All aboard the hype train for Bonnaroo 2023! Only
14 days until we are all on the Farm again, can you believe it? It’s coming up fast and we can’t wait to be dancing with all of you at Bonnaroo! Today’s Artist of the Day is the one and only
Kendrick Lamar. Learn more about the artist below. Don’t forget to check out all of
our artist spotlights! Check back in with us tomorrow for the next Artist of The Day!
Artist Biography
Kendrick Lamar is the most acclaimed rap artist of his generation. He was born in Compton and grew up surrounded by hip-hop culture and gang activity. At a young age, he started writing stories and poems, leading him to rap. When Kendrick was 16 he made a name for himself as K. Dot in 2003 and released his debut mixtape
The Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year. The release was impressive enough to get Top Dawg Entertainment to work with him and propel his career. Kendrick kept releasing music under K. Dot through 2009, and that same year he joined the group Black Hippy whose members included Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and ScHoolboy Q. The members of Black Hippy often appeared on each other’s mixtapes and albums. In 2010,
Overly Dedicated was released under Kendrick Lamar as his first commercial release that hit the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. The next year he released his first official album
Section.80 which hit number 113 on the Billboard 200. During a concert in late 2011, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and the Game dubbed him “The New King of the West Coast” which was sealed when Dre signed Kendrick to his Aftermath label. In 2012, Kendrick released his major-label debut
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City which entered the Billboard 200 at number two. Three of the singles, “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “Poetic Justice,” and “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” made it into the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Chart and went Top 40 Pop. The album got four Grammy nominations. Kendrick kept with the grind until 2014 when he released his single “i” which won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. The next year he released the album
To Pimp a Butterfly which featured Snoop Dogg, Thundercat, and George Clinton and topped the Billboard 200. The album won a Grammy for Best Rap Album. Kendrick’s next two singles “Alright” and “These Walls” took Grammy wins for Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. In 2017, Kendrick’s album
DAMN arrived with the single “HUMBLE” which became his first number-one pop hit. All 14 songs off the album entered the Hot 100. The album also won more Grammy awards for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap/Sung Performance. In 2018, the album won the Pulitzer Prize for Music and was the first time the judges recognized a work outside the genres of classical and jazz. If all this wasn’t enough, Kendrick’s single “Kings Dead” made him a 13-time Grammy winner for Best Rap Performance. Kendrick kept pushing through with wins with his most recent album
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers arriving in 2022.
Genre
Hip Hop, Progressive Rap, GOAT
Scheduled at Bonnaroo
Friday (
Link to Daily Schedules)
