17 Grammys . 1 Pulitzer Prize . 75M+ Albums . Compton's Poet

Kendrick
Lamar ✎

Born June 17, 1987 . Compton, California

He grew up watching Tupac and Biggie die on the news. He watched his friends die on the streets of Compton. He put all of it into bars so dense they required footnotes, and became the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He raps like a man trying to save his own life -- because he is.

West Coast Hip-Hop Conscious Rap Pulitzer Prize Songwriter pgLang TDE Alumni
17
Grammy Awards
1
Pulitzer Prize
75M+
Albums Sold
6
Studio Albums
#1
Billboard Debuts
37
Age
Documentary . 64 Scenes . Script 55% Complete
Research
Script
Storyboard
Sound
Assembly
// The Eras

From Compton to the Canon

Six albums. One Pulitzer. A trajectory from Section 80 housing to the most decorated rapper alive.

1987 - 2011 . The Foundation

K-Dot from Compton

A quiet kid in the most dangerous city in America, writing verses in spiral notebooks while his neighbors got shot.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton, California. His parents Kenny and Paula moved from Chicago. His father was associated with the Gangster Disciples. Kendrick grew up on Section 8 housing in the Rosecrans projects. At age five, he watched Tupac and Dr. Dre film the "California Love" music video from his father's shoulders. At sixteen, he released his first mixtape as K-Dot. Top Dawg Entertainment signed him in 2004. "Section.80" dropped in 2011 -- a concept album about crack babies and Reagan-era children -- and the hip-hop underground took notice. The quiet kid from Compton had bars that nobody could ignore.

Scene 01 filmed
"California Love" Video
1995 . Compton, California
Five-year-old Kendrick sits on his father's shoulders watching Tupac and Dr. Dre film the "California Love" music video on the streets of Compton. It's the most vivid formative memory he's ever described. Fifteen years later, Dre will produce his major-label debut. Twenty years later, Kendrick will headline the Super Bowl on the same stage.
Scene 08 filmed
Section.80
July 2, 2011 . Independent Release
Kendrick's debut on TDE. A concept album about children born in the 1980s crack epidemic. "HiiiPoWeR" channels Tupac's political consciousness. "A.D.H.D." captures the chemical numbness of growing up in Compton. The album sells 5,000 copies in the first week. It doesn't chart. It doesn't need to. Every rapper in America hears it.
Off Stage
Kendrick was a straight-A student at Centennial High School in Compton. Teachers describe him as quiet, studious, and almost invisible in classrooms. "He was the last kid you'd expect to be a rapper," one teacher said. He didn't drink or do drugs in a neighborhood where both were survival mechanisms. His sobriety in Compton was its own form of rebellion.
2012 - 2013 . The Arrival

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City

A Compton kid made a concept album about peer pressure and gang violence that read like a novel. The streets and the critics both claimed him.

"good kid, m.A.A.d city" dropped October 22, 2012. Subtitled "A Short Film by Kendrick Lamar," it tells the story of a single day in Compton: peer pressure, gang initiation, his mother's stolen van, his friend's murder. Dr. Dre executive produced. It debuted at #2 on Billboard. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" and "Poetic Justice" were radio hits, but the album's power was in its narrative architecture. No rap album since "Illmatic" had told a street story with this level of literary ambition. Then, on August 11, 2013, Kendrick dropped his verse on Big Sean's "Control" and named every rapper in the game -- J. Cole, Drake, A$AP Rocky, Mac Miller -- as people he intended to murder lyrically. Hip-hop exploded.

#2
Billboard Debut
4x
Platinum
7
Grammy Noms
1
"Control" Verse
Scene 16 filmed
Billboard 200 #2 Debut
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City
October 22, 2012
Dr. Dre's first executive production since "2001." Pharrell, Hit-Boy, Just Blaze, and Scoop DeVille provide the beats. The album is structured as a film: voicemails from Kendrick's parents serve as narrative connective tissue. "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" is a 12-minute meditation on mortality. It's the most ambitious rap debut since Nas's "Illmatic."
Scene 20 filmed
The "Control" Verse
August 11, 2013
"I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you." Kendrick names J. Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Tyler, Mac Miller, and more as his targets. Forty response tracks drop in 48 hours. Nobody in hip-hop talks about anything else for a month. He set the entire genre on fire with a feature verse.
2015 - 2016 . The Masterpiece

To Pimp a Butterfly

He made a jazz-funk-rap opus about Black identity, survivor's guilt, and institutional racism. Then he performed it at the Grammys in chains.

