Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, simply known as Kendrick Lamar (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to receive the award.
Born in Compton, California, Lamar began releasing music under the stage name K.Dot while attending high school. He signed with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005 and co-founded the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy there. Following the 2011 release of his alternative rap debut album Section.80, Lamar secured a joint contract with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. He rose to prominence with his gangsta rap-influenced second album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012), which became the longest-charting hip hop studio album in Billboard 200 history; Rolling Stone named it the greatest concept album of all time. In 2015, Lamar scored his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, after featuring on the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood", and released his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), which infused hip-hop with historical African-American music genres such as jazz, funk, and soul, and became his first of six consecutive number-one albums on the Billboard 200.
Lamar's critical and commercial success continued with his R&B and pop-leaning fourth album Damn (2017), yielding his second US number one single, "Humble". He curated original songs for the soundtrack of the 2018 film Black Panther, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the US top ten single "All the Stars". His fifth album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), delved into introspection and concluded his tenure with TDE and Aftermath. His 2024 feud with Drake and sixth album GNX (2024) spawned the US number-ones "Like That", "Not Like Us", "Squabble Up" and "Luther" with the second winning a joint-record five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year, and the lattermost becoming Lamar's longest-charting number one song on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 13 weeks on top of the chart.
Lamar has received various accolades, including 22 Grammy Awards (the third-most won by a rapper), a Primetime Emmy Award, a Brit Award, 5 American Music Awards, 7 Billboard Music Awards, 11 MTV Video Music Awards (including 2 Video of the Year wins), and a record 37 BET Hip Hop Awards. Time listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. Three of his works were included in Rolling Stone's 2020 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. His Super Bowl LIX halftime show in 2025 broke viewership records, with 133.5 million viewers domestically. Outside of music, Lamar co-founded the creative company PGLang and ventured into film with his longtime creative partner, Dave Free.
Lamar made his musical guest debut on Saturday Night Live on January 26, 2013, the twelfth episode of Season 38, hosted by Adam Levine, the lead singer and vocalist of the legendary pop rock band Maroon 5, and the star and coach of NBC's longest-running singing reality competition television series The Voice. He performed "Swimming Pools (Drank)" and "Poetic Justice" from his second studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. He also appeared in the "SNL Digital Short: YOLO".
Lamar returned to Saturday Night Live for his 2nd musical guest appearance on November 15, 2014, the sixth episode of Season 40, hosted by actor Woody Harrelson, (when he returned to host SNL for the 3rd time and his first appearance in 22 years, 5 months and 30 days). He performs "i" from his third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly and "Pay for It" with Jay Rock.
Lamar returned to Saturday Night Live again for his 3rd musical guest appearance on October 1, 2022, which is the season premiere of Season 48 of Saturday Night Live, hosted by actor Miles Teller, star of the hit action film Top Gun Maverick. This marked the first episode for new cast members: Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker. He performed a medley of "Rich Spirit" and "N95" for his first set and "Father Time" with Sampha for his second from his fifth studio album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.
Lamar also made his two musical guest cameos on February 1, 2014, the thirteenth episode of Season 39, hosted by actress and comedian Melissa McCarthy, with musical guests Imagine Dragons, joining them during their first musical number performance "Radioactive". This marked the final episode for longtime cast member, head writer and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers, and on December 1, 2018, the seventh episode of Season 44, hosted by British actress Claire Foy, during Anderson .Paak's song "Tints".
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