The award for an achievement in American journalism, literature, or music, the Pulitzer Prize, was awarded to Kendrick Lamar for his album, ‘Damn.’
Congratulations to @kendricklamar, @dangerookipawaa and @Interscope! #Pulitzer pic.twitter.com/fFQBYnoW9F
— The Pulitzer Prizes (@PulitzerPrizes) April 16, 2018
With a list of accolades that few rappers have managed to achieve, the Compton native and Dr. Dre protégé, has undoubtedly become one of the most important artists of this generation.
A rapper has never managed to win the coveted prize, making this the first non-classical or jazz work to earn the award.
Needless to say, this is huge for the culture as the Pulitzer board called it, “a work that captures the complexity of African-American life.”
Kendrick’s Damn. album dropped last April and has proved to have staying power. Last week, the album became the TDE rapper’s third LP to sell 1 million copies. For the week ending in March 29, the album sold an additional 4,000 copies, generating total sales on the project to 1.002 million.
Kendrick’s cultural impact is widely felt. Recently it was announced a book on the rapper’s impact on Black America is being written by journalist Marcus J. Moore. The book is titled, The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America, the new book is dubbed a “cultural biography.”