Why Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer Win Is So Historic

The good kid, from a upset city is currently a Pulitzer Prize winner. Today (April 16), two days removed from the one year anniversary of Kendrick Lamar's DAMN., the album was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for music.


The win is a historic moment for music and hip-hop. DAMN. is the initial non-classical or jazz album to win a Pulitzer. Lamar is also the initial rapper to win the award, which is a coup for an art form that has regularly battled to be taken seriously in several key circles.


The Pulitzer board called Kendrick's fourth studio album a, "virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life."


In a August interview with MTV News correspondent Gaby Wilson, Lamar described the meticulous design of DAMN. and appreciating fans dissecting the project.


"Any of my fans know that my albums get real fancy and there’s routinely specifics in there," Kendrick mentioned. "For the most part, they generally have a good listening ear to identify what’s going on. I think like a week right following the album came out, [fans] realized you could play the album backwards. It plays as a full story and even a higher class of rhythm. It’s one of my main go to rhythms and tempos inside the album. It’s something that we certainly premeditate while we’re in the studio."


Today, proved that it is Kendrick Lamar's damn world and we're all just living in it.