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How Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar went from homeless to top of the hip-hop game

How Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar went from homeless to top of the hip-hop game

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born June 17, 1987, in Compton, California. He's the oldest of four children.

Entertainment1 min read

When he was eight, Lamar witnessed Dr. Dre and Tupac shooting the music video for "California Love," and that inspired his love of rapping. Thanks to a seventh-grade teacher, Lamar later found a passion for poetry.

(Source: Rolling Stone)

He started rapping when he was 13 and released his first mixtape when he was 16 under the moniker K. Dot. Under this name, he became the second artist to join Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and released a number of mixtapes.

(Source: Billboard, Billboard)

Lamar is also part of Black Hippy, a group of TDE artists consisting of Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul. They haven't released a full-length album together, but they frequently collaborate with each other on various projects.

(Source: Billboard)

The first project he released under his real name was 2009's "Kendrick Lamar" EP. This was followed by 2010's "O(verly) D(edicated)" and 2011's "Section.80," his first album.

(Source: Billboard)

A month after releasing "Section.80," Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and some other hip-hop artists "passed the torch" of West Coast hip-hop to Lamar during a show at the Music Box.

(Source: LA Times)

Lamar was featured on Drake's second album, 2011's "Take Care." He performed the two-and-a-half-minute "Buried Alive Interlude."

TDE closed a deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment in 2012 and jointly released Lamar's second album, "good kid, m.A.A.d city," his proper debut.

(Source: Billboard)

Lamar made his "Saturday Night Live" debut in January 2013. During that episode, he also appeared in an "SNL" digital short with Adam Levine and The Lonely Island for the single "YOLO."

He has appeared on "SNL" twice since then: once with Imagine Dragons for their "Radioactive" remix in February 2014 and again in November 2014 as musical guest.

In August 2013, Big Sean's "Control" leaked. It featured Lamar calling out a number of rappers — including Drake, A$AP Rocky, and Tyler, the Creator — and proclaiming himself "the king of New York." His verses caused some controversy in the music world.

(Source: GQ)

Lamar was named GQ's 2013 Rapper of the Year as part of the Men of the Year issue, but TDE CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith accused the story of having "racial overtones" and pulled Lamar from performing at the event.

(Source: Complex)

Shortly after that, Lamar opened up for Kanye West during his "Yeezus" tour.

(Source: Pitchfork)

Lamar earned seven Grammy nominations at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for "good kid, m.A.A.d city," including Best Rap Album and Album of the Year. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart, but Lamar didn't take any awards home that year.

Macklemore texted his apology to Lamar after winning Best Rap Album for "The Heist." "You got robbed. I wanted you to win," he said.

(Source: Billboard)

He did perform a remix of Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" with the band on the Grammys stage.

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In December 2014, Lamar became a Reebok brand ambassador and collaborated with the company on a three-minute film.

In a statement, Lamar said: “Reebok has a history of helping kids in the community realize their potential is limitless. I saw what the brand was doing, and I wanted to be a part of it and make it even stronger. It’s as simple as that. Kids that listen to my music are looking for inspiration. It’s important that I continue that message in anything I represent.”

(Source: MTV)

He earned Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance nominations at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards held earlier this year for his single "i" and won both.

Taylor Swift, a massive Lamar fan, tweeted her support for the rapper after he won.

@TheGRAMMYs @kendricklamar IM NOT CRYING IM NOT CRYING IM NOT CRYING *cries*
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 8, 2015

Swift had previously expressed her admiration for the rapper in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone. She said that his music made her "go from feeling victimized to feeling awesome," and she knows every word to "Backseat Freestyle."

Industry experts predicted 1989 would sell 650k first week. You went and bought 1.287 million albums. AND IT'S GOT ME LIKE:

A video posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Nov 4, 2014 at 7:55pm PST

(Source: Rolling Stone)

Lamar showed his appreciation for the artist during an appearance at the ONE Musicfest in Atlanta in 2014. He told the Associated Press backstage, "I appreciate Taylor Swift for supporting not only my music but just the hip-hop culture. There's really no gap. It's music and it feels good."

Later that year, he broke into a freestyle performance of Swift's "1989" during an interview with The Fader.

(Source: Billboard and The Fader)

The two ended up collaborating on a new version of "Bad Blood," off of Swift's "1989" album. The music video premiered at the Billboard Music Awards in May, and Lamar made a guest appearance in the video. The song landed at No. 1 on the Hot 100.

(Source: Billboard)

He released "To Pimp a Butterfly" in March of this year, which was released earlier than expected, and it became his first album to reach No. 1 on Billboard's 200 chart.

Rolling Stone named it this year's best album.

In its review of the album, Rolling Stone stated, "Thanks to D'Angelo's 'Black Messiah' and Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' 2015 will be remembered as the year radical Black politics and for-real Black music resurged in tandem to converge on the nation's pop mainstream."

(Source: Billboard)

In May, Lamar was named California's 35th Senate District's Generational Icon based on what he has given back to his old community.

Honored to recognize #sd35 & Compton native @kendricklamar today by the #casenate #caleg pic.twitter.com/1JbFrwbIM4
— Dr. Isadore Hall,III (@isadorehall) May 11, 2015

(Source: Mic)