The Song Planner
Community-added2003–present

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Compton, California, widely regarded as one of the most influential and critically acclaimed hip-hop artists of his generation. After early mixtapes, he broke through with the acclaimed concept albums "good kid, m.A.A.d city" (2012) and "To Pimp a Butterfly" (2015), the latter blending hip-hop with jazz, funk, and spoken word. In 2018 his album "DAMN." won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first non-classical, non-jazz work to receive the award. He is a multiple Grammy winner whose 2024 single "Not Like Us" topped the charts and swept the major Grammy categories, and he headlined the Super Bowl LIX halftime show in 2025, one of the most-watched in history.

Genres & sub-genres

Hip-HopConscious hip-hopWest Coast hip-hopJazz rapTrapG-funk

Style prompts

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Conscious West Coast hip-hop with dense, agile multisyllabic rapping that shifts cadence and pitch mid-verse; warm analog low-end, head-nodding boom-bap-meets-trap drums, live jazz and funk instrumentation — upright bass, Rhodes, muted trumpet, gospel-tinged backing vocals; mid-tempo grooves around 80-95 BPM, introspective and politically charged, with abrupt beat switches and spoken-word interludes.
Modern G-funk-infused West Coast rap: bouncy synth leads and whining portamento basslines over crisp 808s and snapping hi-hats; confident, melodic-yet-aggressive vocal delivery moving between rapped flows and sung hooks; sunlit but menacing production around 100-130 BPM, club-ready and braggadocious with sharp, percussive ad-libs.

How they fit — and how they differ

Fits the sub-genre

Lamar exemplifies conscious hip-hop through narrative-driven, socially and spiritually weighted lyricism that tackles race, faith, violence, and personal responsibility. His grounding in West Coast hip-hop and G-funk shows in the low-rider grooves, synth basslines, and Compton storytelling across his catalog, while "To Pimp a Butterfly" is a definitive modern jazz-rap statement built on live funk and jazz musicianship. He also moves fluently in trap on radio singles like "HUMBLE." and "DNA."

Does their own thing

Lamar resists being pinned to any single sub-genre: he routinely fractures songs with mid-track beat switches, tempo shifts, and pitched-up or character-voiced vocal personas that few peers attempt. His albums are conceived as long-form concept works with recurring motifs and spoken-word threads rather than singles collections, and he draws on jazz, funk, soul, and spoken word to a degree rare in mainstream rap. The Pulitzer Prize for "DAMN." marked a level of institutional recognition unprecedented for a hip-hop artist.

Defining songs

  • HUMBLE.(2017)
  • Alright(2015)
  • Not Like Us(2024)
  • Money Trees(2012)
  • DNA.(2017)
  • Swimming Pools (Drank)(2012)

Sources