Congrats! Kendrick Lamar Became First Hip-Hop Artist to Win Pulitzer Prize for Music
According to The Hollywood Report, Kendrick Lamar is now the first Hip-Hop artist to win a Pulitzer Prize for music. Along with that, Lamar is the first non-classical or jazz artist to win the prize.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that the rapper received the award for his work performed on his DAMN. album. The Pulitzer board indicated that Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. album was a “virtuosic song collection,” and that it captures “the modern African-American life.”
Along with winning the Pulitzer Prize, Kendrick Lamar will be awarded $15,000.
The Pulitzer board has awarded special honors to Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Hank Williams, however a popular figure like Lamar has never won the prize for music. In 1997, Wynton Marsalis grew to become the primary jazz act to win the Pulitzer Prize for music.
That makes Lamar’s win that much more essential: His platinum-selling major-label albums — good kid, m.A.A.d city, ‘To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN. — grew to become works of art, with Lamar writing songs about blackness, street life, police brutality, perseverance, survival and self-worth. His piercing and sharp raps helped him become the voice of the era, and simply ascend as the leader in hip-hop and cross over to audiences outside of rap, from rock to pop to jazz. He’s also been a dominator on the charts, having achieved two dozen Top 40 hits, including a No. 1 success with “Humble,” and he has even collaborated with the likes of U2, Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, Rihanna and Beyonce.
His music, with songs like “Alright” and “The Blacker the Berry,” have develop into anthems in the wake of high-profile police shootings of minorities as the conversation about race relations dominates news headlines. He introduced of dose of seriousness to the 2015 BET Awards, rapping on top of a police automobile with a big American flag waving behind him. At the 2016 Grammys, during his visual-stunning, show-stopping performance, he appeared beaten, in handcuffs, with chains around his hands and bruises on his eyes as he delivered powerful lyrics to the audience.
Source: THR
