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Kendrick Lamar Wins the Pulitzer Prize for DAMN.

Kendrick Lamar has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his album DAMN., it was announced on Monday. The organization hasn't provided details just yet on why the award goes to him, however there's no doubt that Lamar's music has been impactful over the past few years. Not only has he pushed the limit for himself, but he's pushed the limits of hip hop music and mainstream culture with his albums Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City and DAMN..

The most important part of him music has been the lyrics, delving into his experiences being raised in Compton, being a black person in America, the history and legacy of hip-hop, and his journey to and experiences being famous. 

Kendrick is only 30 years old and has already won 11 Grammy's for his work and was featured as Variety's Hitmaker of the Year this past November. 

The organization described DAMN. as “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.” 

This is the first time in Pulitzer history that a non-jazz or classical artist has won the award for Music. 

Dana Canedy, Administrator of The Pulitzer Prize, gave details on how the debate that led to Kendrick's win went...

I don’t know specifically what the piece was, but in this case they were considering a piece of music they felt had hip-hop influences and said, “Well if we’re considering a piece of music that has hip-hop influences, why aren’t we considering hip-hop?” And someone said, “That’s exactly what we should do.” And then someone said, “We should be considering Kendrick Lamar” and the group said “absolutely.” So then, right then, they decided to listen to the entire album and decided “This is it.”


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