You should know: the rookie of the year...

Kendrick Lamar 
and the album is:  Section 80


Kendrick Lamar was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Compton, California where he quickly fell in love with hip hop music. At the age eight, Lamar witnessed his idols, Tupac and Dr. Dre film the music video for their single "California Love," which became a very significant moment in Lamar's life. 

In 2003 at age sixteen he released his first mixtape, Youngest Head Nigga In Charge under the name K. Dot. The mixtape was able to garner enough attention for Lamar to get a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment. He then released a twenty-six track mixtape two years later titled Training Day.

 In 2008 Lamar made a cameo appearance on Jay Rock's "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" music video. After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, he released his third mixtape in 2009 titled C4, heavily themed around Tha Carter III LP. Soon after, he decided to drop his stage name K. Dot and go by his real name. This resulted in him releasing a self-titled EP; the Kendrick Lamar EP in late 2009.

In 2010 he toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on The Independent Grind tour. On September 23, 2010 he released O(verly) D(edicated) a highly acclaimed mixtape that included a song titled "Ignorance is Bliss" in which he glorifies gangsta rap and street crime but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss" giving the message "we know not what we do". It was that song specifically that made legendary hip hop producer Dr. Dre want to work with Lamar. This led to him working with Dre and Snoop Dogg on Dre's Detox album and him considering signing to Aftermath Entertainment.

In January 2011 Lamar said his debut album was 90% finished. On July 2, 2011 Lamar released his third solo project Section.80 to critical acclaim. It included features from GLC, Colin Munroe, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and production from longtime collaborator Sounwave, Wyldfyer, Terrace Martin, J. Cole and more. On the topic of whether Section.80 would be an album or a mixtape Lamar said;

 "I treat every project like it’s an album anyway. It’s not gonna be nothing leftover. I never do nothing like that. These are my leftover songs y’all can have ‘em, nah. I’m gonna put my best out. My best effort. I’m tryna look for an album in 2012".

The first single for Section.80 was 'the J. Cole produced track "HiiiPower", the concept was to further explain the HiiiPower movement. Section.80 went on to sell over 10,000 copies in its first week without any television or radio coverage and received very positive reviews.

Lamar said that he has seen dead relatives in his dreams for years and that one morning in 2010, Tupac Shakur came to him with the message, "Keep doing what you're doing, keep my music alive." This is what he says inspired him to write much of Section.80. Tupac Shakur is also his favorite rapper, and influences not only his music, but his day-to-day life. He dedicates at least 10 minutes to Tupac in each of his concerts.

In the second half of 2011, Kendrick Lamar appeared on Game's The R.E.D. Album, Tech N9ne's All 6's and 7's, 9th Wonder's The Wonder Years and Drake's Take Care. In August 2011, while onstage with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Game, at the West Los Angeles concert, the three of them crowned him the "New King of the West Coast"

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent record label Lamar is signed to, have closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, marking the end of his career as an independent artist.

Under the new deal Kendrick Lamar’s projects, including his upcoming debut studio album Good Kid in a Mad City will be jointly released via Top Dawg /Interscope/Aftermath while releases from the rest of Black Hippy (Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q) will be distributed via Top Dawg and Interscope.