Kendrick Lamar : An Overview

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He was born to Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King Jr. had an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. Growing up in Atlanta, King attended Booker T. Washington High School. A very intelligent student, he skipped both the 9th and the 12th grade and entered Morehouse College at fifteen without graduating from high school. In 1948, he

Growing up, he had a very interesting early life. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929 (History.com Staff). He was baptized in May of 1936 (Biography.com Editors). He grew up with his brother and his sister, and was raised by his mom, Alberta, and

stuff, so I don't listen to that genre all that much, but there are many

Tupac Shakur was born on June 16th, 1971, with the name Lesane Crooks. His name was switched to Tupac Amaru II almost a year later. He was born in New York and lived primarily in Harlem till he was 13. In 1984 he moved to Baltimore where he lived for four years until he moved to Oakland. When he was younger he struggled in life because his family was poor and had to move. Mostly Everyone in Tupac’s life was part of the Black Panther

Tupac Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks in Brooklyn, NY, on June 16, 1971. His mother Afen Shakur changed his name when he was a small child to Tupac Amura after an Inca-Indian revolutionary, "Tupac Amura," meaning

Christopher Brian “Chris” Bridges or better known as Ludacris is one of the first and most influential “Dirty South” rappers coming from Atlanta, Georgia. Known for his fast, wild, and comedic flow, Ludacris earned his name and continues to make music to match his name. Coming from Def Jam Records and co-founder of the record label Disturbing Tha Peace, one of Ludacris’ most famous song is his “Southern Hospitality” that made it to the Billboard Hot 100 after coming out in the year 2000. This song is full of catchy alliterations and uses imagery to take the listener on a wild wide to the south, explaining the struggle of the streets and giving credit to slave culture. However, Ludacris doesn't forget to mention his successful ways and how he

During his early years he dropped out of high school and was a drug dealer for some years. He was good friends with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. They started making songs for their new album that was called “Boyz-N-The Hood”. In 1987 they made another album that was called “Straight Outta Compton” that album

Kendrick Lamar grew up in the city of Compton. Lamar’s father was a member of a gang in Chicago before they moved to Compton. His mother’s brothers had ties to the notorious gang the Compton Crips. When Lamar was eight

Before making albums, he was singing at weddings. He then started to make music tracks and idolized music stars like Boyz II Men, LL, Cool J, MC Hammer, and Michael Jackson. During a trip to Bahrain, he had met Michael Jackson over there. One of his hit albums, “Get Lifted”, it had actually gone platinum. After signing to a label that Kanye West had offered him, he needed a stage name.

In the concept album, good kid m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar creates an autobiographical narrative that describes the societal pressures of growing up as a black teenager in Compton, and how his self-awareness and musical passion allowed him to escape from the city’s cycle of violence. Through the album’s storyline Kendrick makes the case that, despite coming from a hedonistic, gang infested city, he is able to transform into a puritan. Kendrick narrates this story through several different perspectives, including actual people from his life as well as his own psyche. Kendrick Lamar mainly invokes the persona of K.Dot, who is based on Kendrick’s actual seventeen year old self. This story begins from the first person perspective of naive K.Dot, who is characterized by a raspy, inflicted voice. The lyrics of this character show the ignorance and lack of direction in his life, as well his self-doubts and impressionability. It is eventually revealed that K.Dot has a passion for music. While K.Dot is a good kid at heart who is not gang affiliated, his innocence is tainted by the desires of the Compton lifestyle. After a violent encounter, a transformation begins to occurs from within K.Dot. He realizes that the negative influences of gang culture have corrupted him,

Tupac Shakur was born on September 17, 1971, in Brooklyn New York. Tupac got into acting early in his life, landing his first role in an acting ensemble when he was 12 years old. Tupac also began writing many poems

Kendrick Lamar was born on June 17, 1987. His nickname was K Dot and his country of residence is the U.S.

Artists sometimes visit schools across the states to talk to students about exploring their own situations and provide them with some strategies to help them towards their personal goal. Artist, Kendrick Lamar, always visits schools and communities and try to give people advice on how to overcome problems and help them make plans to achieve their goal in life ("Kendrick Lamar and Hip-Hop as a Medium for Social Change").

In my opinion, Kendrick Lamar, an award-winning rapper and songwriter, has one of the best abilities to describe his distressed and abused lifestyle in Compton, California. He is not your original cliché artist who does not speak about anything meaningful. Kendrick, also known as K. Dot, is one of the most well known and most respected rappers in this era. Not only does he speak about his gloomy past, but he also speaks about his fortunate future. His ability to give detailed representations of his struggles and his story telling allows me to, metaphorically, enter the mind of Kendrick Lamar.

Ulmer 1Derek UlmerInstructor HarrisEnglish 15.23-RARD15 September 2017Is a Dollar Worth It?Kendrick Lamar, a thriving African American rap artist, grew up in Compton, California, a city notorious for gang violence and drugs, exposing him to the realities of gang life from a very young age. Kendrick writes about his many experiences in his songs, and usually attempts to deliver a message through his lyrics. Lamar’s song, “How Much a Dollar Cost,” on his album,“To Pimp a Butterfly,” is one song that is clearly intended to deliver a specific message to theaudience. This song intertwines a deep religious message while describing an interaction Lamar has with a homeless man. Since it’s told from Lamar’s