Q 01/05

Kendrick Lamar was born and raised in which California city?

A) Inglewood

B) Long Beach

C) Compton

D) Oakland

Answer · why

C) Compton

He calls it Hub City on his early mixtapes, and Section.80's follow-up was billed on its cover as a 'short film' set there.

Q 02/05

Under what stage name did a teenage Kendrick release his first mixtapes?

A) K.Dot

B) Lil K

C) Young Duck

D) Hub City Kid

Answer · why

A) K.Dot

He retired the alias around 2009 because he felt it hid who he really was, and switched to his first and middle names.

Q 03/05

Which independent label signed Kendrick in 2005, making him one of its first two artists?

A) Aftermath Entertainment

B) Def Jam Recordings

C) Death Row Records

D) Top Dawg Entertainment

Answer · why

D) Top Dawg Entertainment

He freestyled for two hours at the audition, and on signing he bought a minority stake in the company.

Q 04/05

Kendrick's 2017 album DAMN. won which honor, a first for any music outside classical and jazz?

A) Nobel

B) Pulitzer

C) MacArthur

D) Polar Music

Answer · why

B) Pulitzer

The award came on April 16, 2018, and was widely read as the cultural establishment formally recognising hip-hop as an art form.

Q 05/05

Which 2024 diss track won all five of its Grammy nominations, including Record and Song of the Year?

A) Euphoria

B) Not Like Us

C) Meet the Grahams

D) Like That

Answer · why

B) Not Like Us

That five-for-five haul tied the 5th Dimension's 'Up, Up and Away' as the most-awarded song in Grammy history.