Kendrick Lamar is an American rapper, songwriter and producer from Compton, California, who became one of the defining figures of contemporary hip-hop. His work blends West Coast rap, alternative hip-hop, jazz, funk and soul, with dense writing exploring identity, violence, faith, success, inequality and the African American experience. With albums such as good kid, m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN., Kendrick Lamar established himself through an ambitious approach to rap that is narrative, musical and deeply introspective.