Kendrick Lamar Wins Pulitzer Prize for Music

Kendrick Lamar became the first rap artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album, DAMN. The Pulitzer board announced the selection on Monday, calling the 2017 LP "a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African American life."

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The Pulitzer for music generally goes to contemporary classical music. Take a look at the list of previous winners which reveals a lot of operas and symphonies. Lamar, however, is a hip-hop/rap artist, and DAMN. is a hip-hop album. Lamar becomes the first person to win a Pulitzer for a hip-hop album and the first person to win a Pulitzer for any music that’s not classical or jazz.