The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted into a prize: “For a distinguished musical composition of significant dimension by an American that has had its first performance in the United States during the year.”
Mark the date on your calendars. May 30, 2018 was the date hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar collected the Pulitzer Prize for his work on the album DAMN. When I first heard the news, I had the feeling that musically, culturally, and definitely historically mankind had turned a corner. I never once questioned if Kendrick Lamar was worthy of the honor, because I have heard enough of his work to understand his merit musically. Not once did I question the award going to a rapper. However, I wondered internally why Kendrick Lamar won in 2018? Even Kendrick Lamar made a statement along my line of thinking:
“It’s one of those things that should have happened with hip-hop a long time ago. It took a long time for people to embrace us—people outside of our community, our culture—to see this not just as vocal lyrics, but to see that this is really pain, this is really hurt, this is really true stories of our lives on wax,” he said. “And now, for it to get the recognition that it deserves as a true art form, that’s not only great for myself, but it makes me feel good about hip-hop in general. Writers like Tupac, Jay Z, Rakim, Eminem, Q-Tip, Big Daddy Kane, Snoop…It lets me know that people are actually listening further than I expected.”
Is Kendrick Lamar an artist that should be mentioned in the same conversation with the rap artists he considers great? That’s open for debate, but I would say he has earned a seat at that table. Is Kendrick Lamar doing something different from the other rappers? Not entirely. In fact, when you look at his words you see he speaks about the art form in general. Not questioning if he is better than the others.
Of course, this would not be the first time Weekly Music Commentary featured Kendrick Lamar. However, our last post was early 2013, and a lot of great works have come from the pen of Kendrick Lamar. Has he changed much about his musical approach since his start? We’ll see!
In 2004, at the age of 16, Lamar released his first full-length project, a mixtape titled Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), under the pseudonym K-Dot. The mixtape was released under Konkrete Jungle Muzik and garnered local recognition for Lamar. The mixtape led to Lamar securing a recording contract with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), a newly founded indie record label, based in Carson, California. He began recording material with the label and subsequently released a 26 track mixtape two years later, titled Training Day (2005).
After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, Lamar released his third mixtape in 2009, titled C4, which was heavily themed around Wayne’s Tha Carter III LP. Soon after, Lamar decided to drop K-Dot as his stage name and go by his birth name. He subsequently released The Kendrick Lamar EP in late 2009. That same year, Lamar along with his TDE label-mates: Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q formed Black Hippy, a hip hop supergroup.
When Kendrick Lamar speaks about musical influences, he lists a lot of names and music. Kendrick Lamar has stated that Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, Nas, and Eminem are his top five favorite rappers. Tupac Shakur is his biggest influence, and has influenced his music as well as his day-to-day lifestyle. In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, Lamar mentioned Mos Def and Snoop Dogg as rappers that he listened to and took influence from during his early years. He also cites rapper DMX as an influence: “[DMX] really [got me started] on music,” explained Lamar in an interview with Philadelphia’s Power 99. “That first album [It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot] is classic, [so he had an influence on me].” He has also stated Eazy-E as an influence in a post by Complex saying: “I Wouldn’t Be Here Today If It Wasn’t for Eazy-E.”
Nevertheless, Kendrick Lamar would become his own artist even with the high-profile musical influences. He has developed into the common man of rap music. Many writers have come to understand why he is considered one of the very best of our time. Called a “radio-friendly but overtly political rapper” by Pitchfork, Lamar has been a branded “master of storytelling” and his lyrics have been described as “katana-blade sharp” and his flow limber and dexterous. Lamar’s writing usually includes references to racism, black empowerment and social injustice, being compared to a State of Union address by The Guardian. His writing has also been called “confessional” and controversial. The New York Times has called Lamar’s musical style anti-flamboyant, interior and complex and labelled him as a technical rapper. Billboard described his lyricism as “Shakespearean”.
The past year marked some very big musical events in the life of Kendrick Lamar. The album DAMN was released on April 14, 2017 to rave reviews, with a Rolling Stone writer describing it as a combination of “the old school and the next-level.” It marked his third number one album on the Billboard 200 chart, and the single “Humble” became his first number one as a lead artist on the Billboard Hot 100. On May 4, 2017, DAMN was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Not only was DAMN a fan favorite, the music critics really found the album appealing. Andy Kellman of AllMusic stated that “It contains some of Lamar’s best writing and performances, revealing his evolving complexity and versatility as a soul-baring lyricist and dynamic rapper.” Christopher R. Weingarten, an author for Rolling Stone, said, “Much like the recent A Tribe Called Quest record, DAMN is a brilliant combination of the timeless and the modern, the old school and the next-level. The most gifted rapper of a generation stomps into the Nineties and continues to blaze a trail forward.”When I listened to DAMN, I didn’t think Kendrick Lamar changed at all from his earlier work. However, the young man has certainly evolved. In retrospect, I feel that he improved as an artist in every way. He’s not the first that improved, and he certainly will not be the last.
More amazing was the fact that DAMN was not Lamar’s only project of the time period. Along with Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony Tiffith, Lamar produced and curated the film soundtrack for the Marvel Studios superhero film Black Panther (2018), titled Black Panther The Album Music From And Inspired By. A single from the soundtrack, “All the Stars”, was released in January 2018, and features singer SZA. Shortly afterwards, another track, titled “King’s Dead”, was released by Jay Rock featuring Lamar, Future and James Blake. The third single, “Pray For Me”, by Lamar and The Weeknd, was released in February 2018, ahead of the album’s release in that month. The music played on radio stations throughout the spring and summer. Kendrick Lamar was officially everywhere.
Let’s go back to the question in the title of this post. Why did Kendrick Lamar win the Pulitzer Prize? In an introduction that echoed the Pulitzer board’s original announcement, the presenter called DAMN., Lamar’s fourth LP, as a “virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.” That seemed like a simplistic way of describing Kendrick Lamar’s work. Also, if vernacular authenticity in offering vignettes describing African-American life was the only criteria for the prize, then why didn’t another rapper win ten or twenty years ago? There has to be another reason for Lamar’s win.
The reason must center around the time and the perception of rap music. Finally, rap music and artists are accepted as an art form around the world as well as the US. Maybe, people now are interested in the story being told. Therefore, even though Kendrick Lamar is quite proficient as a message bearer, the reason for the Pulitzer might be that more people are ready to listen today.