How Kendrick Lamar earned a Pulitzer prize

New York Times

10-02-2025

Follow live reaction to Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX halftime show, which featured SZA, Serena Williams and Samuel L Jackson
Kendrick Lamar, a 22-time Grammy Award-winning artist, took centre stage for this year's Super Bowl half-time show.
Lamar, who was joined by frequent collaborator SZA, performed his hit diss track 'Not Like Us' amongst other songs.
His set included appearances from Samuel L Jackson — who portrayed Uncle Sam — and Serena Williams.
The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. Follow postgame coverage here.
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Kendrick Lamar made history in 2018 when he became the first non-classical or jazz artist to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music. His groundbreaking album DAMN . earned the prestigious award, marking a major moment for both hip-hop and mainstream recognition of the genre's artistic depth.
Released in 2017, DAMN . was praised for its raw storytelling, intricate lyricism, and social commentary. The album explored themes of race, faith, identity, and the struggles of Black America, all while blending Lamar's signature poetic style with hard-hitting beats. Songs like 'DNA,' 'HUMBLE', and 'FEAR' showcased his ability to weave personal narratives with larger societal issues, making DAMN both a critical and commercial success.
The Pulitzer Committee described the album as 'a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African American life.' In other words, DAMN . was more than just an album—it was a cultural statement.
Lamar's win shattered barriers, proving that hip-hop deserved the same artistic respect as classical compositions. It wasn't just a win for him; it was a victory for the genre, legitimizing rap's place in high art and setting a new precedent for future artists.
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Last year alone, Swift's relationship with Kelce and her subsequent appearances at Chiefs games generated an estimated $331.5 million in brand value for both the team and the NFL. By the time the season had reached the Super Bowl, the Swift conversation had reached a fever pitch. Super Bowl LVIII drew a record 123.7 million average viewers, thanks to a 24 percent jump in 18- to 24-year-old women tuning in. Overall, 58.8 million women watched on Super Sunday last year, comprising 47.5 percent of the game's total audience, which is the highest figure ever.
'There are very few people on the planet — maybe not any — who have the type of influence that Taylor Swift has right now,' Ian Trombetta, the NFL's SVP of social, influencer and content marketing, said last year. 'So yeah, it'd be kind of ridiculous for us not to lean into it and have some fun, right?'
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Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift collaborated in 2015 on the remix of Swift's hit song 'Bad Blood.' The track was originally released as part of her 1989 album, but the remixed version featuring Lamar dropped alongside an action-packed music video at the height of Swift's transition into pop superstardom.
The collaboration was a major crossover moment in music, merging Swift's mainstream appeal with Lamar's elite lyricism and credibility in the hip-hop world. At the time, Lamar had just released his critically acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly. The 'Bad Blood' remix was a massive success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and further cementing Swift's dominance. The video, filled with celebrity cameos and blockbuster-level production, won the Grammy for Best Music Video and was one of the biggest pop culture moments of the decade.
While Lamar and Swift haven't collaborated again, their link-up remains one of the more unexpected and commercially successful genre-crossing moments of the 2010s. Nearly a decade later, 'Bad Blood (Remix)' still stands as a testament to their respective cultural influence and ability to push musical boundaries.
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Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning record "Not Like Us" contains plenty of language that will likely be edited for a national broadcast, which is common enough for such performances. But "Not Like Us" has drawn more interest than usual, with speculation around its explicit allegations against Drake, including the line "Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles" and the viral lyric "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minorrrrrrrrr."
Drake is suing Universal Music Group (which represents both of the artists) for defamation. The suit claims that the allegations in the song (and specifically 'certified pedophile') have put Drake and his family in danger. Some legal experts say that Fox and the NFL may be vulnerable to a similar lawsuit if they are seen as "promoting" those lyrics.
Two clues as to what might happen? The lyric was played on the CBS broadcast of the Grammys (with celebrities like Taylor Swift singing along) and at the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Press Conference.
