This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (February 2011)

Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard that ranks rap albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.^[1]

History[link]

Top Rap Albums began publication for the week of November 13, 2004, and the first number-one album was Unfinished Business by Jay-Z and R Kelly.^[2]

References[link]

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Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique performing in March 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Felipe Andres Coronel
Born	(1978-02-19) February 19, 1978 (age 34) Lima, Lima Province, Peru[1]
Origin	Harlem, New York, United States
Genres	East Coast hip hop, alternative hip hop, political hip hop, Underground Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Viper Records
Associated acts	Akir, Diabolic, Lowkey, Chino XL, DJ Green Lantern, La Coka Nostra, Jean Grae, Rockin' Squat, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Ras Kass, Krs-One, Pumpkinhead, Reppin MG
Website	myspace.com/immortaltechnique

Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York.^[2] Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as class struggle, poverty, religion, government and institutional racism.

Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to retain control over his production,^[3] and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to 200,000 copies of his three official releases.^[4]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Coronel is African-Peruvian and was born in 1978 in a military hospital in Lima.^[1] His family emigrated in 1980 to Harlem.^[5] During his teenage years he was arrested multiple times due in part to what he has said was "selfish and childish" behavior. He attended Hunter College High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Shortly after enrolling in Pennsylvania State University, he was arrested and charged with assault-related offenses due to his involvement in an altercation between fellow students, the charges stemming from this incident led to him being incarcerated for a year.^[1][6] After being paroled, he took political science classes at Baruch College in New York City for two semesters at the behest of his father, who allowed Coronel to live with him on the condition that he go to school.^[7] Honing his rapping skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, Coronel began selling his music on the streets of New York while battling with MCs whenever the opportunity arose.^[8][9][10] This, coupled with his victories in numerous freestyle rap competitions of the New York underground hip hop scene such as Rocksteady Anniversary, Braggin Rites and others, led to his reputation as a ferocious Battle MC.^[11]

Revolutionary Vol.1 and Vol.2[link]

In 2001, Immortal Technique released his first album Revolutionary Vol. 1 without the help of a record label or distribution, instead using money earned from his rap battle triumphs^[11]. He also battled but lost to Posta Boy in 106 & Park's Freestyle Friday. Revolutionary Vol. 1 also contained the underground classic Dance With The Devil. In November 2002, he was listed by The Source in its "Unsigned Hype" column, highlighting artists that are not signed to a record label. The following year, in September 2003, he received the coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" in The Source for a song entitled "Industrial Revolution" from his second album. Immortal Technique is the only rapper in history to have a "Hip Hop Quotable" while being unsigned.^[11] He released his second album Revolutionary Vol. 2 in 2003. In 2004, Viper Records and, in 2005, Babygrande Records re-released Immortal Technique's debut, Revolutionary Vol. 1, to make it available to a wider audience. "Point of No Return" from Revolutionary Vol 2 was used as the entrance theme for Rashad Evans during the UFC 88 Main Event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.

Revolutionary Vol.3 and The Middle Passage[link]

Immortal Technique (left) at the Roskilde Festival, 2006.

Between 2005 and 2007 Immortal Technique began working on The Middle Passage and The 3rd World, the two albums that would serve a follow up to Revolutionary Vol. 2 and complete the series. He was also featured on several movie soundtracks and video game soundtracks, all the while touring relentlessly and becoming heavily involved in visiting prisons to speak to youth and working with immigrant rights activists and raising tens of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals overseas. He invested his money not in items that are usually associated with fame but rather in large pieces of farmland in Latin America. He created a writing grant program for high school students as well.^[12]

The Martyr[link]

In October 2011 Immortal Technique released The Martyr, a free compilation album of previously unreleased material and new tracks. ^[13]

Collaborations[link]