"To Pimp a Butterfly" arrived March 15, 2015, and detonated. Jazz musicians Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, and Robert Glasper anchored the production. The album wrestled with fame, Blackness, and Kendrick's guilt at leaving Compton. "Alright" became the anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement -- crowds chanted "We gon' be alright" during protests across America. At the 2016 Grammys, Kendrick performed in prison blues and chains, rapping on a set designed as a jail cell. He won five Grammys that night. The album won Best Rap Album but controversially lost Album of the Year to Taylor Swift's "1989."

5
Grammys
#1
Billboard
3x
Platinum
#1
BLM Anthem
Scene 28 filmed
58th Grammy Awards 5 Grammys
The Grammy Performance
February 15, 2016 . Staples Center
Kendrick appears on stage in prison blues, chained to other Black men. He performs "The Blacker the Berry" and "Alright" in a six-minute medley that transitions from a chain gang to a celebratory Compton bonfire. The performance ends with a map of Africa with "Compton" written across it. It is the most politically charged Grammy performance in the ceremony's history.
Scene 30 scripted
"Alright" at Protests
2015 - 2016 . Across America
"We gon' be alright" becomes the chant at Black Lives Matter protests from Ferguson to Baltimore to Cleveland. A Kendrick Lamar chorus becomes a civil rights anthem in real time. He didn't write it for protests. The protests adopted it because nothing else expressed both rage and hope in four syllables.
2017 - 2018 . The Crown

DAMN. / The Pulitzer

He made a commercially dominant album about God, wickedness, and DNA. Then he became the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

"DAMN." dropped April 14, 2017. It debuted at #1 with 603,000 first-week units. "HUMBLE." was inescapable. "DNA." was ferocious. The album was structured as a spiritual reckoning -- each track named for a concept (FEAR., LOVE., GOD., PRIDE.). On April 16, 2018, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded "DAMN." the Pulitzer Prize for Music, citing "a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life." It was the first non-classical, non-jazz work to win. A rapper from Compton was now in the same category as Duke Ellington and John Adams.

603K
First Week
5
More Grammys
1
Pulitzer Prize
5x
Platinum
Scene 38 filmed
Columbia University Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize
April 16, 2018 . New York
The Pulitzer Prize Board announces "DAMN." as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Kendrick is the first hip-hop artist to win. He's the first non-classical, non-jazz artist to win since the category was created in 1943. The kid from the Rosecrans projects just joined a list that includes Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, and Wynton Marsalis.
Scene 36 filmed
"HUMBLE." Dominates
April 2017
"HUMBLE." hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Mike WiLL Made-It beat is minimalist -- a piano loop and bass. The music video, directed by Dave Meyers and the Little Homies, is a sequence of Renaissance-painting compositions. "Sit down. Be humble." becomes the year's defining command. Even people who don't listen to hip-hop know the song.
#1 Billboard
2.2B+ Spotify
2022 - Present . The Empire

Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers / GNX

He went silent for five years. Came back with a double album about therapy. Then he went to war with Drake and won.

"Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers" arrived May 13, 2022, after a five-year silence. A double album about therapy, generational trauma, and his relationship with his father. "N95," "Die Hard," and "Father Time" were the anchors. Then came the Drake beef of 2024 -- "Like That," "Euphoria," "6:16 in LA," "Meet the Grahams," and the nuclear "Not Like Us," which debuted at #1 and became the most-streamed diss track in history. He headlined the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in 2022 and returned for a solo halftime at Super Bowl LIX in 2025. "GNX" dropped November 2024 with no warning.

