288 pages |Paperback

This smart, confident, and necessary (Shea Serrano,New York Timesbestselling author) first cultural biography of rap superstar and master of storytelling (The New Yorker) Kendrick Lamar explores his meteoric rise to fame and his profound impact on a racially fraught Americaperfect for fans of Zack OMalley GreenburgsEmpire State of Mind.

Kendrick Lamar is at the top of his game.

The thirteen-time Grammy Award-winning rapper is just in his early thirties, but hes already won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, produced and curated the soundtrack of the megahit filmBlack Panther, and has been named one ofTimes 100 Influential People. But whats even more striking about the Compton-born lyricist and performer is how hes established himself as a formidable adversary of oppression and force for change. Through his confessional poetics, his politically charged anthems, and his radical performances, Lamar has become a beacon of light for countless people.

Written by veteran journalist and music critic Marcus J. Moore, this is much more than the first biography of Kendrick Lamar. Its an analytical deep dive into the life of that good kid whose m.A.A.d city raised him, and how it sparked a fire within Kendrick Lamar to change history (Kathy Iandoli, author ofBaby Girl) for the better.