The summer of 2005 saw the release of "Bin Laden", a vinyl single 12" featuring Mos Def and DJ Green Lantern. The single also contained a remix of the song featured Chuck D of Public Enemy and KRS-One. In early 2006, the song "Impeach the President", featuring Dead Prez and Saigon turned up in the mixtape "Alive on Arrival" DJ Green Lantern. This is a simple version of The Honeydrippers, 1973, in which Immortal Technique urged fans to organize a vote of censure against George W. Bush. In April 2009, a new song leaked on the internet named "Democratie Fasciste (Article 4)" by Brazilian-French rapper Rockin' Squat which featured Immortal Technique. The official release of the song and Rockin' Squat's album Confessions D'un Enfant Du Siècle Volume 2 was on May 12, 2009. The instrumental from the song was sampled from Wendy Rene's "After Laughter". The song expresses the inequalities of the Third World and revolutionary events throughout history against tyranny and oppression. The song contains lyrics in English (Immortal Technique), French (Rockin' Squat) and brief shout outs in Spanish (Immortal Technique). This song is Immortal Technique's first official international collaboration.^[14] In early 2009, it was announced that there would be a collaboration between Technique and UK underground artist Lowkey, on a single called "Voices of the Voiceless". On September 11, 2009, a "snippet" of the song was released on YouTube.^[15] The preview was released ahead of its September 21 launch on iTunes, as part of a web-campaign that included updates, promotion and links on forums, E-Magazines and several social networking sites. The song's lyrics cover a broad range of issues that are familiar to listeners of both artists – racism, world revolution, war, socialism, government control, rape, famine, colonialism, Classism, self-determination and the war in Iraq.^[16]

Charitable work[link]

Immortal Technique performing in March 2010.

In June 2008, Immortal Technique partnered with Omeid International, a Non–Profit Human Rights Organization, to lend his support. He dubbed the work as "The Green Light Project". With the profits of The 3rd World album, Immortal Technique traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan to help Omeid build an orphanage without any corporate or external funding. The orphanage, having been successfully established, currently houses over 20 orphaned children from Kabul.^[17]

Films[link]

[edit] The (R)evolution of Immortal Technique

A documentary about Immortal Technique was released in September 2011 and premiered at the Harlem Film Festival.^[18]

[edit] This Revolution

Immortal Technique appeared as himself in a docudrama film entitled This Revolution, which was recorded during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. The tape contains the protests surrounding the convention in the form of a documentary. It also featured Viper Records affiliates Akir and producer SouthPaw in roles.

Since then Immortal Technique has taken control of Viper Records and has signed a distribution deal with Babygrande Records / E1 Entertainment to vent to their next album. SouthPaw has managed to establish himself as A&R of Viper Records.

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

Compilation Albums[link]

• 2011: The Martyr

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Immortal Technique on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons
	Quotations from Wikiquote

• Official website
• Immortal Technique on Twitter
• Immortal Technique on Myspace
• Immortal Technique at Allmusic
• Immortal Technique at MTV
• Immortal Technique at AllRovi
• Immortal Technique at the Internet Movie Database

Kool G Rap
Kool G Rap performing in New York City, 2004
Background information
Birth name	Nathaniel Thomas Wilson
Also known as	Kool G. Rap, G Rap, Giancana
Born	(1968-07-20) July 20, 1968 (age 43) Queens, New York City, US
Origin	Corona, Queens, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, mafioso rap, hardcore hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, record producer, screenwriter, author
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros. Records Cold Chillin' Cold Chillin'/Epic Street/SME Records KOCH'
Associated acts	DJ Polo, Juice Crew, Marley Marl, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Fat Joe, Canibus, Five Family Click, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, MF Grimm, Mobb Deep, R.A. The Rugged Man, Ras Kass, DJ Premier, Rick Ross, Game (rapper)

Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968^[1]), better known by his stage names Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap, and originally Kool Genius of Rap) is an American rapper, from the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York City.^[2] He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew. He is often cited as one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time^{[3][4][5][6][1][7][8][9][10]} as he is a pioneer of mafioso rap/street/hardcore content^{[5][10][11][12][13][14]} and multisyllabic rhyming.^[15] On his album The Giancana Story, he stated that the "G" in his name stands for "Giancana" (after the mobster Sam Giancana), but on other occasions he's stated that it stands for "Genius".^[1][16]

He has also been cited as a major influence to some of hip-hop's most critically acclaimed figures such as Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z, Big Pun, RZA and more.^[9][17][18]

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Wilson grew up in the poverty-ridden streets of Corona Queens, New York with legendary producer Eric B.^[19] In an interview with The Source he stated;

Growing up in Corona was like a little Harlem, it wasn't that hard for a nigga to be influenced by the street life type of mentality. I was like 15 years old, Ma dukes couldn't dress a nigga no more and at that age you want a little money in your pocket. That's what gets us all, material possessions. A nigga got caught up in that mentality. Nigga started selling drugs at a certain point, and all that shit, it's what was goin' on in the streets ... eventually all my friends got smoked. Everybody was droppin'. All my friends started packing burners everyday, we was wild shorties.

