Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar’s 2011 studio debut, Section .80, brought about a seismic realignment in the rap world, the arrival of a true generational talent. The record displayed Kendrick’s lyrical agility as well as his penchant for emotionally resonant and vulnerable storytelling. His follow-up, 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, established Lamar as one of rap’s greats, expanding upon the narrative and lyrical universe he built on Section .80, the record builds a resonant story around the rapper’s own life, highlighting the moments that defined his upbringing. 

In the years that followed, Kendrick’s output remained intentional, his 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, featuring the triumphant single “Alright,” is widely regarded to be one of the best hip-hop records of all time, and explored the rapper’s psyche as he became a household name. DAMN., from 2017, which earned Kendrick the Pulitzer Prize for music in 2018, found Kendrick’s gifts coalescing around textured sonic landscapes heavily influenced by experimental jazz. “If I can make one person — or 10 million people — feel a certain type of euphoria in my music, that’s the whole point,” he told Rolling Stone in 2017.

In more recent years, Kendrick left longtime label TDE, pouring his focus on pGLang, an “independent multidisciplinary creative communications company.” His last album for TDE, 2022’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, found the rapper in similarly vulnerable territory, now assessing his life as he approaches middle age and starts a family. In 2024, Kendrick notably engaged in a monthslong feud with Drake, effectively asserting his place at the top of this generation’s rap greats with the smash hit “Not Like Us.” —Jeff Ihaza