Kendrick Lamar Wins Pulitzer Prize For Music

American rapper Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize for Music on Monday, April 16, 2018 for his critically acclaimed 2017 album “DAMN” making him the first rap artist to ever win an award historically dominated by classical and jazz music.

Last year’s prize in the category went to composer Dun Yu’s album “Angel’s Bone,” and the past several decades of awards in the category have largely gone to instrumental LPs.

Lamar’s “DAMN”, Billboard’s best-selling album of 2017, lost out in the album of the year category at the 2018 Grammy Awards to Bruno Mars’ “24k Magic.”

Pulitzer described Lamar’s work with the following entry:

“Recording released on April 14, 2017, a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”