—Kool G Rap, The Source Magazine, issue 72, September, 1995.^[20]

Around this time, Wilson was looking for a DJ, and through Eric B., he met DJ Polo, who was looking for an MC to collaborate with.^[19]

Kool G Rap and DJ Polo[link]

Juice Crew producer, and Mr. Magic DJ; Marley Marl knew Polo, and allowed him and G Rap to go to his studio to do a demo, which resulted in the song "It's a Demo." The song was written and recorded in one night, and had Marley so impressed, that he instantly embraced Kool G Rap and DJ Polo as Juice Crew members (it's worth noting that this was the first time G Rap had ever met Marley.)^[21] In 1986 on Mr Magic's Rap Attack radio show on 107.5, the duo got their first exposure which created more buzz. They eventually released "It's a Demo" as a single with "I'm Fly", along with two more singles. Shortly after this, Kool G Rap appeared on the Juice Crew's classic posse cut 'The Symphony' before they released their debut album, Road to the Riches in 1989.^[22][23] This album and their two later albums, Wanted: Dead or Alive (1990) and Live and Let Die (1992), are highly regarded and considered Hip-Hop classics.^{[12][15][22][24][25][26]} Eventually in 1993, Kool G rap parted ways with DJ Polo in pursuit of a solo career.

Solo career[link]

In 1995, G Rap started his solo career with the album 4,5,6, which featured production from Buckwild, and guest appearances from Nas, MF Grimm and B-1 – it has been his most commercially successful record, reaching No.24 on the US Billboard 200 album chart.^[27] This was followed by Roots of Evil in 1998.^[1] He was then meant to release his next album, The Giancana Story in 2000, on Rawkus Records, but due to several complications with the label, the album was pushed back several times, and eventually released in 2002. "My Life" the hit single from the album featuring Talk Box legend G-Wise reached No.5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts. In 2008 he released the EP Half a Klip on Chinga Chang Records, featuring production from, among others, DJ Premier and Marley Marl.^[28]

Criticisms of Kool G Rap's solo albums usually focus on the production not being up to the standard of the rapping.^[29][30]

While Kool G Rap has always been popular and well respected in Hip-Hop circles for his lyrical skills,^[11][15] he never crossed over and saw the same level of commercial success as rappers such as Biz Markie and Big Daddy Kane, both also members of the Juice Crew.^[28][31] He is known for consistently making records which are hardcore, dark, intelligent, and underground.^{[6][11][12][26]}

Legacy[link]

Kool G Rap is regarded as a hugely influential golden age rapper.^[1] Music journalist Peter Shapiro suggests that he "created the blueprint for Nas, Biggie and everyone who followed in their path".^[32] Kool G is described by Kool Moe Dee as "the progenitor and prototype for Biggie, Jay-Z, Treach, Nore, Fat Joe, Big Pun, and about twenty-five more hard-core emcees",^[3] and Kool Moe Dee also claims Kool G Rap is "the most lyrical" out of all of the artists mentioned.^[33] MTV describes Kool G Rap as a "hip-hop godfather", adding that he paved the way for a lot of MCs who we would not have heard of otherwise.^[5] Rolling Stone says, "G Rap excelled at the street narrative, a style that would come to define later Queens MCs like Nas (who was hugely influenced by G Rap on his early records) and Mobb Deep".^[10]

Other artists who have named Kool G Rap as a major influence include Notorious B.I.G.,^[34] Eminem,^[17] Jay-Z,^[35] Tajai of Souls of Mischief,^[36] Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks,^[37] Steele of Smif-n-Wessun,^[38] Havoc of Mobb Deep,^[38] Rock of Heltah Skeltah,^[38] MC Serch,^[39] Termanology,^[40] Black Thought of The Roots,^[41] M.O.P.,^[42] R.A. The Rugged Man,^[43] Bun B of UGK,^[7] Rah Digga,^[8][44] RZA^[9] and Raekwon^[45] of Wu-Tang Clan, Lady Of Rage,^[46] Big Pun,^[2] O.C. of DITC,^[47] Memphis Bleek,^[48] Kurupt,^[49] Pharoahe Monch,^[50] and Twista,^[51][52] among others.