2
Albums
2
Super Bowls
#1
"Not Like Us"
5
Drake Disses
Scene 52 filmed
Billboard Hot 100 #1
"Not Like Us"
May 4, 2024
The DJ Mustard-produced diss track debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the most-streamed diss track in Spotify history. "They not like us, they not like us, they not like us." Performed live at the Kia Forum in Inglewood to a crowd of 17,500 -- five times in a row. Kendrick didn't just win the beef. He turned it into a hit parade.
#1 Billboard
800M+ streams
Scene 58 post-production
Super Bowl LIX
February 9, 2025 . Caesars Superdome
Kendrick headlines the Super Bowl halftime show solo. No guests (except a surprise SZA appearance). He performs "HUMBLE.," "DNA.," "Not Like Us," and "Alright" to 130 million viewers. The performance opens with him alone on a dark stage, a single spotlight. He raps the first verse of "United in Grief" a cappella. The stadium is silent. Then the beat drops.
Scene 56 scripted
GNX Surprise Drop
November 22, 2024
"GNX" arrives with no announcement. Named after the Buick Grand National -- a Compton icon -- it's a West Coast victory lap. "Squabble Up," "Luther" (featuring SZA), and "TV Off" anchor the tracklist. Debuted at #1 with 319,000 units. He dropped it like a text message. The world opened it immediately.
// The Circle

The People in the Cypher

The rivals, the mentors, the producers, and the collaborators who built the Kendrick universe.

DR
Rival
Drake
The defining hip-hop rivalry of the 2020s. Simmering for a decade, erupting in 2024 with "Push Ups," "Taylor Made," "Euphoria," "Meet the Grahams," and "Not Like Us." Kendrick won on records. Drake won on streaming numbers. History will side with the bars.
DD
Mentor
Dr. Dre
Signed Kendrick to Aftermath. Executive produced "good kid, m.A.A.d city." Co-produced "Compton" (2015). The lineage is direct: Dre to Snoop to Eminem to Kendrick. Dre is the godfather, and Kendrick is the heir he chose to carry the West Coast forward.
JC
Peer
J. Cole
The perpetual counterpart. "good kid" vs. "Born Sinner" dropped the same week. They've been compared ever since. "The Big Three" discourse placed them alongside Drake. The respect is mutual. The competition is real. Cole bowed out of the Drake beef. Kendrick didn't.
SZ
Collaborator
SZA
TDE labelmate turned frequent collaborator. "All the Stars" for Black Panther. "Luther" on GNX. Their chemistry is undeniable. She appeared as his surprise guest at Super Bowl LIX. They represent TDE's creative peak.
TI
Label Head
Top Dawg (Anthony Tiffith)
Signed Kendrick to TDE when he was a teenager. Provided creative freedom and industry protection. Their partnership produced four classic albums before Kendrick moved to pgLang. The mentor-to-independence arc mirrors Dre leaving Death Row.
SW
Producer
Sounwave
Mark Spears. Kendrick's primary producer since "Section.80." Present on every album. The sonic architect behind "m.A.A.d city," "King Kunta," "DNA.," and "United in Grief." If Kendrick is the pen, Sounwave is the paper.
// The Legacy Debate

Greatest Rapper Alive?

The case for the most complete rapper in history. The case for why the argument is premature. Both sides bring bars.

The Case For

@hiphopliterary . Feb 5
He has the Pulitzer Prize. He has 17 Grammys. He has four classic albums in a row (arguably five with GNX). He has the most devastating diss track of the streaming era. He can do conscious rap, gangsta rap, jazz rap, pop rap, and battle rap at the highest level. Name another rapper who can do all of that. You can't.
467
@barsfirst . Feb 10
"To Pimp a Butterfly" is the most important rap album since "Illmatic." It's jazz, it's funk, it's spoken word, it's a political treatise. "Alright" became a civil rights anthem while he was still alive. Most artists get their protest songs adopted posthumously. Kendrick did it at 28.
389
@westcoastforever . Feb 16
He won the Drake beef so decisively that it redefined what "winning" means in rap. "Not Like Us" debuted at #1, became the most-streamed diss track ever, won Grammys, and is still getting played at every party. He turned a beef into a cultural event and emerged as the undisputed king of hip-hop.
534

