Research on our Chosen Artist

·         Kendrick Lamar, Born June 17, 1987

·         Signed to independent record label TopDawg, 2012 he joined a joint venture deal with aftermath and interscope records. 

·         His major label debut studio album good kid, m.A.A.d city, was released October 22,2012 to widespread acclaim. The album spawned the Top 40 hits "Swimming Pools (Drank)", "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe", and "Poetic Justice". Swimming Pools being the song we have decided to use for our media video.

·         The album, which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In early 2013, MTV crowned Lamar the No.1 Hottest MC in the Game, on their annual list.

·         BET awards 2013 Kendrick won best new artist.

I then went on to research Kendrick's influences so that I can look at their music and compare, this also widens my knowledge of the genre of music and how to target our video to the audience we are going for.

Kendrick's Influences include:

·         2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nas and Eminem are his top five favorite rappers. Tupac Shakur arguably his biggest influence as he has not only influenced the style of music but Kendrick's day to day lifestyle. 

·         In terms of subject matter and technical ability, Kendrick Lamar has often been compared to Tupac, Eminem, Nas and Jay-Z.

·         Kendrick also gave Lil Wayne credit for influencing his style. He has said that he also grew up listening to Rakim, Dr Dre and Tha Dogg Pound.

·         He also cites rapper DMX as an influence "DMX really got me started on music."