He is also often very highly rated in terms of his technical ability^{[5][6][7][8][9][26][33]} and is often ranked alongside other highly regarded golden age MCs, such as Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, and KRS-One.^[11][15] In Jay-Z's track 'Encore', Jay-Z raps, "hearing me rap is like hearing G Rap in his prime",^[28][53] comparing his skill level to that of Kool G Rap. Allmusic calls him "one of the greatest rappers ever", "a master", and "a legend".^[6][26] A number of rappers, such as Ice Cube, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Lloyd Banks, and Nas have put him in their lists of favorite rappers.^[54] Kool Moe Dee ranked Kool G Rap at No.14 in his book There's A God On The Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs,^[33] and MTV gives him an 'Honorable Mention' in their Greatest MCs Of All Time list.^[5]

Rhyme technique[link]

Kool G Rap is known for using complex multisyllabic rhymes since his debut (in a similar way to other golden age MCs such as Big Daddy Kane and Rakim),^[15] and this remains a hallmark of his style, along with his rapid-fire delivery and "superhuman breath control".^[15] Although many of today's MCs use multisyllabic rhymes extensively (such as Eminem, Pharoahe Monch, Nas, Papoose, and many others), Kool G Rap is known for taking the technique to its limits and packing in as many multisyllabic rhymes as possible,^[55][56] sometimes all in the same rhyme scheme for a whole verse, such as on Sway & King Tech's 'The Anthem'.^[56]

He has also been cited as one of Hip-Hop's greatest storytellers, alongside Slick Rick and Notorious B.I.G.,^[24][57] with "laser-like visual descriptions",^[12] and "vivid narratives".^[15] Rolling Stone states that, "Live and Let Die continued G Rap's reign as rap music's premier yarn-spinner".^[10]

Kool G Rap provided the foreword for the 2009 book How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC,^[58][59] also providing insight into his rhyming technique.

Mafioso/Street content[link]

Kool G Rap is often credited as the first rapper to infuse his lyrics with mafioso and hardcore street content.^{[5][10][11][12][13][14][15]} This can be seen as early as 1989 in the song "Road to the Riches" where he makes a reference to Al Pacino (who plays mobster Tony Montana in the 1983 crime drama movie Scarface)^[60] – this was long before albums such as Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (1995), and Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt (1996) made such references popular.^[14]

Since his debut, he has used various references to mob movies in his lyrics, album covers, and titles.^[1] For example, the first line of 'Bad to the Bone' from Wanted: Dead or Alive (1990) is, I'm bad to the bone / with a style like Al Capone,^[61] the album Live and Let Die (1992) uses samples from the film The Untouchables,^[62] the album cover of Roots of Evil (1998) uses elements from The Godfather and Scarface theatrical posters,^[29] and The Giancana Story (2002) album title references Mafia boss Sam Giancana.^[1]

Rolling Stone says, "before Kool G Rap, New York didn't really have the street rap that could hold its own against what artists such as L.A.'s Ice-T and N.W.A were churning out"^[10] and that "G Rap excelled at the street narrative".^[10]

His take on crime, violence, and the mafioso lifestyle ranges from remorse and contemplation (e.g. 'Streets of New York',^[63] described by Rolling Stone as "a vivid look inside the misery of the hood"^[10]), to glorification (e.g. 'Fast Life' featuring Nas^[64]).

Personal life[link]

Wilson dated Karrine Steffans. They have one son. Kool G Rap also has children with other women.^[65]

Discography[link]

Featured appearances[link]

