Kendrick Lamar wins music Pulitzer
Kendrick Lamar has won the Pulitzer Prize for music, making history as the first non-classical or jazz artist to win the prestigious prize.
The revered rapper is also the most commercially successful musician to receive the award.
The 30-year-old won the prize for DAMN., his raw and powerful Grammy-winning album. The Pulitzer board said the album is a “virtuosic song collection” that captures “the modern African American life.” He will win $15,000 (U.S.).
Lamar has been praised for his deep lyrical content, including songs about Blackness, street life, police brutality, perseverance, survival and self-worth; his politically charged live performances, and his profound mix of hip hop, spoken word, jazz, soul, funk, poetry and African sounds.
The Pulitzer board has awarded special honours to Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Hank Williams, but a popular figure like Lamar has never won the prize for music.
That makes Lamar’s win that much more important. His piercing raps have helped him become the voice of the generation.
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 Beyoncé.
He has won 12 Grammys, although all three of his majorlabel albums have lost in the Album of the Year category.