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Kendrick Lamar 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 and genres to be awarded the . His inclusion of and in his songwriting has influenced a rise in within .

Lamar began releasing music under the K.Dot while he was attending high school. He signed with (TDE) in 2005, where he co-founded the hip hop . Following the success of his debut album (2011), Lamar secured a joint contract with and . He rose to prominence with his -influenced second album (2012) and its singles "", "" and "". It is the on the , spending over ten consecutive years on the chart.

Inspired by a visit to South Africa, Lamar embraced jazz and styles on his third album, (2015). It became his first of four consecutive number-one albums in the U.S., and was one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the . Lamar's work on the remix of 's "" garnered his first number-one song on the . His critical and commercial success continued with his and -leaning fourth album (2017), yielding his second chart-topping single "". The (2022) concluded Lamar's tenure with TDE and Aftermath. His with spawned the number-one songs "" and "".

Lamar has received throughout his career, including one , one , four , six , 11 (including two wins), 17 (), and 29 (the most won by any artist). listed him as one of the in 2016. Two of his , (2017–2018) and (2022–2023), are amongst the highest-grossing rap tours in history. Three of his works were included in 's 2020 revision of . Outside of music, Lamar co-founded the creative company and ventured into film with his creative partner, . He has worked with various charities and advocates for and awareness.

Life and careerEarly life

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born on June 17, 1987, in . He is the first child of Kenneth "Kenny" Duckworth, a former who previously worked at , and Paula Oliver, a hairdresser who previously worked at . Both of his parents are from the . When they were teenagers, they relocated to Compton in 1984, due to his father's affiliation with the . Lamar was named after singer-songwriter of . He was an only child until the age of seven and was described as a loner by his mother. Eventually, his parents had his two younger brothers and younger sister, businesswoman Kayla Sawyer ( Duckworth). His cousins include basketball player and rapper .

Lamar and his family lived in housing, were reliant on and , and experienced . Although he is not a member of a particular gang, he grew up with close affiliates of the . Despite suffering hardships, Lamar remembered having "good memories" of his childhood that sparked his interest in , such as sneaking into his parents' . He was raised , although he occasionally attended church services and was taught the by his grandmother. He felt "spiritually unsatisfied" as a child due to the "empty" and "one-sided" nature of the .

After hearing a recording of his voice for the first time, Lamar became interested in . He was introduced to after experiencing the first day of the . When he was five years old, he witnessed a murder for the first time while sitting outside of his apartment unit, as a teenage drug-dealer was killed in a . "It done [] something to me right then and there," Lamar later admitted to . "It let me know that this is not only something that I'm looking at, but it's something that maybe I have to get used to." His parents nicknamed him "Man-Man" due to his behavior, although he confessed it "put a stigma on the idea of me reacting as a kid sometimes—I would hurt myself and they would expect me not to cry."

In school, Lamar was a quiet and observant student who excelled academically and had a noticeable stutter. His teacher at Robert E. McNair Elementary School encouraged him to become a writer after she heard him correctly use the word "audacity". As a student at Vanguard Learning Center, Lamar was introduced to by his English teacher, Regis Inge. Inge integrated the literary form into his curriculum as a response to the growing racial tensions amongst his students. Through its connection to hip hop, Lamar studied rhymes, metaphors and , 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." Instead of completing assignments for other classes, Lamar would scribe lyrics in his notebooks. His initial writing was entirely , but it helped him manage his and , which he struggled with during his adolescence. Inge played a vital role in his intellectual growth, often critiquing his and suggesting prompts to strengthen his prose.