• 1988: "The Symphony" (on the Marley Marl album In Control Volume 1)
• 1991: "Don't Curse" (from the Heavy D album Peaceful Journey")
• 1991: "The Symphony Vol. II" (on the Marley Marl album In Control Volume 2: For Your Steering Pleasure)
• 1992: "Death Threat" (from the Brand New Heavies album Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1)
• 1993: "You Must Be Out of Your Fuckin' Mind" (from the Fat Joe album Represent)
• 1993: "Pee-Nile Reunion" (from the MC Shan Don't Call It Comeback 12")
• 1993: "This Is How We..." (from the Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard album Give Em The Finger)
• 1996: "Representin'" (Ruffa featuring Kool G Rap)
• 1996: "Stick To Ya Gunz" (from the M.O.P. album Firing Squad)
• 1996: "Know Da Game" (from the Frankie Cutlass album Politics And Bullshit)
• 1998: "Truly Yours 98" (from the Pete Rock album Soul Survivor)
• 1998: "Guns Blazing (Drums of Death, Pt. 1)" (from the UNKLE album Psyence Fiction)
• 1998: "40 Island" (from the N.O.R.E. album N.O.R.E.)
• 1999: "Friend of Ours" (from the E-Moneybags album In E-Moneybags We Trust)
• 1999: "The Anthem" Also feat. RZA, Tech N9ne, Eminem, Xzibit, Pharoahe Monch, Jayo Felony, Chino XL & KRS-One and "3 to the Dome" also feat. Big Daddy Kane & Chino XL (from the Sway & King Tech album This or That)
• 1999: "The Realest" (from the Mobb Deep album Murda Muzik)
• 2000: "Fall Back" (from the Big L album The Big Picture)
• 2000: "Ghetto afterlife" (from the Reflection Eternal album Train of thought)
• 2000: "Legendary Street Team" (from Lyricist Lounge 2)
• 2001: "Let 'Em Live" (from the Chino XL album I Told You So)
• 2001: "I Am" (from the G. Dep album Child of the Ghetto)
• 2001: "Gorillas" (from the Screwball album Loyalty)
• 2001: "No Surrender" (Shabaam Sahdeeq featuring Kool G Rap)
• 2002: "Allied Meta-Forces" (from the Canibus album Mic Club: The Curriculum)
• 2002: "Nuthin Has Changed" (from King Tee album The Kingdom Come)
• 2003: "Animal Rap" (from the Jedi Mind Tricks album Visions of Gandhi)
• 2005: "AIDS" (from the MF Grimm album Scars and Memories)
• 2005: "Ghost & Giancana" (from the Ghostface Killah album Put It on the Line)
• 2006: "We Gone Go Hard" (from the Ras Kass album Revenge of the Spit)
• 2006: "Reckless Eye-Ballin" (from the VERBAL THREAT album The Golden Era)
• 2006: "Full Metal Jacket" (from the Molemen album Killing Fields)
• 2007: "Hood Tales" (from the Marco Polo album Port Authority)
• 2007: "100 Roundz" (from the Domingo album The Most Underrated)
• 2007: "Come one, come all" (from the Styles P album The Ghost Sessions)
• 2007: "Next Up" (from the UGK album Underground Kingz)
• 2007: "6 in the Morning" (from the Statik Selektah album Spell My Name Right: The Album)
• 2007: "Buck Buck" (on the Red Cafe and DJ Envy album The Co-Op)
• 2007: "And Wot (Remix)" (Album "Unified: He Whanau Kotahi Tatou" featuring Sweet Tooth & Carbon Kid)
• 2007: "Terrorise the City(on the Klashnekoff album Lionheart: Tussle with the Beast featuring Kyza)
• 2008: "Queens" (from the LL Cool J Exit 13 Promo EP)
• 2008: "One Shot" (album Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary Soundtrack, Pt. 1)
• 2008: "The Next Step" (from the Big John album The Next Step featuring R.A The Rugged Man)
• 2008: "Same Old Hood" (Saul Abraham featuring Kool G Rap & St Laz)
• 2009: "Das Leid / The Light" Azad featuring Kool G Rap (from Brisk Fingaz album Einzelkämpfer)
• 2009: "Gunz From Italy" (from the Club Dogo album Dogocrazia)
• 2009: "Ill Figures" (from the Wu-Tang Clan compilation album Wu-Tang Chamber Music)
• 2009: "Legendary" (from the 67 Mob album Raising The Bar)
• 2009: "ALC Theme" (from The Alchemist album Chemical Warfare)
• 2009: "KGR & Honda" (from the DJ Honda album IV)
• 2010: "Cursed" (from the Diabolic debut album "Liar & A Thief")
• 2010: "Boot Rap" featuring Canibus (from the Mark Deez album "Bootstrap Theory")
• 2010: "White Sand Part 2" Rick Ross Ft. Triple C's from The Albert Anastasia EP
• 2010: "Knife Fight" Rick Ross Ft. Kool G Rap from The Albert Anastasia EP
• 2010: "Ready For War" CHI-ILL Ft. Kool G Rap from The Last Chance Lounge EP.
• 2010: "Controlling Tha Game" Tyger Vinum FT. Kool G. Rap from "Grindin Muzik" album
• 2010: "Frozen" (From The Left album "Gas Mask")
• 2010: "3 Extremes" (from Dusty Philharmonics album "The Audiotopsy", Unexpected Records)
• 2011: "Kies in tha game" (from Duo Kie album "De Cerebri Mortis")
• 2012: "Summertime" (from Adil Omar album The Mushroom Cloud Effect)
• 2012: "Keep it Live" (from NNFoF album No Name Full of Fame)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Paul Edwards, foreword by Kool G Rap, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC. Chicago Review Press.
• Kool Moe Dee, 2003, There's A God On The Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs, Thunder's Mouth Press.
• Brian Coleman, 2007, Check The Technique: Liner Notes For Hip-Hop Junkies, Villard, Random House.
• Peter Shapiro, 2005, The Rough Guide To Hip-Hop, 2nd Edition, Penguin.
• William Jelani Cobb, 2007, To The Break Of Dawn: A Freestyle On The Hip Hop Aesthetic, NYU Press.
• Mickey Hess, 2007, Icons Of Hip Hop, Greenwood Publishing Group.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kool G Rap

