West Coast Rapper Kendrick Lamar Holding It Down

This 23 year old rapper from Compton, CA is on his third solo project Section 80 which came out in July of this year. This month Lamar was on stage with Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Game–All three hard hitting artists crowned Lamar as the New King of the West Coast. This title definitely takes big shoes to fill, and only time will tell if Kendrick Lamar can come out on top and hold down this top honor, but I have to say the West Coast rapper is well on his way.

When Kendrick was 16 he released his very first mixtape Youngest Head Nigga in Charge under the name K. Dot, and the mixtape quickly gained him enough attention to get a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2003.Two years later he followed up his first tape with a twenty-six track mixtape, and in 2008 made a cameo appearance on jay Rock’s All My Life (In the Ghetto) music video. He can been seen on the video singing when the chorus comes in.

Lamar toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock in 2010 on the Independent grind tour, and in Sept of 2010 he released O(verly) D(edicated) a highly acclaimed mixtape that included a song titled “Ignorance is Bliss” in which he glorifies gangsta rap and street crime but ends each verse with “ignorance is bliss giving the message we know not what we do.  It was this song that actually got legendary hip hop producer Dr Dre interested in working with Kendrick, and Dre ended up having him work with him and Snoop on Dre’s Detox album.

Section 80 sold over 5000 copies in its first week without any kind of radio or TV coverage, and has received many positive reviews. The first single HiiiPower which was produced by J Cole is a song that further explains the HiiiPower movement.

When asked whether Section.80 would be an album or a mixtape Lamar said “I treat every project like it’s an album anyway. It’s not going to be nothing leftover. I never do nothing like that. These are my leftover songs ya’ll can have em, nah. I’m going to put my best out. My best effort This summer Kendrick Lamar also appeared on Game’s The R.E.D. Album and Tech N9ne’s All 6’s and 7’s respectively.