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Kendrick Lamar · S2 E6
The Name Change
K-Dot becomes Kendrick Lamar. A new identity for a new ambition
It is 2009, and a rapper named K-Dot records his last verse under that name and decides it is not big enough for what he is about to do. The next time he picks up a microphone, he introduces himself as Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar, HiiiPoWeR. The first true mission statement from the artist formerly known as K-Dot. This is not a rapper trying to get on the radio. This is someone announcing that he plans to change the entire conversation.
Killing K-Dot
The name change is not a marketing decision. Kendrick has said it was about accountability. K-Dot could hide behind a rap alias, but Kendrick Lamar Duckworth putting his real name on music meant every word carried personal weight.
“K-Dot was me figuring things out. Kendrick Lamar is me knowing exactly who I am and not being afraid to put my name on that.”
— Kendrick Lamar, interview with Complex, 2012
HiiiPoWeR, Kendrick Lamar (2011)
Produced by J. Cole, who sent the beat to Kendrick after hearing his mixtapes. The three lowercase i's in the title reference the Hii movement Kendrick was developing with J. Cole and Ab-Soul: heart, honor, respect. Over a soulful, mid-tempo beat built on a Mayfield-esque loop, Kendrick delivers a political manifesto disguised as a rap song.
TAP TO REVEAL: Why did Kendrick stop using K-Dot?
Who produced "HiiiPoWeR," Kendrick's first mission statement under his new name?
K-Dot vs. Kendrick Lamar
Fuck Your Ethnicity, Kendrick Lamar
The opening track of Section.80 (2011). Kendrick's first words on his first album under his real name are a declaration: none of the labels you put on me matter. Over a warm, jazz-inflected beat, he strips away every category and asks the listener to just hear the music.
Kendrick Lamar has a name, a voice, and Dr. Dre's phone number, but all that is missing is a proper debut. Next: the Kendrick Lamar EP, seven tracks that put the entire West Coast on notice.
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