• Kool G Rap on Myspace
• Kool G Rap interview March 5, 2008 – Kool G Rap interview with HipHopDX
• Kool G Rap interview 2003 – Kool G Rap interview with MVRemix
• Conspiracy Worldwide Radio September 2010 Uncensored Interview
• Kool G Rap interview with Platform8470 2011-09-19

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth^[1] (born June 17, 1987), simply known as Kendrick Lamar, is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton, California currently signed to Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope. He first gained major attention after the release of his 2010 mixtape Overly Dedicated. In 2011, his album Section.80, released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip hop releases of the year.^[2] Lamar has amassed a large internet following, is a member of hip hop collective Black Hippy, along with Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, and has worked with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Wiz Khalifa, Game, Drake, Busta Rhymes and Tech N9ne among other popular artists.^[3]

Biography[link]

1987-2009: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Kendrick Lamar was born in Compton, California, a community southeast of Los Angeles city limits, to parents from Chicago, Illinois.^[4] At the age of eight, in 1995, Lamar witnessed his idols, Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre film the music video for their hit single "California Love," a very significant moment in Lamar's life.^[5] In 2003 at the young age of sixteen, Lamar released his first mixtape, Youngest Head Nigga In Charge under the name K. Dot.^[6] The mixtape was able to garner enough attention for Lamar to get a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based independent record label.^[6] He then released a twenty-six track mixtape two years later titled Training Day.^[7] More recognition came Lamar's way after a video of a Charles Hamilton show surfaced, where Hamilton goes in the crowd and battles rappers at attendance. Lamar didn't hesitate and began rapping a verse over Milkbone's "Keep It Real", that would later appear on a track titled "West Coast Wu-Tang".^[5] In 2008 Lamar made a cameo appearance on Jay Rock's "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" music video. After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, he released his third mixtape in 2009 titled C4, heavily themed around Tha Carter III LP.^[8] Soon after, he decided to drop his stage name K. Dot and go by his real name. This resulted in him releasing a self-titled EP; the Kendrick Lamar EP in late 2009.^[9]

[edit] 2010–2011: Overly Dedicated and Section.80

Kendrick performing at a concert in Toronto, Canada

In 2010 he toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on The Independent Grind tour.^[6] On September 23, 2010 he released O(verly) D(edicated) a highly acclaimed mixtape that included a song titled "Ignorance is Bliss" in which he glorifies gangsta rap and street crime but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss" giving the message "we know not what we do".^[10][11] It was that song specifically that made hip hop producer Dr. Dre want to work with Lamar.^[12] This led to him working with Dre and Snoop Dogg on Dre's Detox album and him considering signing to Aftermath Entertainment.^[6][13] In January 2011 Lamar said his debut album was 90% finished.^[6]

In early 2011 Lamar was featured on XXL Magazine's 2011 Freshman cover along with CyHi the Prynce, Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Yelawolf, Lil B, Big K.R.I.T. and Diggy Simmons among others.^[14] On July 2, 2011, Lamar released his third solo project Section.80 to critical acclaim. It features guest appearances from GLC, Colin Munroe, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and includes production from longtime collaborator Sounwave, Wyldfyer, Terrace Martin, J. Cole and more. On the topic of whether Section.80 would be an album or a mixtape Lamar said "I treat every project like it’s an album anyway. It’s not gonna be nothing leftover. I never do nothing like that. These are my leftover songs y’all can have ‘em, nah. I’m gonna put my best out. My best effort. I’m tryna look for an album in 2012". The first single for Section.80 was the J. Cole produced track "HiiiPower", of which the concept was to further explain the HiiiPower movement. Section.80 went on to sell over 10,000 copies in its first week^[15] without any television or radio coverage and received many very positive reviews. In the second half of 2011, Lamar appeared on Game's The R.E.D. Album, Tech N9ne's All 6's and 7's, 9th Wonder's The Wonder Years and Drake's Take Care.

In August 2011, while onstage with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Game, at the West Los Angeles concert, the three of them crowned him the "New King of the West Coast"^[16]