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The ongoing rap battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar has reignited a classic hip-hop tradition—lyrical warfare at the highest level. What started as subliminal shots over the past decade escalated into full-blown diss tracks in 2024, culminating in Kendrick's 'Not Like Us,' a song that has transcended rap beef to become a cultural moment.
Their rivalry has always been a matter of contrast—Drake, the commercial machine, effortlessly blending hip-hop and pop to dominate charts, versus Kendrick, the Pulitzer-winning lyricist whose pen and storytelling have always cut deeper than most. The feud boiled over when Kendrick, J. Cole, and Drake were looped into a debate over rap's hierarchy. 'The Big Three' was a title and sentiment that the three of them had been included in, with the pinnacle coming on 'First Person Shooter,' a Cole and Drake collaboration this summer. After months of tension and shots on tracks like Future & Metro Boomin's 'Like That' and Drake's 'Push Ups,' Kendrick delivered 'Not Like Us,' a scathing takedown of Drake that captured the internet's imagination and took the world by storm.
What makes 'Not Like Us' such a big deal? For one, it's more than just a diss track—it's an anthem. Produced by West Coast legend DJ Mustard, the beat is infectious, turning an attack on Drake into a club banger, something the pop star had built his rap battle success on. It's rare for a diss song to have this level of mainstream appeal, and even rarer for it to unite hip-hop in a near-unanimous declaration of victory. The song's brutal directness, accusing Drake of industry manipulation and questionable affiliations, resonated in a way that shifted public perception.
In an era where beefs often fizzle out in social media discourse, 'Not Like Us' brought back the raw energy of rap battles that define legacies. Ahead of his Super Bowl halftime performance, Kendrick Lamar has already delivered one of the most impactful diss tracks in hip-hop history—one that's not just being heard, but celebrated with five Grammy wins.
The Super Bowl LIX halftime show was star-studded. Not only did Kendrick Lamar speak and Usher make an appearance, but Hollywood actor Will Smith also made a cameo.
Smith, an Academy Award-winning actor and Grammy Award-winning artist, was born and raised in West Philadelphia. He is a die-hard Eagles fan.
So it wasn't hard to predict who he was leaning toward in the Super Bowl!
"I just can't see how the Eagles lose," Smith said in a pre-recorded video.
The deluge began about 30 seconds before Prince took the stage, and organizers asked Prince if he wanted to cancel it to safety concerns. Prince, per Super Bowl halftime show producer Don Mischer, answered the question with a question: 'Can you make it rain harder?'
When he launched into the guitar solo of 'Purple Rain' as the heavens poured forth, it was one of those moments that nobody ever could have planned. Not just an all-time halftime show, but an all-time rock and roll performance.
It was transcendent, and it's the one halftime show I've watched on multiple occasions since.
Read more about the phenomenal experience below.
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Super Bowl halftime shows ranked: Where does Usher rank with Prince, U2, Rihanna?
Usher and Kendrick Lamar have something in common. Last year, it was Usher performing solo at the first time at the Super Bowl. This year, it's Kendrick.
And Usher shared the advice he gave Lamar about the halftime show.
"Savor the moment," Usher said.
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Usher was asked during the Super Bowl halftime show news conference who is going to win the big game.
The artist gave a simple answer. Hint: He didn't pick either the Chiefs or the Eagles.
"I gotta pick Kendrick Lamar," Usher said.
Usher dazzled fans last year with his halftime show performance at Super Bowl LVIII.
Before Kendrick Lamar appeared for his news conference, Usher spoke about his experience last year.
The award-winning artist said the Super Bowl halftime show was one of the benchmark moments of his career, along with going on tour and hearing himself on the radio.
Wonder what it will mean for Kendrick.
Kendrick Lamar went on to discuss mentorship during his Super Bowl LIX halftime show news conference, admitting it's been "everything."
"To be around individuals who experienced every little thing, that you think you're the first person to go through...
"A couple mentors have given me affirmation, to believe in who I am even when I wasn't actually feeling it," Lamar said.
At this point in Kendrick Lamar's career, it's about being real. He wants to be authentic as a person and an artist.
The 22-time Grammy award winner says he hopes his authenticity shines in his performance during the Super Bowl halftime show.
