Rapper Kendrick Lamar made music history yesterday for being the first non classical or jazz artist to receive the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in New York. A link to a video of the ceremony is available below.
The BBC’s Matt Everett observed, ‘it’s as if James Brown were to receive the award back in 1970’s’. According to Pitchfork, the occasion was hosted at Columbia University and it’s reported that the Compton rapper received a standing ovation when he picked up the accolade.. Lamar kept his acceptance speech short, saying, ‘It’s an honour. Been writing my whole life, so to get this type of recognition, it’s beautiful’. Check out photos of Kendrick accepting his Pulitzer Prize below.
Most excitement at Pulitzer ceremony is for Kendrick Lamar’s entrance pic.twitter.com/wOQUQBfj2E
— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) May 30, 2018
Lauched in 1943, the Pulitzer Prize annually honours ‘a distinguished musical composition of significant dimension by an American’. This year, it went to Lamar for his 2017 record ‘DAMN.’,which came out in April. The Pulitzer judges described ‘DAMN.’ as a ‘virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life’.
.@kendricklamar is in the building. “We’re both making history,” #Pulitzer Administrator @DanaCanedy told the Pulitzer music award-winner as he entered today’s prize luncheon. pic.twitter.com/Tg3cMQiLOH
— The Pulitzer Prizes (@PulitzerPrizes) May 30, 2018
Meanwhile, Lamar was recently forced to stop his own show. That’s when a white female fan he had invited onto the stage, repeatedly rapped along to the n-word in one of his tracks. You can read about that here.
Here’s the award ceremony,
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