https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/16/kendrick-lamar-scored-a-pulitzer-prize-for-his-album-damn.html

30-year-old rapper Kendrick Lamar just made history by scoring a Pulitzer Prize for his album 'Damn'

Ruth Umoh | @ruthumohnews 8 Mins Ago

Twelve-time Grammy award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for music for his 2017 album "Damn," the organization announced Monday.

Twelve-time Grammy award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for music for his 2017 album "Damn," the organization announced Monday.

This makes Lamar the first rapper to win a Pulitzer and his album becomes the first non-classical or jazz work to win the award, reports the Associated Press.

In explaining the reasoning behind their selection, The Pulitzer Committee cited Lamar's "virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life."

According to CBS News, the 30-year-old rapper is also the most commercially successful musician to receive the award, which comes with a $15,000 payout.

Since bursting on to the music scene in 2011, Lamar has been applauded for his deep lyricism, live performances and his ability to mix African sounds with poetry, the spoken word, hip-hop, jazz and funk.

AllMusic, an online music guide, refers to Lamar as "one of the rare artists who has achieved critical and commercial success while earning the respect and support of those who inspired him."

"Damn" received critical acclaim upon its release and won a Grammy for best rap album, best rap performance, best rap/sung performance, best rap song and best music video.

Last year, Pitchfork called "Damn" a "masterpiece of rap," while Rolling Stone described it as "a dazzling display of showy rhyme skills, consciousness-raising political screeds, self-examination and bass-crazy-kicking."

Both musical publications also lauded his lyrical adeptness. "Storytelling has been Lamar's greatest skill," Matthew Trammell wrote for Pitchfork. "Somehow, he's gotten better."

Good look for Hip-Hop though and congratulations to K Dot

This is where I'm at with it.. its dope that hip hop is finally getting recognized as literary works of art. But....... there are tons of albums that make better case studies for the attributes cited for DAMN's win

-Mos Def's Black on both sides
-Public Enemy's It takes a nation...

I could go on but why bother.. it's good to know people outside of hip hop are finally paying attention I guess

Shit.... anyone ever think about how Pharoahe Monch's entire PTSD album is essentially a journey into mental health in the black community. And beautifully crafted with the type of wordplay that ONLY Pharoahe could mesh together.

Now That is an album that maintains a theme with purpose and dexterity. Pulitzer worthy for sure. But whadoIknow!?!

So those albums wouldn’t be eligible now.

Damn sure not thirty years ago

he shoulda won it for TPAB, but we should take it either way

I could have seen TPAB being more in line with something an organization that deals with social issues like the Pulitzer would award. Especially since the release mentioned that the award was giving because DAMN. highlighted important experiences in the Black community, which I think TPAB did better.

I guess hip hop is big enough for everything.

that's how I'm referring to it from now on

this is like a participation trophy. some make-up call shit.

and yes, DAMN. is officially the most overrated album of all-time.

He just keeps on winning.