Rolling Stone’s Mankaprr Conteh returns to Pop Pantheon for part one of our two-part series on Kendrick Lamar ahead of his Super Bowl performance. Louie and Mankaprr dig into Kendrick’s origins in Compton, his teenaged mixtapes under the alias K. Dot and his independently released studio debut, 2011’s Section.80. From there, they tackle 2012's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, a mainstream pop breakthrough immediately hailed as a masterpiece. Finally, they walk through how Kendrick weaved together musical traditions from across the Black diaspora on 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly.

Tune in next week for Part 2, covering Damn, Kendrick’s beef with Drake and Kendrick’s induction into the Official Pop Pantheon.

Check out our Kendrick Lamar Essentials Playlist on Spotify

Come to our dance party Main Pop Girls on 2/1 at Parkside Lounge in NYC!

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Valentines Day in LA on 2/14

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Universal Vehicle : Buddha, Einstein & Wittgenstein – Ep. 6