Often cited as one of the most influential rappers of his generation, Kendrick Lamar celebrity heights is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Aside from his solo career, he is also a member of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy alongside his former Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) labelmates Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q.

Raised in Compton, California, Lamar embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K.Dot, releasing a mixtape titled Y.H.N.I.C. (Hub City Threat Minor of the Year) that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label TDE. He began to gain recognition in 2010 after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated. The following year, he independently released his first studio album, Section.80, which included his debut single "HiiiPoWeR". By that time, he had amassed a large online following and collaborated with several prominent rappers. He subsequently secured a record deal with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, under the aegis of Interscope Records.

Lamar's major-label debut album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, was released in 2012, garnering him widespread critical recognition and mainstream success. His third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), which incorporated elements of funk, soul, jazz, and spoken word, predominantly centered around the Black-American experience. It became his first number-one album on the US Billboard 200 and was an enormous critical success. His fourth album, Damn (2017), saw continued acclaim, becoming the first non-classical and non-jazz album to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music. It also yielded his first number-one single, "Humble", on the US Billboard Hot 100. Lamar curated the soundtrack to the superhero film Black Panther (2018) and in 2022, released his fifth and last album with TDE, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, which received critical acclaim.

Lamar has certified sales of over 70 million records in the United States alone, and all of his albums have been certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He has received several accolades in his career, including 14 Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, six Billboard Music Awards, 11 MTV Video Music Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Brit Award, and an Academy Award nomination. In 2012, MTV named him the Hottest MC in the Game on their annual list. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. In 2015, he received the California State Senate's Generational Icon Award. Three of his studio albums were included on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Lamar has been branded as the "new king of hip hop" numerous times. Forbes said, on Lamar's placement as hip hop's "king", "Kendrick Lamar may or may not be the greatest rapper alive right now. He is certainly in the very short lists of artists in the conversation." Lamar frequently refers to himself as the "greatest rapper alive" and once called himself "The King of New York." He has been a branded "master of storytelling" and his lyrics have been described as "katana-blade sharp" and his flow limber and dexterous. Lamar's writing usually includes references to racism, black empowerment and social injustice, being compared to a State of Union address by The Guardian. His writing has also been called "confessional" and controversial. The New York Times has called Lamar's musical style anti-flamboyant, interior and complex and labelled him as a technical rapper. Billboard described his lyricism as "Shakespearean".

Lamar's music widely diverges from the typical norms of modern hip hop music, with it focusing on his narration of his life and socially conscious commentary. Noted for his jazz-driven hip hop music, which waned after the 1990s, Lamar has been regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation and one of the greatest rappers of all time.

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