He was destined for success. Kendrick Lamar (37) is one of the great musical references of the last decade, and his intense clashes with Drake prove it. There are aspects that make Lamar unique: he is the only rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, an honor that until 2017 was reserved for women in opera and jazz. He achieved this for his album DAMN.
This week, he has achieved another milestone. He will be the artist who will perform at the halftime show of the Super Bowl, the biggest sporting event in the United States, which will take place on February 9th at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Performing at this mega event is almost like achieving the EGOT, meaning that the same person has won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy. Examples include Audrey Hepburn, Rita Moreno, and Elton John, among others. It is estimated that during those 15 minutes of music, over 100 million people are tuned in to the show.
Becoming one of the most distinguished rappers with 17 Grammys and four number ones on the Billboard charts has not been an easy journey. He grew up in a high-crime area of Compton, California, where his parents had moved to escape a violent environment in Chicago. He started writing rhymes as a teenager and released his first mixtape, Youngest Head Nigga in Charge, in 2003 under the name K.Dot. The music impressed Anthony Tiffith, head of the newly formed record label Top Dawg Entertainment, who signed the musician.
In recent months, his name has been in the media due to his ongoing feuds with Drake, becoming the protagonists of the most talked-about urban artist rivalry of this decade. While in the past the singers collaborated and made music together, all of that is now forgotten. The dispute arose mainly from rivalries within their musical genre and the competition for the title of "best rapper."
Since then, the musicians have exchanged indirect jabs through interviews and songs. Although there was no direct confrontation, the tension remained with both rappers competing for success and recognition within their musical genre. Personally, life has always smiled upon him. He has been with the same woman since they were teenagers, her name is Whitney Alford, and they have two children, Uzi and Enoch. It is known that they got engaged in 2015, but there are no further details as the couple has always been private about their personal life. To give an idea, fans did not know about the birth of their latest child until he appeared on the cover of the 2022 album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.
However, he has spoken about how fatherhood has benefited his personal growth. As he told W Magazine, "my children allowed me, in their development as human beings starting to walk and talk, to shed my ego (...) Knowing that my children will also have their own independence allows me to understand the unconditional love from my side."