Tag: DAMN.

Kendrick Lamar Graces The Cover Of Vanity Fair & Talks Pulitzer Prize, Eminem, Kanye West & More [PEEP]

From Kung-Fu Kenny to Pulitzer Kenny to Cover Kenny.

Kendrick Lamar graces the cover of Vanity Fair magazine’s August issue, titled, “The Gospel According to Kendrick.” In it he discusses a wide range of topics including winning a Pulitzer Prize, Kanye West’s political views, the NFL, Eminem’s rapping abilities, and more.

Vanity Fair writer Lisa Robinson caught up with K. Dot while he was on TDE’s “The Championship Tour” and even asked him about the incident that happened on tour, where he invited a white woman on tour and she rapped his lyrics, including the n-word.

He went onto discuss being the first-ever hip-hop act to win a Pulitzer Prize and his reaction on it where he said, “It was one of those things I heard about in school, but I never thought I’d be a part of it.”

See some of the Q&A dialog below.

ON THE USE OF THE N-WORD:

“Let me put it to you in its simplest form. I’ve been on this earth for 30 years, and there’s been so many things a Caucasian person said I couldn’t do. Get good credit. Buy a house in an urban city. So many things–‘you can’t do that’–whether it’s from afar or close up. So if I say this is my word, let me have this one word, please let me have that word.”

ON WINNING THE PULITZER PRIZE:

“It was one of those things I heard about in school, but I never thought I’d be a part of it. [When I heard I got it], I thought, to be recognized in an academic world . . . whoa, this thing really can take me above and beyond. It’s one of those things that should have happened with hip-hop a long time ago. It took a long time for people to embrace us–people outside of our community, our culture–to see this not just as vocal lyrics, but to see that this is really pain, this is really hurt, this is really true stories of our lives on wax. And now, for it to get the recognition that it deserves as a true art form, that’s not only great for myself, but it makes me feel good about hip-hop in general. Writers like Tupac, Jay Z, Rakim, Eminem, Q-Tip, Big Daddy Kane, Snoop . . . It lets me know that people are actually listening further than I expected.”

ON HIS WRITING PROCESS:

“Execution’ is my favorite word. I spend 80 percent of my time thinking about how I’m going to execute, and that might be a whole year of constantly jotting down ideas, figuring out how I’m going to convey these words to a person to connect to it. What is this word that means this, how did it get here and why did it go there and how can I bring it back there? Then, the lyrics are easy.”

ON HIS SUCCESS:

“I look back to when I was 16 years old and thought, What would I do with a million dollars? I’m gonna buy this, I’m gonna buy that . . . Then I thought that me doing that is actually hurting people I’m responsible for. I’m the first in my family to have this kind of success, so I took it upon myself to wisely navigate this success, because I wanted them to be successful, too.”

ON THE NFL AND NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTESTS:

“It’s enraging; I think what Kap [Colin Kaepernick] is doing is honest, and it’s not just his truth, it’s our truth.”

ON EMINEM:

“Eminem is probably one of the best wordsmiths ever. There’s a whole list of why, but just bending words. . . . The Marshall Mathers LP changed my life.”

ON BEING AN INTROVERT:

“I like to be alone a lot. I need that. It’s that duality: I can go in front of a crowd of 100,000 people and express myself, then go back, be alone, and collect my thoughts all over again.”

ON STARTING A FAMILY:

“This is the constant question, because I’m obsessed with my craft and what I’m doing. I know what I’m chasing for my life, even though I don’t know what it is. But it’s an urge that’s in my every day. That urge to make an ultimate connection with words to man. And I don’t feel I’ve done that yet.”

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Kendrick Lamar Becomes The First Hip-Hop Artist Ever To Win Pulitzer Prize [PEEP]

There’s been some tremendous things that Kendrick Lamar has accomplished from winning GRAMMYs to breaking records and a lot more. However, today he did something no other hip-hop act has ever done by winning a prestigious Pulitzer Prize for his music.

According to the Pulitzer Prize Board he the award is given to an individual “for distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year.” Well Kenny met that criteria for his ‘DAMN.’ album.

In a statement by the Pulitzer committee Lamar’s critically-acclaimed album, which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary was defined 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.”

It’s really good to see someone from L.A. accomplishing all these astonishing feats. Salute to Kompton Kenny, Top Dawg, Dave Free, RetOne, and the entire Top Dawg Entertainment team.

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Kendrick Lamar Performs At 2018 Brit Awards [WATCH]

Adding intensity to the 2018 Brit Awards, Kendrick Lamar delivered an electrifying performance of “FEEL.” and Rich The Kid’s “New Freezer” in front of thousands inside London’s 02 Arena.

Turning the “0-2 into the 0-3” Dot began the performance on the ground, where he laid on top of a clear rectangular stage prop. He kicked things off with a performance of his ‘DAMN.’ single “FEEL.” Soon after Rich The Kid emerged inside the rectangular box, bashing the window of an orange Lambo as the two performed “New Freezer.”

During the performance Kung-Fu Kenny announced the release date for Rich’s forthcoming album rapping, “Rich the Kid’s album on the way / 3/30, save the date.”

