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How Kendrick Lamar became the most marketable man in hip-hop

Straight out of Bompton, CA Kendrick Lamar is the definition of hope. Mr. Duckworth has seen it all on the streets of Compton. Witnessing his first murder at 5, Lamar is no stranger to precarious street violence.

From a young age he realized that where you grow up has a direct influence on who you are. Check out what Kendrick said in an interview with Vibe reminiscing on the murder he witnessed,

“It was outside my apartment unit. A guy was out there serving his narcotics and somebody rolled up with a shotgun and blew his chest out. Admittedly, it done something to me right then and there. It let me know that this is not only something that I’m looking at, but it’s something that maybe I have to get used to — you dig what I’m saying,”

Lamar not only “got used to it,” he took something he loved, combined it with his own story and created who he is today – Kendrick Lamar.

Lamar’s mind was exposed to rap at the young age of 9, when Tupac and Dr. Dre pulled up to a Compton swap meet on Rosecrans.

Lamar watched Dre from his daddy’s shoulders rapping and driving around his neighborhood that day. Who would think that he would be collaborating with one of the world’s best producers 15 years later?

It must’ve been mind blowing when his camp, TDE, closed the game changing joint venture deal with Interscope back in 2012. After the deal Lamar went on to create music masterpieces. His force became one to be reckoned with.

So far on his musical journey Lamar has racked up plaques making space on his shelves for 7 Grammy’s, 2 RIAA platinum plaques, a RIAA gold plaque, and not to mention the six Moon Men he took home from this past VMAs.

And, Lamar entered the world of fashion to change it forever. In 2017 closed a massive endorsement in with Nike.

It is not usual to hear a lot about Kendrick Lamar,  unlike many other artists, he prefers to stay out of the limelight. Yet every now and then, the internet flooded with news about the Compton rapper because he is, most likely, changing the world.