It's Kendrick Lamar's Birthday!
Cited as one of the most influential rappers of his generation, Kendrick started on his musical career as K.Dot, releasing his mixtape Y.H.N.I.C. that led to his signing with TDE. His first album, Section.80, included the single "HiiiPoWeR", which amassed him a large online following and securing him a record deal with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.
Kendrick debuted, with Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, in 2012, which garnered critical recognition and mainstream success, but his third album To Pimp a Butterfly became his first number-one album on the US Billboard 200. Damn came in 2017, and became the first non-classical and non-jazz album to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music. It yielded his first number-one single, "Humble", on the Billboard Hot 100, which led to his curating the soundtrack to the film Black Panther. This year he released his fifth and last album with TDE, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which received critical acclaim.
Lamar has certified sales of over 70 million records, and all of his albums have been certified platinum or higher. He has 14 Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, 11 MTV Video Music Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Brit Award, and an Academy Award nomination and Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016.