Kendrick Lamar Section 80 Mixtape

[Algernon Alcala]

KendrickLamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is the only musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music. His songwriting, noted for its cinematic quality, often includes social commentary and political criticism.

Lamar began releasing music under the stage name K.Dot while he was attending high school. He signed with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005, where he co-founded the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy. Following the success of his alternative rap debut album Section.80 (2011), Lamar secured a joint contract with 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 is the longest-charting hip hop studio album on the Billboard 200, spending over ten consecutive years on the chart.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born on June 17, 1987, in Compton, California.[1] He is the first child of Kenneth "Kenny" Duckworth, a former gang hustler who previously worked at KFC,[2] and Paula Oliver, a hairdresser who previously worked at McDonald's.[2] Both of his parents are African Americans from the South Side of Chicago.[2] When they were teenagers, they relocated to Compton in 1984, due to his father's affiliation with the Gangster Disciples.[3] Lamar was named after singer-songwriter Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations.[4] He was an only child until the age of seven and was described as a loner by his mother.[2][5] Eventually, his parents had his two younger brothers and younger sister, businesswoman Kayla Sawyer (ne Duckworth).[6] His cousins include basketball player Nick Young and rapper Baby Keem.[7][8]

Lamar and his family lived in Section 8 housing, were reliant on welfare and food stamps, and experienced homelessness.[9][10] Although he is not a member of a particular gang, he grew up with close affiliates of the Westside Pirus.[3] 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.[2][11] He was raised secular, although he occasionally attended church services and was taught the Bible by his grandmother.[12] He felt "spiritually unsatisfied" as a child due to the "empty" and "one-sided" nature of the sermons.[13]

In school, Lamar was a quiet and observant student who excelled academically and had a noticeable stutter.[17] 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".[18] As a seventh grade student at Vanguard Learning Center, Lamar was introduced to poetry by his English teacher, Regis Inge.[19] Inge integrated the literary form into his curriculum as a response to the growing racial tensions amongst his students.[19] 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."[2][19] Instead of completing assignments for other classes, Lamar would scribe lyrics in his notebooks.[19] His initial writing was entirely profane, but it helped him manage his psychological trauma and depression, which he struggled with during his adolescence.[19][20] Inge played a vital role in his intellectual growth, often critiquing his lexicon and suggesting prompts to strengthen his prose.[19]

Lamar later attended Centennial High School.[21] He was enrolled in summer school during the tenth grade, which he dreaded because it forced him to be embroiled in a gang war.[21] 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.[2] He distanced himself from the lifestyle following an intervention staged by his father.[5] When he was 16, he was baptized and converted to Christianity following the death of a friend.[22][23] Lamar entered a lasting romantic relationship with his classmate, beautician Whitney Alford.[24] They experienced numerous difficulties within their relationship due to Lamar's sex addiction and repeated infidelity.[25] Lamar graduated from high school in 2005 as a straight-A student.[26][27] He flirted with the idea of studying psychology and astronomy in college, but suspended his academic pursuits to focus on his music career.[2][28]

During high school, Lamar adopted the stage name K.Dot and began freestyling and battle rapping at school.[1] His performances caught the attention of fellow student Dave Free, who traveled from Inglewood to watch him rap.[1] They quickly formed a friendship over their love of hip hop and the television sitcom Martin.[1] They recorded music together at Free's makeshift garage studio and at his older brother's Hyde Park apartment.[1] Lamar's earliest performances were held at a "super hood" comedy club and behind a tattoo parlor.[1] Free was his hype man during that time, while his older brother was his manager and disc jockey.[1] Lamar recorded five mixtapes throughout 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.[29] The mixtapes primarily consisted of freestyles over the production of popular hip hop songs.[29]

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 the Year, but criticized his "overly beholden" flow and "clumsy" lyricism.[29] Free, who was working as a computer technician, introduced the mixtape to record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith while attempting to repair his computer.[30] 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).[30] During his audition, Lamar freestyled for Tiffith and record executive Terrence "Punch" Henderson for two hours, a strategy that impressed Henderson but bewildered Tiffith.[5][31] He was offered a recording contract by TDE in 2005, joining Jay Rock as the label's first signings.[5] Upon signing, he purchased a minority stake in the label for an undisclosed amount.[31]

After striking a music publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music,[43] Lamar released his fourth mixtape, Overly Dedicated, on September 14, 2010. It was his first project to be purchased through digital retailers.[44] He and Whitney Alford separated prior to its release.[45] Reeves described Overly Dedicated as a partial "victory lap" that marked a shift in his songwriting.[29] The mixtape peaked at number 72 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[46] Lamar served as Jay Rock's hype man for a second time during Tech N9ne's Independent Grind Tour, where Overly Dedicated was introduced to Dr. Dre.[47][48] 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.[47][49] He also considered signing him to his record label, Aftermath Entertainment, and was encouraged to by artists such as J. Cole.[50][51]

Lamar entered a brief relationship with emcee Nitty Scott,[52][53] and was featured on XXL's 2011 Freshman Class list.[54] He released his debut studio album, Section.80, on July 2, 2011,[55] which was supported by its lead single "HiiiPower".[56] The album explored conscious and alternative hip hop styles and experimented with "stripped-down" jazz production.[57][58] Ogden Payne of Forbes considers it to be "the genesis to [Lamar] successfully balancing social commentary with mass appeal."[59] Section.80 marked Lamar's first appearance on 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.[60] To promote the album, Lamar performed at small venues and college campuses across the U.S.[61][62] 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.[63][64] At the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards, Section.80 was nominated for Best Mixtape.[65] Throughout 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.[66]

Lamar began planning his second album before Section.80 was released.[67] From February to April 2012, he opened for Drake on his Club Paradise Tour.[68] He began working with J. Cole on a collaborative album around that time, but nothing came to fruition; Cole later admitted the two "put it to bed years ago".[69][70] On March 8, The Fader reported that Lamar had signed a joint venture recording contract with Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records; under the deal, TDE continued to serve as his primary label.[71] His first commercial single, "The Recipe" featuring Dr. Dre, premiered on rhythmic crossover radio on April 2.[72]

After his opening stint for the Yeezus Tour ended, Lamar started working on his third album.[94] 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.[112] He was winless at the ceremony, which several media outlets felt was a snub.[113][114] Macklemore, who won Best New Artist and Best Rap Album, shared a text message that he sent Lamar after the ceremony ended, in which he apologized for winning over him.[115] The incident was the subject of widespread media attention, controversy and Internet memes.[116] 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.[117][118]

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