The Case Against

@oldheadrap . Feb 3
Jay-Z has more albums, more commercial success, and a business empire. Nas has "Illmatic." Tupac and Biggie had cultural impact that transcended music. Eminem had "The Marshall Mathers LP." Kendrick is great, but "greatest ever" requires a longer career and a bigger body of work. He's thirty-seven. Let the catalog grow.
278
@streamingdata . Feb 8
Drake has more #1 hits, more total streams, and more Billboard records than Kendrick. If we're measuring impact by reach, Drake wins. Kendrick has critical acclaim and the Pulitzer, but the "greatest rapper" argument shouldn't ignore the fact that Drake has been the most commercially dominant rapper of the era.
198
@rapscholar . Feb 14
"DAMN." winning the Pulitzer was a political choice, not a musical one. The Pulitzer Board was looking for a way to seem relevant and diverse. "DAMN." is a great album, but it's not Kendrick's best -- "To Pimp a Butterfly" deserved it more. The award says more about the Pulitzer than about Kendrick.
167
// I Was There

Fan Stories & Community Research

First-person accounts, lyrical analysis, fact-checks, and scene pitches from 276 contributors.

J
J. Williams I Was There
Feb 11, 2026
I was at the Kia Forum when he played "Not Like Us" five times in a row. The first time, the place went crazy. The second time, people looked at each other like "is he really doing this?" By the fourth time, 17,000 people were screaming every word at full volume. By the fifth, people were crying. I've never experienced anything like it at a concert. It was a victory lap in real time.
489
N
N. Okafor Lyrical Analysis
Feb 6, 2026
"Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" from GKMC deserves an extended scene breakdown. The first verse is rapped from the perspective of a murdered friend's brother. The second verse is from a sex worker who later appears dead on the album. The third verse is Kendrick himself, begging to be remembered. Midway through the third verse, the music fades out as if someone stopped listening -- the most devastating use of silence in hip-hop history.
Source: Genius annotations; multiple interviews
378
C
C. Reyes Scene Pitch
Feb 2, 2026
There needs to be a scene about the "Control" verse aftermath. Within 48 hours, over 40 rappers responded with diss tracks, response verses, and subliminals. Lupe Fiasco, Joell Ortiz, Cassidy, King Los -- everyone dropped a response. But the most notable response was silence. J. Cole and Drake never directly responded. Their silence said more than anyone's bars.
Source: Complex, "A Complete History of the 'Control' Verse Responses" (2013)
312
A
A. Pham Fact Check
Jan 29, 2026
The script says Kendrick is the "first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music." This is correct but should note that the Pulitzer Prize for Music has existed since 1943. In 75 years, no hip-hop work had been awarded it. The jury also considered finalists from the classical world. The award was unprecedented and controversial within the classical music establishment.
Source: Pulitzer Prize archives; NYT reporting, April 2018
245
A BIOPICS.AI PRODUCTION

Directed by .............. 276 Contributors
Written by ............... Claude, GPT & the Community
Storyboards .............. Flux
Narration ................ ElevenLabs
Score .................... Stable Audio
Research Dept. ........... 10,600 Fans

SCENES ................... 64
RUNTIME .................. 2h 30m (estimated)
SOURCES VERIFIED ........ 389
PRODUCTION BUDGET ....... $0

17 Grammys. 1 Pulitzer. 0 dollars spent.
// The Cypher

Step to the Mic

He put Compton on the Pulitzer. Help put his story on the screen.

🎧
Setlist
Submit research -- lyrical annotations, interview transcripts, production credits, tour data. Build the archive that does justice to the most analyzed rapper alive.
🎬
Studio Session
Pitch a scene. The "Control" aftermath? The Pulitzer announcement? The five "Not Like Us" performances? You've studied the catalog. Tell us what the documentary needs.
📜
Liner Notes
Fact-check the bars. Credits wrong? Timeline off? Lyrics misinterpreted? Step to the mic and set the record straight. Sources required.