Posted in: News | No Comments | Posted on October 26, 2021 by Mary Anne

Q. Who is rapper Kendrick Lamar named after?

A. Born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth in Compton, California. He was named after Motown singer Eddie Kendricks, who co-founded The Temptations.
At eight years old in 1995, Lamar watched Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre film the original video for “California Love” in Compton. Years later, Dre would become his mentor.
Another connection with Dre is Lamar and the good doctor both attended the same high school: Compton’s Centennial High School.
Lamar occasionally goes by the name K-Dot, a throwback to his pre-famous rap beginnings.
Lamar’s rider includes some Polo socks. His grandma used to tell him, “You ain’t got to take a shower for four days, but put some fresh socks on and you’ll feel better about yourself.”
His 2017 album DAMN. lost the Album of the Year Grammy to Bruno Mars, but it won the Pulitzer Prize for music, which had gone to a classical or jazz artist every year since it was first issued in 1943. The committee issued a typically erudite explanation, calling the 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.”