"I'm Black," Lamar said. "It's gonna come out every time; I can't sugarcoat it, I can't downplay, I'm at a point in my life I can't necessarily fake for nothing.
"I have to be who I am authentically and if the world can't accept that then so be it — but who rockin' with it, I'm going to put it all the way out there."
Kendrick Lamar opened up during his halftime show news conference about his childhood.
For the acclaimed hip-hop artist, the Super Bowl wasn't on the horizon. It was about the rap and making mixtapes.
"I wasn't thinking about no Super Bowl," Lamar said.
"We was thinking about the best verse and how we're gonna split this five dollars at Church's Chicken. There wasn't no Super Bowl."
There is now, Kendrick!
Kendrick Lamar is sharing the stage with SZA during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. Lamar and SZA collaborated in 2018 for their hit song, "All the Stars."
In Lamar's new album GNX, the two artists teamed up again for "Luther," and the rapper had high praise for SZA during his media availability last week.
"She always had it, man, she always had it," Lamar said. "I'm honored just to be next to her talent."
Last weekend, Kendrick Lamar won five Grammy awards for his song "Not Like Us," taking his total to 22.
In the Super Bowl halftime show performance, Lamar insisted he wants to highlight rap as an art form.
'I just think about the culture," Lamar said. 'It's always that for me, first, I'm not even bulls***ing. When people talk about rap, the conversations I hear they think 'it's just rap', it's not an actual art form.
'So when you put records like ("Not Like Us") at the forefront, it reminds people… This is just as big of an art form and a genre as any other genre."
During the halftime show news conference, Kendrick Lamar was asked about his public beef with Drake in 2024.
This led to several diss tracks between the artists, most notable being Lamar's "Not Like Us" which gained critical acclaim. The song earned Lamar five Grammy awards last weekend.
Of his past year with a highly public rap battle with Drake and his new album GNX, Kendrick said "I love when artists grit they teeth, like I still watch battle raps…
"This has always been the core definition of who I am and it's been there since day one... I think a lot of people was putting rap to the back, you didn't see that grit, you didn't see that bite anymore."
Punchy!
Kendrick Lamar, who becomes the first solo hip-hop artist to perform at the Super Bowl, spoke to the media ahead of headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show.
"My intent from day one was to keep the nature of it as a sport," Lamar said.
We'll bring you more of his quotes over the next hour or so, so stick with us.
During the Apple Music halftime show press conference, Kendrick Lamar said fans should expect 'storytelling' during the Super Bowl halftime show. But what does that mean?
If 'heart pt. 6' on Lamar's latest album "GNX" is any indication — some of the lyrics below — I can see the West Coast rapper being brash and flashy on stage, showing a newer side of him which has helped him ascend into the rap game's highest echelon.
Kendrick may even bring a prop Buick Grand National Regal with him to New Orleans.
'Now it's about Kendrick, I wanna evolve, place my skill set as a Black exec'
'I jog my memory, knowin' Black Hippy didn't work 'cause of me
'Creatively, I moved on with new concepts in reach'...
Ahead of becoming the first solo hip-hop artist to headline a Super Bowl halftime show, Kendrick Lamar said the honor has made him reflect on the work it took to reach this milestone in his career.
'It made me think about the grind of it,' Lamar said Thursday. 'A lot of people don't see the story before the glory. Shuffling out your mixtapes and going to neighborhoods for parties and performing at hole in the wall spots.'
Lamar sat with Apple Music's Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis for an interview leading up to his Super Bowl LIX halftime performance at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Lamar had a big 2024. His rap battle with rival Drake made headlines and culminated Sunday when his song 'Not Like Us' won five Grammys, including Record and Song of the Year.
Lamar has won 22 Grammys in his career and is the only non-classical or jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize in 2018, which he did for his album, 'DAMN.' He has already announced R&B star SZA will be a special guest and he's promised 'storytelling' as part of the show.
Read more below.
GO FURTHER
Kendrick Lamar reflects on 'grind' that preceded headlining Super Bowl halftime show