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Platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated rapper Kendrick Lamar is hip hop recording artist from Compton, California. Lamar originally rapped as K. Dot and released a series of mixtapes under that name. His first official album, Section.80 (2011), was released as a digital download the following year and entered the Billboard 200 at number 113. During a 2011 concert, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Game dubbed him "The New King of the West Coast," a notion Dre endorsed more significantly by signing Lamar to the Aftermath label. Lamar's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City was released in October 2012 and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Three of its singles - "Swimming Pools (Drank)," "Poetic Justice," and "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" - reached the Top 10 of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chartWhen the nominees for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards were announced, Lamar was listed in seven categories, including Best New Artist and Album of the Year. His latest album, To Pimp a Butterfly, was released in March 2015 with tracks featuring Snoop Dogg, Bilal, Thundercat, and George Clinton. It immediately earned rave reviews, topped the Billboard 200 with sales of 325,000 copies within its first week and earned Lamar 11 2016 Grammy Awards nominations.