At the award show Kompton Kenny won the award for Best International Male Solo Artist. See it below.

Watch the performance below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzDSlcnN1Jw

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Kendrick Lamar To Release “DAMN.” Nike Cortez On “GRAMMYs” Weekend [PEEP]

On GRAMMYs weekend Kendrick Lamar will be quite occupied, as he will attend the event with seven nominations including “Album of the Year” for his critically-acclaimed ‘DAMN.’ album.

To celebrate the nominations, he will release his highly-anticipated first collaboration with Nike. The first venture will bring forth a retro Cortez runner inspired by Kung-Fu Kenny’s outfit colorway, which brings together a smooth contrast of red and white.

The shoe will include a large Swoosh on each side with a classic Cortez sole, Chinese lettering scripts, and a lace holder that reads: “DON’T TRIP.”

His DAMN. album was definitely a classic, so this collaboration should be no different. The Nike Cortez “Kenny” will release on GRAMMYs night, which takes place Sunday, January 28th. They will be available through “SNKRS” for $100 USD, upon the show’s commencement.

View this post on Instagram

Cortez Kenny. 🔥

A post shared by laleakers (@laleakers) on

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New Video: Kendrick Lamar – “LOVE.” Feat. Zacari [WATCH]

Kendrick Lamar might’ve ran all of 2017 with his ‘DAMN.’ album. From front-to-back the album provided all gems, which he’s been slowly dropping visuals for. The latest single off the album to get the video treatment is “LOVE.” featuring Zacari.

As other singles on the album to get visuals, “LOVE.” was also directed by Dave Meyers and the little homies production duo, made up of Dave Free and K. Dot himself. The “LOVE.” video starts at on a beach during sunset hours, where Dot sits and contemplates life. Soon after he takes viewers into a romantic evening, showing dinner interactions and all.

Watch below.

@IAMBNYCE

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DAMN.’ Album Earns Double Platinum Certification [PEEP]

kendrick-lamar-damn-2x-platinum

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DAMN.’ album has already been proclaimed by many as the best hip-hop album of the year. Dot’s case got stronger today with his third studio album earning double platinum certification by the RIAA.

In an Instagram post Kendrick showed the fans his appreciation writing, “These murals forever belong to my fans,” he wrote. “You’ve always taken my words above and beyond. Around the world and back again. With trust. I am forever grateful. 2x.”

Having been released about 14-weeks ago, K. Dot continues to do damage on the Billboard 200, sitting strongly at no. 2 behind Jay-Z’s ‘4:44’ album. Last week it sold an additional 56,000 equivalent units, which propelled it to double platinum certification.

Dot has been collecting the plaques this year having already received platinum certification for “Alright” off ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ and gold certification for his freshman album ‘Section.80’ and “A.D.H.D.” off the album.

Kung-Fu Kenny will continue on the first leg of his “The DAMN. Tour” with Travis Scott and D.R.A.M. through August 9th in LA. Starting August 11th he’ll begin the second leg in Anaheim along with YG.

CONGRATS, DOT!

@IAMBNYCE

Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DAMN.’ Goes Platinum [PEEP]

kendrick-lamar-damn-600x381

Following dominating numbers of over 600-thousand units in its first week making it the year’s biggest debut, Kendrick Lamar’s highly-praised ‘DAMN.’ album goes platinum, after only three weeks of being released.

The success of Kendrick’s third release follows his previous two releases, ‘good kid, m.A.A.d. city’ and  ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, which also earned platinum plaques. However, ‘DAMN.’ is shaping up to be Dot’s most-successful project to date, with all the accolades it has already reached.

‘DAMN.’ is on pace to chart at No. 1 for the third straight week and in its second week it sold a staggering 238,000 equivalent album units (87,000 traditional). It has already garnered over 600-million streams. The album has also created top-10 charting singles in “HUMBLE.” currently charting at No. 1 and “DNA.” currently No. 7.

K. Dot will be kicking off his “DAMN. Tour” along with Travis Scott and D.R.A.M. on July 12th in Phoenix, Arizona.

@IAMBNYCE

Kendrick Lamar Tops Billboard 200 With Year’s Biggest Debut [PEEP]

kendrick-lamar-damn

Kendrick Lamar is making everyone say ‘DAMN.’ by scoring this year’s biggest debut on the Billboard 200 to date with a colossal 610,000 equivalent album units. The official numbers won’t officially be out till Monday, but the original projections have grown from 480,000-500,000.

When the numbers do hit, Kung-Fu Kenny will top Drake’s ‘More Life’, which set a high with 505,000 its first week and has dominated with record-breaking streams and other major accolades. That could change with K. Dot garnering more than half of his current sales from over 300-million streams.

This is Dot’s biggest, most-successful project to date even given all the success of his two last classics being the critically-acclaimed ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ and his freshman album, ‘good kid, m.A.A.d. city’, which will apparently also reach the charts at No. 28 with 14,000 units sold since the ‘DAMN.’.

