Section.80 is a independent studio album by Kendrick Lamar. The album was released exclusively through iTunes on July 2, 2011, under Top Dawg Entertainment. It features guest appearances from GLC, Colin Munroe, Ash Riser, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and vocals from the late Alori Joh. The album includes production from longtime collaborator Sounwave, Wyldfyer, Terrace Martin, J. Cole and many more producers from Digi+Phonics.

Lamar says that a dream or vision of Tupac Shakur in which Tupac said "Keep doing what you're doing, don't let my music die" inspired him to write Section.80. The concept of the album is similar to many of Shakur's songs, carrying similar messages about troubled youths facing problems involving drugs and alcohol but in Kendrick's own unique style. Kendrick has said this album is for Generation Y. "A.D.H.D." addresses the high drug and medication tolerance of people born during the Reagan era. "Kush and Corinthians" notes that justice and morals are rarely cut and dried.

Section.80 is a concept album that revolves around the life of Tammy and Keisha and it explains their personal hardships in their lives. "Tammy's Song (Her Evils)" revolves around her killing her boyfriend after being unfaithful. This explains the anger she had that she had no one else to trust. "Keisha's Song (Her Pain)" is about a prostitute who seeks comfort and control, only to her demise. Lamar explains that Section.80 is for people born in the 1980's until now. Lamar dwells on a variety of subjects, such as referencing discussing Ronald Reagan and how the crack epidemic occurred in the 80s. He explains how this is part of the reason drugs are popular for his Generation, i.e. drug dealing and drug addicts.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (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. 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.

Ronald Wilson Reagan ( /ˈrɒnəld ˈwɪlsən ˈreɪɡən/; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989. Prior to that, he was the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and a radio, film and television actor.

Born in Tampico, Illinois and raised in Dixon, Reagan was educated at Eureka College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology. After his graduation, Reagan moved first to Iowa to work as a radio broadcaster and then in to Los Angeles in 1937 where he began a career as an actor, first in films and later television. Some of his most notable films include Knute Rockne, All American, Kings Row, and Bedtime for Bonzo. Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and later as a spokesman for General Electric (GE); his start in politics occurred during his work for GE. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, his positions began shifting rightward in the late 1950s, and he switched to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and general election in 1980, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.

Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name ScHoolboy Q, is an American hip hop recording artist signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and Interscope Records. Hanley is a member of Black Hippy along with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul. In a 2011 interview when asked about what encouraged him to start rapping, Hanley explained that it was something he was "born to do": "I was just chillin’ man, but rapping’s just something I was born to do. I don’t know when I started rapping. I don’t know how I started rapping, but I know I wrote a verse and I was stuck ever since," he explained.

Preceded by two mixtapes, his first independent album Setbacks, reached #100 on the US Billboard 200 chart in 2011, selling close to 1,000 digital copies in the first week. On January 14, 2012, he released his second independent album Habits & Contradictions. The album debuted at #111 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 3,900 digital copies in the United States.