NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — In a historic moment, rapper and hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar accepted the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album DAMN.
Lamar was presented with the prestigious award and a standing ovation from the audience during a ceremony at Columbia University in New York City on Wednesday.
Lamar is the first hip-hop artist and the first non-classic or jazz artist to receive the award. Included with the singular distinction, Lamar also received $15,000 and joined the ranks of musicians including Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane who also received the prize.
“It’s an honor,” Lamar told the audience. “Been writing my whole life, so to get this type of recognition is beautiful.”
Lamar was recognized with the prize for his album DAMN, which the presenter praised as a “virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African American life.”
In addition to the Pulitzer for Music, DAMN has also garnered the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album at the 2017 American Music Awards, and Hip-Hop Album of the Year at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, as well as Best Rap Album at the 2018 Grammy awards.
