Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is often cited as one of the most influential rappers of his generation. Aside from his solo career, he is also a member of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy alongside his former Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) labelmates Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q.
Section.80 is the debut studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 2, 2011, by Top Dawg Entertainment. Leading up to its release, Lamar previously produced various mixtapes under the moniker K.Dot. Following the 2010 release of Overly Dedicated, Lamar began working on Section.80.
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is the second studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album features guest appearances from Drake, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Jay Rock, Anna Wise, and MC Eiht. It is Lamar's major label debut, after his independently released first album Section.80 in 2011 and his signing to Aftermath and Interscope the following year.
Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label founded in 2004, by CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Punch is president of the label. There are currently eleven artists signed to the label: the label's flagship artists, Black Hippy members Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q, as well as Isaiah Rashad, SZA, Lance Skiiiwalker, SiR, Reason, Zacari, Ray Vaughn, and Doechii. The label also houses a production division that includes Digi+Phonics, THC, King Blue, Kal Banx and Derek "MixedByAli" Ali. The musical focus of the label is predominantly album-oriented and progressive rap.
"A.D.H.D" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar from his debut studio album, Section.80 (2011). The song was produced by frequent collaborator and Top Dawg in-house producer Sounwave, of Digi+Phonics.
"Poetic Justice" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his major-label debut studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). The song, produced by American record producer Scoop DeVille, features a verse from Canadian rapper Drake. The song was released as the album's fourth official single, due to its positive response.
"Fuckin' Problems" is a song by American rapper ASAP Rocky, featuring Canadian rapper Drake, and fellow American rappers 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 24, 2012, as the second single from Rocky's debut studio album Long. Live. ASAP (2013), and was later released to radio on November 27, 2012.
"M.A.A.D City" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his second studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). The song, which appears as the eighth track on the album, features a guest appearance from fellow Compton native and West Coast rapper MC Eiht. The song was produced by Top Dawg in-house producers THC and Sounwave for the first part of the instrumental, and Terrace Martin for the second part. The song peaked at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe", is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, from his major-label debut studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). The song, produced by frequent collaborator Sounwave of Top Dawg Entertainment in-house production team Digi+Phonics, heavily samples "Tiden Flyver", by Danish electronic group Boom Clap Bachelors. It was originally intended to be a collaboration with American singer Lady Gaga, but her contributions were ultimately excluded from the final recording due to timing issues. A remix of "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" featuring American rapper Jay-Z was sent to radio as the album's fifth single on March 21, 2013, with the original version and another remix featuring British singer Emeli Sandé later being released.
"Money Trees" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, taken from his major label debut studio album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City (2012). The song, which appears as the fifth track on the album, features a guest appearance from his Black Hippy cohort, fellow American rapper Jay Rock. The song, produced by DJ Dahi, entered the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at number 19 due to high downloads, following the album's release. The song, mixed by Top Dawg engineer Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, features background vocals from American singer Anna Wise of Sonnymoon. Money Trees samples the Beach House song "Silver Soul," from their 2010 album Teen Dream, as well as vocals from Kendrick’s "Cartoon and Cereal" and interpolates lyrics from E-40’s "Big Ballin’ With My Homies".
"Control" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Big Sean, featuring fellow American rappers Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica. The song was originally intended to be included on Big Sean's second studio album Hall of Fame (2013) or Jay Electronica's debut album, but was ultimately removed from the final track-listing due to sample clearance issues. "Control" impacted American mainstream urban radio on August 14, 2013, as a promotional single for Hall of Fame. The track contains samples such as "Where I'm From" (1997) by Jay-Z, "El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido" (1974) by Quilapayún and Sergio Ortega and an interpolation of "Get Bizy" (2011) by Terrace Martin, which also features fellow rappers Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica.
Mark Anthony Spears, known professionally as Sounwave, is an American hip-hop producer and songwriter from Compton, California, and an original member of the Californian hip-hop label Top Dawg Entertainment. Sounwave has worked on every Kendrick Lamar studio album since Lamar's 2009 self-titled EP, including the Grammy Award-winning albums Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, To Pimp a Butterfly, and the multi-Grammy and Pulitzer Prize–winning album Damn. He has received two Grammy Awards: Best Rap Song (2015) for "Alright", and Best Rap Album (2017) for Damn.
Richard Morales Jr., better known by his stage name Gunplay, is an American rapper from Carol City, Florida. Morales embarked on his career in hip hop, as a member of fellow Florida-based rapper Rick Ross's southern hip hop group, Triple C's. Triple C's released their debut album, Custom Cars & Cycles, in 2009. After signing to Ross's Maybach Music Group label, upon its inception in 2009, Gunplay would announce he secured a solo recording contract with Def Jam Recordings, in July 2012. He released several mixtapes, such as 601 & Snort. His debut studio album, titled Living Legend, was released on July 31, 2015.
To Pimp a Butterfly is the third studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on March 15, 2015, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was recorded in studios throughout the United States, with production from Sounwave, Terrace Martin, Taz "Tisa" Arnold, Thundercat, Rahki, LoveDragon, Flying Lotus, Pharrell Williams, Boi-1da, Knxwledge, and several other high-profile hip hop producers, as well as executive production from Dr. Dre and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Guest appearances include Thundercat, George Clinton, Bilal, Anna Wise, Snoop Dogg, James Fauntleroy, Ronald Isley, and Rapsody.
"Alright" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar, taken from his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). Lyrically a festive song about hope amid personal struggles, it features uncredited vocals from the song's co-producer Pharrell Williams during the chorus. "Alright" was released to radio stations as the album's fourth single on June 30, 2015. Most music publications considered it among the best songs and videos of the year, highlighting their message in the social context of the time. "Alright" received four nominations at the 58th Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Music Video, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, winning the latter two. It was also nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
Derrick Hutchins, Jr., better known as his stage name Skhye Hutch, is an American hip hop record producer from Los Angeles, California. The two-time Grammy nominee attended Pacific Palisades High School and graduated from the Musicians Institution in 2004.
Damn is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on April 14, 2017, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Lamar assembled numerous artists and producers to produce the album, including executive producer and Top Dawg Entertainment label-head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It, and Ricci Riera, as well as further production contributions from James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, Greg Kurstin, The Alchemist, and 9th Wonder, among others. The album features guest vocals from singers Rihanna and Top Dawg singer Zacari, along with Irish rock band U2.
Ricci Riera, is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his production with notable hip hop artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Travis Scott, Schoolboy Q, Overdoz, and ASAP Rocky among others. Aside from his solo production, Riera was previously a member of the Grammy Nominated LA production duo THC. Riera scored his first Grammy nomination as a solo producer with "U With Me?" on the second best selling album of 2016, Views. Ricci most recently appeared twice on Kendrick Lamar's much anticipated 3rd studio album Damn. producing on songs "Element" co produced by James Blake and "God".
Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr., known professionally as Baby Keem, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Las Vegas, Nevada. He initially gained major recognition following the release of his single "Orange Soda", from his second mixtape Die for My Bitch (2019). He would later collaborate with Kanye West on the song "Praise God", which reached the top 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified Platinum in April 2022.
"Family Ties" is a song by American rappers Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar. The song was released on August 27, 2021, by Columbia Records and pgLang. The song serves as the fourth single from Keem's debut album, The Melodic Blue. The song also serves as Lamar’s first musical release under pgLang, a production company he co-founded in March 2020.
