formerly known as K. Dot.
2. He grew up in Compton, California.
3. WIth the wisdom from his father, Kendrick had a balance in his life that many of his childhood peers were missing. It is this balance that is responsible for his untold story of "Good Kid, Mad City," the life of young black males trying to escape the influences of Compton.
4. During his upbringing, Kendrick was constantly surrounded by an eclectic range of music.
5. Lending his ear to R&B masters such as the Isley Brothers as well as Hip-Hop legends like Tha Dogg Pound, which helped prepare him for the opportunities that would one day arise in the music industry.
6. At age 16 Kendrick released his first mixtape Y.H.N.I.C., creating a buzz in his hometown and garnering the attention of TopDawg Entertainment's CEO.
7. From then on, Kendrick worked to perfect his skill under TopDawg, releasing four new projects in a five year span; Training Day, No Sleep Till NYC, The Kendrick Lamar EP and his most recent project The Kendrick Lamar OD which received praise from some of the most respected online music sources.
8. Additionally, he has released multiple tracks under the group name Black Hippy with fellow TopDawg counterparts Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul.
9. Kendrick's handwork and unmatched talent has allowed him to work with a wide range of respected music vets such as The Game, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg, Little Brother, Jay Rock, DJ Quik, Scott Storch and Cool & Dre.
10. Apart from his solo career, Lamar is also known as a member of the West Coast hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside his TDE labelmates and fellow South Los Angeles-based rappers Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q.
11. He began to gain major recognition in 2010, after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated.
12. The following year, he released Section.80, his first independent album, exclusively through iTunes.
13. In early 2013, MTV crowned Lamar the No. 1 "Hottest MC in the Game", on their annual list.
14. Lamar also received a total of seven Grammy nominations at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards (2014), including Best New Artist, Album of the Year and Best Rap Song.
15. A year later, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards (2015), Lamar won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for his single, "i".
16. In March 2015, Lamar released his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly, which peaked at number one in various countries, including the U.S. and the UK.
17. His birth name was given to him by his mother in honor of singer Eddie Kendricks.
18. In 1995, at the age of eight, Lamar witnessed his idols, Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre, film the music video for their hit single "California Love", which would later prove to be a very significant moment in Lamar's life.
19. As a teenager, Lamar attended Centennial High School in Compton, where he was a straight-A student.
20. In 2003, at the age of 16, Lamar released his first full-length project, a mixtape titled Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), under the pseudonym K-Dot.
21. Throughout 2006 and 2007, Lamar would appear alongside other up-and-coming West Coast rappers, such as Jay Rock and Ya Boy, as opening acts for veteran West Coast rapper The Game.
22. In 2008, Lamar was prominently featured throughout the music video for Jay Rock's commercial debut single, "All My Life (In the Ghetto)", which features American hip hop superstar Lil Wayne and was backed by Warner Bros. Records.
23. After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, Lamar released his third mixtape in 2009, titled C4, which was heavily themed around Wayne's Tha Carter III LP. Soon after, Lamar decided to drop K-Dot as his stage name and go by his birth name.
24. He subsequently released a self-titled extended play (EP), in late 2009. That same year, Lamar formed Black Hippy, a hip hop supergroup, with his TDE label-mates: Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q.
25. Throughout 2010, Lamar toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on The Independent Grind tour.
26. On September 14, 2010, he released the visuals for "P&P 1.5", a song taken from Overly Dedicated, featuring his Black Hippy cohort Ab-Soul.
27. On September 14, Lamar also released Overly Dedicated to digital retailers under Top Dawg Entertainment, and later on September 23, released it for free online.
28. In early 2011, Lamar was included in XXL's annual Top 10 Freshman Class, and was featured on the cover alongside fellow up-and-coming rappers Cyhi the Prynce, Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Yelawolf and Big K.R.I.T., among others.
29. In August 2011, while performing at a West Los Angeles concert, Lamar was crowned the "New King of the West Coast" onstage by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Game.
30. In October 2011, Lamar appeared alongside fellow American rappers B.o.B, Tech N9ne, MGK, and Big K.R.I.T., in a cypher at the BET Hip Hop Awards.
31. Also in October, Lamar partnered with Windows Phone, and crafted an original song with producer Nosaj Thing entitled "Cloud 10", to promote Microsoft's new product.
32. That same year, Lamar appeared on several high-profile albums including Game's The R.E.D. Album, Tech N9ne's All 6's and 7's, 9th Wonder's The Wonder Years and Canadian recording artist Drake's Grammy Award-winning Take Care, which featured Lamar on a solo track.
33. On February 15, 2012, a song by Lamar titled "Cartoon & Cereal", featuring fellow American rapper Gunplay, was leaked online. Lamar later revealed that the track was for his major-label debut studio album and that he had plans to shoot a video for it.
34. In February, Lamar also embarked on Drake's Club Paradise Tour, opening along with fellow American rappers, ASAP Rocky and 2 Chainz.
35. In March 2012, MTV announced that Lamar had signed a deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, marking the end of his career as an independent artist.
36. Also in March, Lamar appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly, where he spoke on Dr. Dre and his hometown of Compton, California.
37. During 2012, Lamar also toured with the rest of Black Hippy and MMG rapper Stalley on BET's Music Matters Tour.
38. In December 2012, FUSE TV named Lamar's single, "Backseat Freestyle", one of the top 40 songs of 2012.
39. HipHopDX named Lamar "Emcee of the Year" for their 2012 Year End Awards.
40. Just nine months after its release, good kid, m.A.A.d city was certified Platinum by the RIAA, Lamar's first Platinum award.
41. On July 31, 2014, it was announced that Lamar would premiere his short film m.A.A.d at Sundance's inaugural NEXT Fest in Los Angeles on August 9. The film is inspired by good kid, m.A.A.d city, and was directed by Kahlil Joseph, who had previously worked with Lamar on the Yeezus Tour.
42. On May 17, 2015, Lamar featured on the official remix of Taylor Swift's song "Bad Blood", as well as appearing in the music video
43. Lamar has stated that Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas and Eminem are his top five favorite rappers.
44. Tupac Shakur is his biggest influence, and has influenced not only his music, but his day-to-day lifestyle as well.
45. Lamar also gave Lil Wayne (during his Hot Boyz days) credit for influencing his style and praised his longevity.
46. He has said that he also grew up listening to Rakim, Dr. Dre and Tha Dogg Pound.
47. On the topic of his music genre, Lamar has said: "You really can't categorize my music, it's human music."
48. Lamar's projects are usually concept albums. Lamar's album, To Pimp a Butterfly, incorporates elements of funk, spoken word poetry and jazz.
49. In April 2015, he got engaged to his girlfriend Whitney Alford.
50. One of his cousins is Nick Young, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Source: facebook.com/kendricklamar, Wikipedia.org