Following the release of ‘DAMN.’, there was talk and speculation of a new album on the horizon but Kendrick but that to rest by tweeting, “KenFolk. ThankU 4 the desire of always anticipating new music of my own. None is coming. My work will be in out future TDE dates tho.”

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New Video: Kendrick Lamar – “DNA.” [WATCH]

kendrick-dna

After closing out weekend 1 of Coachella with a phenomenal headlining performance, Kendrick Lamar drops the visuals for “DNA.” off his recently-released, critically-acclaimed ‘DAMN.’ album.

Don Cheadle stars in the Nabil and The Little Homies co-directed video, where he meets K. Dot in an interrogation room. The Don walks in with a cocky attitude and says to Dot, “Two first names, huh? What the fuck is up with that? You know what DNA stands for? Dead N***** Association.” Kendrick sits calmly handcuffed and hooked up to a polygraph.

Kendrick is eventually uncuffed by Cheadle and the two begin to exchange bars over the Mike WiLL Made-It-production. Dot then tells a shocked Cheadle, “Another Dead N**** Association,” leaving the shocked Don to fall on his knees.

The video then takes viewers to a fast-paced journeys through Kendrick’s life, which shows a framed picture of 2-Pac and Snoop Dogg, the TDE rapper’s 7 Grammy awards, him having lunch with Brocky Marciano, and more.

In the ending Dot links up with a couple of his homies including ScHoolboy Q, who lights a blunt before walking up to a camera flashing gang signs and punches the camera to end the video.

‘DAMN.’ is projected to kill the charts with an expected No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 and 475,000 equivalent album units.

Watch the video below.

 

@IAMBNYCE

Kendrick Lamar Drops His Highly-Anticipated ‘DAMN.’ Album & Teases Another One? [STREAM]

damn

Two years after dropping his critically-acclaimed, Grammy-winning album ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, Kendrick Lamar releases his superlative, third studio album, ‘DAMN.’ This album is distinctively different sounding from the jazzy ‘TPAB’.

Kung-Fu Kenny’s different approach is led by production from the likes of Mike WiLL Made-It, DJ Dahi, James Blake, Sounwave, BADBADNOTGOOD, Steve Lacy, The Alchemist, and Ricci Riera. The 14-track effort also includes features from Rihanna on “LOYALTY,” U2 on “XXX,” and Zacari on “LOVE.” The album leaked early yesterday with the Internet trolling saying LeBron James’ e-mail was hacked, following the NBA baller previewing snippets on his Instagram story.

There is several messages to be dissected throughout the album from the track listing, to the anecdotes a storytelling K. Dot tells throughout. The album ends with the rapper getting shot and dying in a gun fight. It’s quite ironic with the album technically dropping on Good Friday, the day Jesus died and was crucified. The Internet has been buzzing with rumors of another Kendrick album dropping this Sunday, which would be Easter — the day Jesus was resurrected.  The second album would be called ‘NATION’ and if you combine both it’s ‘DAMN.NATION’, the Christian belief that means “condemnation to eternal punishment in hell.” If that in fact does happen, it would be one hell of a strategy by the TDE team, who are very calculated in all their moves. It’s also worth noting Kendrick has always preached about his Christian belief in his music.

Furthermore, on “The Heart Part 4,” where K. Dot originally teased the album, he drops potential hints at dropping two albums back-to-back with the lyrics, “I said it’s like that, dropped one classic, came right back / ‘Nother classic, right back / My next album, the whole industry on a ice pack.” Dot could also be referring to his first two albums being ‘good kid, m.A.A.d. city.’ and ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’. It’s quite a mind fuck, isn’t it?

TDE producer Sounwave also tweeted a cryptic message that read, “But what if I told you… that’s not the official version..”. Check it out below.

All of this is just speculation for the time being. In the meantime enjoy the greatness that King Kendrick has blessed us with, by streaming ‘DAMN.’ below via Apple Music. Kendrick will also be performing at Coachella this weekend and next.

@IAMBNYCE

Kendrick Lamar Shares Title, Track List & Cover Art For Forthcoming Album [PEEP]

damn

Kendrick Lamar made his fans say ‘DAMN.’ early this morning by sharing the cover art and title of his forthcoming album on both his Twitter and Instagram accounts. The album is slated to drop this Friday, April 14th and is available for pre-order on iTunes now.

K. Dot also shared in a separate post the track listing that includes 14-tracks and features from Rihanna on “Loyalty” and Rock-N-Roll Icons, U2 on “XXX”. Kendrick’s follow-up to 2015’s ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ will also include the lead-single “Humble.” and other singles that relate to complex human feelings like, “Pride.,” “Lust.,” “Love.,” and “Fear.”

The cover art correlates well with the emotion-driven singles, as a jaded Kendrick appears on the cover with a white t-shirt in front of bricks with the title ‘DAMN.’ above him in a bright red that attracts the human eye. The lettering of “DAMN.” is also reminiscent of TIME Magazine.

https://twitter.com/LALeakers/status/851846085291192322

‘DAMN.’ will arrive this Friday just ahead of Kendrick’s performance at Coachella Weekend 1. Be sure to pre-order.

PRE-ORDER ‘DAMN.’

@IAMBNYCE