Kendrick Lamar has picked up his 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music in New York making him the first a non-jazz or classical artist to be awarded the accolade.
As Pitchfork report, the ceremony was hosted at Columbia University with Twitter responses painting the scene. According to reports, the Compton rapper received a standing ovation when he picked up his award.
Lamar kept his acceptance speech relatively short, saying; “It’s an honour. Been writing my whole life, so to get this type of recognition, it’s beautiful”. You can watch the ceremony live-stream on Facebook,
Attendees document Kendrick’s presence at the event. Check out photos of Kendrick accepting his Pulitzer Prize below.
.@kendricklamar is in the building. “We’re both making history,” #Pulitzer Administrator @DanaCanedy told the Pulitzer music award-winner as he entered today’s prize luncheon. pic.twitter.com/Tg3cMQiLOH
— The Pulitzer Prizes (@PulitzerPrizes) May 30, 2018
Most excitement at Pulitzer ceremony is for Kendrick Lamar’s entrance pic.twitter.com/wOQUQBfj2E
— Michael Calderone (@mlcalderone) May 30, 2018
First launching in 1943, the Pulitzer Prize annually honours “a distinguished musical composition of significant dimension by an American”. This year, it went to Lamar for his 2017 album ‘DAMN.’, which came out last April.
Awarding Kendrick the prize, the Pulitzer judges described his ‘DAMN.’ as a “virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life”.
Meanwhile, Lamar was recently forced to interrupt a white female fan he had invited onto the stage after she repeatedly rapped along to the n-word in one of his tracks.
The fan proceeded to repeatedly rap the racial slur, leading Kendrick to stop the music and the fan to ask, “Aren’t I cool enough for you? What’s up, bro?”.