The rise and reign of hip hop at this moment in time is in full effect, full force, and of course, it’s Kendrick Lamar who has been crowned king. The news that Lamar had won the Pulitzer Award for his #1 album DAMN has some people, as expected, feeling mixed emotions. Love to love, love to hate. But they can’t deny that the lyrical content of the album, the narrative, the intricacy in the storytelling both chronologically and backwards flows so seamlessly with those hard hitting beats all infused so brilliantly into the foundation of a clever score. Thought provokingly poetic. It’s a huge win for broadening culture, making history to be the first artist outside of classical and jazz genres awarded since the prize began in 1943. Boom. The Pulitzer called 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.” Worthy. Making history one hit at a time. Damn good.
