Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born on 17 June 1987, and was raised in Compton, California, embarking on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K.Dot, and at the age of 16 releasing a mixtape titled 'Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year)' that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment. He began recording material with the label and subsequently released a 26-track mixtape in 2005 titled 'Training Day', and after receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, he released his third mixtape in 2009, titled 'C4', which was heavily themed around Wayne's album 'Tha Carter III'. Soon after, he decided to no longer go by the stage name of K.Dot and opted to use his birth name. In 2010 he began to gain recognition after his fourth mixtape 'Overly Dedicated' found an audience, and 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, subsequently securing 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 to critical acclaim, recognition and mainstream success. His third album 'To Pimp A Butterfly' came out in 2015, and incorporated elements of funk, soul, jazz, and spoken word, predominantly centred around the Black-American experience. It became his first number-one album on the US Billboard 200 and was an enormous critical success. Before 'To Pimp A Butterfly' propelled Lamar into the hip-hop and rap mainstream, he was still recording songs independently, and in 2012 he released a number of them on a mixtape under the name 'Compton State Of Mind'. This featured all new material which hadn't appeared on his official albums, and this collection bridges the gap between the critically acclaimed 'Good Kid, M.A.A.D City' and the ground-breaking 'To Pimp A Butterfly'.
Track listing
01 Kendrick Lamar
02 Today
03 Imagine (feat. Jay Rock and Punch)
04 LMAO
05 Little Johnny
06 The Best Rapper Alive
07 Yung Boys World
08 Dreams
09 Skill Still Appeal
10 World Negatives
11 Compton State Of Mind
