Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, born June 17, 1987, better known as Kendrick Lamar, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was born in Compton, California, to a Chicago-based couple. Lamar’s music has been praised for its vivid and emotional depiction of his life, as well as its socially conscious criticism and use of jazz.
Wiki Profile
| Full Name: | Kendrick Lamar Duckworth |
| Date of Birth: | June 17, 1987 (34 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Compton |
| State of Origin: | California |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Singer & Rapper |
| Net Worth: | $75 Million |
| Wife/Girlfriend: | Whitney Alford |
Early Life and Education
Kendrick Lamar was born in Compton, California, to a Chicago-based couple. Despite not being a member of a gang, he grew up surrounded by them, with his closest pals being Westside Piru Bloods and his father, Kenny Duckworth, a Gangster Disciple.
His mother named him Eddie Kendricks in honor of The Temptations’ American singer-songwriter Eddie Kendricks. He was raised on public assistance and in Section 8 housing.
Lamar observed his idols Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre recording the music video for their smash track “California Love” when he was eight years old, which proved to be a pivotal experience in his life.
Lamar attended Compton Unified School District’s McNair Elementary and Vanguard Learning Center as a child. His mother said that he was a “loner” until the age of seven, and he has admitted to being quiet and shy in school.
He was a straight-A student at Centennial High School in Compton when he was a teenager.
Career
Lamar is widely recognized as one of the most influential rappers of his generation and one of the all-time greats. Along with his Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) labelmates Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q, he is also recognized as a part of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy.
Lamar began his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K.Dot, releasing a mixtape called Y.H.N.I.C. (Hub City Threat Minor of the Year) that gained him local notice and led to his signing with TDE, an indie record label.
After his debut retail release, Overly Dedicated, in 2010, he began to attract attention. The next year, he self-released Section.80, his first studio album, which featured his debut hit “HiiiPoWeR.”
He had acquired a significant online following and cooperated with several well-known hip hop artists by that time. Following that, he signed a record deal with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, which is affiliated with Interscope Records.
In 2012, Lamar released his major-label first album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, which earned him great critical acclaim and commercial success.
His third album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), featured funk, soul, jazz, and spoken word, and was mostly about societal issues affecting African-Americans.
It was a huge critical triumph and became his first number one album on the US Billboard 200. His fourth album, Damn (2017), received critical praise and yielded his first number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100, “Humble.”
The record was the first non-classical or jazz album to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
He composed and produced 14 songs for the soundtrack of the superhero picture Black Panther in 2018. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Lamar’s fifth and final album with TDE, will be released in May 2022.
Lamar has sold over 70 million records in the United States alone, and the Recording Industry Association of America has certified all of his albums as platinum or higher (RIAA).
He has won 14 Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, a Brit Award, 11 MTV Video Music Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and an Academy Award nomination during the course of his career.
On their annual list, MTV awarded him the Hottest MC in the Game in 2012. In 2016, Time named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people. He was awarded the Generational Icon Award by the California State Senate in 2015.
Lamar and his business partner Dave Free, together known as The Little Homies, have co-directed several music videos.
Kendrick Lamar Net Worth
Kendrick Lamar is a super talented American singer, rapper and songwriter, with an estimated net worth of $75 Million.
Personal Life
Lamar got engaged to his high school love, beautician Whitney Alford, in April 2015. NBA player Nick Young and musician Baby Keem are cousins.
Lamar, along with fellow rapper Schoolboy Q, is a fan of the Los Angeles Rams football team, and they both featured in an episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks in 2016, when the Rams were the show’s main focus following their relocation from St. Louis.
Lamar is a fervent Christian who became a Christian after the loss of a friend. He has expressed his faith via his music and interviews. During Kanye West’s Yeezus Tour, he stated that he had been baptized in 2013.
Lamar attributes his stardom and “deliverance” from the crime that afflicted Compton in the 1990s to God. “I received a higher purpose, God put something in my heart to get across and that’s what I’m going to focus on, using my voice as an instrument and doing what needs to be done,” he said in an interview with Complex in 2014.
