Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Signals Hip-Hop’s Growing Cultural Clout
“DAMN.,†considered the rapper’s most introspective work to date, was 2017’s most popular R&B or hip-hop album
Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize win is the latest sign of the growing recognition of hip-hop—this time from one of America’s highest-profile cultural institutions.
The rapper, who won for his album “DAMN.,†is the first winner who isn’t a classical or jazz artist since the first Pulitzer for music was issued in 1943. Aside from previous award winners Wynton Marsalis, Henry Threadgill and Ornette Coleman, it has largely been a prize for classical composers.
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