(ThyBlackMan.com) Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is a hip hop recording artist from Compton, California. It was in 2004 that he signed to Top Dawg Entertainment based in Carson and in 2012 they have a joint venture with Interscope Records and Aftermath. He is one of the members of West Coast hip hop “Black Hippy” and has collaborated with several California-based rappers like Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q.
The rise to fame
Kendrick Lamar has been in the music scene for quite some time, but gained major attention in 2010 after he released “Overly Dedicated”. The subsequent years, he released his independent album “Section.80”, which
was exclusively released on iTunes. This critically acclaimed album made it on the top digital hip hop releases of that same year. Prior to his fame, he has worked with prominent names in the industry like Lil Wayne, Warren G, Dr. Dre, Young Jeezy, Drake, Game, and many others.
Early childhood life
The parents of Kendrick Lamar are from Chicago, Illinois, but he was born in Compton, California. It was his mother who gave him his name in an honor of Eddie Kendricks, a popular singer. As young as 8 years old, he has shown interest in music. The music of Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur has influenced him a lot. He continuous to pursue his passion to music, but didn’t take for granted his studies. In fact, Kendrick Lamar was a straight A student in high school.
In 2003, he released Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), under the pseudonym K-Dot; which is his very first full length project. He was only 16 years old at that time. This mixtape has caught the attention of many people, which led him to securing a recording contract with TDE or Top Dawg Entertainment; an indie record label located in Carson, California. He has released a total of 26 mixtapes after two years. Later that year, he and other up-and-coming West Coast rapper toured the country.
Kendrick Lamar has a brief cameo appearance in a music video for Jay Rock’s commercial debut single entitled “All My Life” in 2008. After which, he has received numerous recognitions after the release of a video of Charles Hamilton. In that said video, Hamilton battled to fellow rappers right in front of a very big crowd. Kendrick Lamar wasn’t intimidated and started rapping a verse. He has co-signed with Lil Wayne, an American hip hop superstar and in 2009 he released his third mixtape entitled C4.
Lamar is known for his stage name K-Dot, but in late 2009 he decided to drop that stage name and simply use his birth name. In late 2009, he decided to release his self-titled extended play and has come up with a group called “Black Hippy”. This super group features fellow California-based rappers and label mates like Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q. Their collaboration has further enticed Lamar and fellow rappers to continuously produce beautiful music that will surely love by the generation to come.
Staff Writer; HipHopJones