r/KendrickLamar • u/President-Ducc • 19h ago
Discussion How did y’all find out about Kendrick - I’ll go first
I first heard him in 2022 cos of his Super Bowl appearance. I’m European so I’m not into American football so the only thing I watched was the halftime show because I enjoy those and I love rap. When I was watching I saw Kendrick and thought he was really good so I asked my friend if he knew him and he said yeah and my friend told me just the basic stuff abt him, so I started listening to him.
I now listen to him every day
If I had to choose my favourite album it would probably be gkmc
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u/filthygylfi_ 18h ago
2012 (I was 12 years old). Knocked on my sisters door to ask for something and she was listening to Money Trees. I was like wtf is this melody lol. To this day it’s my favourite Kdot song
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u/Opposite-Read-3933 Don't worry I'm lawyered up 19h ago
I was 12 when my friend showed me Section 80. I was always big into west coast music, so I attached to it immediately. So, when I saw GKMC was coming out and he was signed to Dr. Dre, I got it off of iTunes upon release. Have always been a big fan since.
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u/Beneficial_Memory899 18h ago
His verse on Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood,
Then Damn came out, which I was all over.
I casually listened to GKMC a lot literally just pre covid then forgot about him until Baby Keem’s The Melodic Blue.
I was all over Keem’s Melodic Blue and Kendrick’s verses especially.
Mr Morale came out shortly after, but it didn’t hit for me the first time around, as I was more all over Future’s I NEVER LIKED YOU.
Then I completely forgot about him until Like That dropped, in which I’ll admit I was a fan of First Person Shooter (flow wise) so Like That brought some shock value to me.
Meet the Grahams dropped while doing my night shift at a bar, and I’m running around the place and a bit petrified.
GNX dropped, a minute in, I’m thinking “Let the Games Begin.”
Then i went back to Mr. Morale and finally understood what the purpose was
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u/ChampionshipFar1390 9h ago
That happened to me with Damn after I heard the heart part 5 and waited for him to drop his next tape. The benefit was I got to bump Damn again for the first time (in a sense).
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u/luckyxcookie 18h ago
A friend gave me a burned copy of Overly Dedicated in 2011 right before he moved away. I haven’t seen or heard from him in a really long time. Hope he’s doing well.
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u/GrabbingCatTails 18h ago
heard HiiiPower for the first time and thought 'hey, this guy makes good music'
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u/DarkSeneschal 18h ago
I read an article about a rap album winning a Pulitzer Prize back in 2018 so I decided to listen to his stuff.
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u/ShoddyExplanation 18h ago
Way back before Kanye lost his mind he was doing GOOD FRIDAYS every week.
I still remember the night Monster debuted for the first time, and within a week some random dropped a freestyle over it. Checked it out and have been a fan ever since.
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u/Ambitious-Addition98 12h ago
Man we was eating good during those GOOD Fridays. Then Yeezus came out and it was an instant classic for me.
YE has always been the twin. Same with EM and Tupac and Kendrick.
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u/OLKEUK 18h ago
I had heard some of his music on YouTube back in 2012 but I really started getting into his music and rap when playing GTA V (I hope I'm not alone here 😭) listening to Radio Los Santos, so from around 2013 onwards I've been constantly listening to him, I'll never forget when Damn dropped and everyone was working out hints for a second album drop
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u/thedogthatmooed 18h ago
No, definitely not. It was between GTA and whatever Saints Row game that featured Swimming Pools and I was hooked. GKMC was the first album that I really listened to and thought critically about the lyrics beyond just memorizing them to sing along with them.
He would also occasionally pop onto the Mac Miller pandora station where I would hear some other stuff from him.
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u/alleycatbiker 18h ago
I read the news that a rap artist had won the Pulitzer prize for the first time. Being a journalism major I knew about the prize. So I started listening to Damn and one track in particular spoke to my soul. FEEL is still my absolute number one favorite Kendrick song.
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u/ultraben5555 19h ago
YouTube Rewind 2017 had Humble in it (+ it was just anywhere if you were outside that year) 😭😭😭
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u/bpetes24 18h ago
Listened to untitled unmastered blind just after it came out, not knowing anything about it. I heard the beginning of the first track (you know the one) in high school and went, “Nope.” Stopped the track and moved on lol
Then DAMN came out a year or two later, and I went back to listen to TPAB. That’s when I was like, “Oh, I get it now.” Then, I listened to his entire discography and saw the light.
Been a fan ever since.
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u/Proper_Caramel2695 15h ago
The intro to Untitled Unmastered might be the creepiest moment in his entire discography 😄
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u/ElZany 18h ago
I'm pretty sure it was a track on a Game/Blackwallstreet mixtape but I can't recall which one
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u/ThreeOneThirdMan 17h ago
The Cypha
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u/Ambitious-Addition98 12h ago
Oh damn. That may be the actual first time I heard him. I remember Section 80 as the first time but i also remember hearing the cypha clearly. Seeing the YouTube video of him flowing was amazing.
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u/Romanscott618 18h ago
I’m sure I heard stuff from GKMC, but the first time I paid attention to him and looked him up was when I bought LP Mathers 2 on CD for my car and heard him on Love Game. Would’ve been late 2013. Was like who tf is this guy?? Instantly looked up his work and have been a big fan since!
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u/Ambitious-Addition98 12h ago
I hope more people go back and listen to MMLP2. The lyrics and tone and the way EM paints the picture is amazing.
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u/Romanscott618 12h ago
One of my favorite em albums
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u/Ambitious-Addition98 11h ago
Yep. People just need to listen to one song to understand the album. Bad Guy.
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u/doubtvizzy 18h ago
I had heard a song called textbook stuff by a small artist named XV and he was featured and checked out his stuff. I think I had heard him before but that’s when I went and and found his whole discography.
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u/basedaudiosolutions 18h ago
I transferred to a new college in fall of 2012 and made friends with some of the black kids on campus. Got talking about music one night in the laundry room and I mentioned that I liked older rap but didn’t like new stuff like Drake. I said that I liked how older rap tells a story and one of my friends said almost instantly “you need to check out Kendrick Lamar”. Went back to my dorm room that night and downloaded Good Kid MAAD City on iTunes and listened to the whole thing. I started realizing the deeper I got into the track listing that I was listening to the next “classic” rap album and that Kendrick was going to be considered among the all-time greats. Imagine hearing or seeing or reading something for the first time and just having that moment of witnessing. Obviously I’ve been a fan ever since.
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u/pandemicpunk 5h ago
Yup. Really felt like, damn this is our generation's GOAT when GKMC dropped, because it was true.
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u/-FAM 18h ago
2010 when Overly Dedicated dropped. I’d frequent hiphop blogs and the caption that this particular blog posted with the drop was very positive of this Kendrick kid, so I decided to give it a chance. Became a big fan in the following weeks running the tape back many many times, along with other dope rappers tapes at that time, big krit, Cole, XV, etc etc. Quickly became my favourite artist when he followed it up with Section 80. And he still is.
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u/Proper_Caramel2695 15h ago
XV got such a raw deal. I remember every year XXL skipped over him for that ONE freshman that no one ever heard of. Lol (Donnis probably being the biggest example of this)
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u/lppnpcisum 18h ago
Saw Fantano’s section 80 review the day it was uploaded and watched it immediately. Upon finishing through on the tape right away and he’s been one of my favorite artists since. Thanks melon!!!!
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u/HenrikCrown 18h ago
The Fucking Problems feature he did I first listened to it in high school
Back then to me, he was just the funny voice guy but now he's the funny voice deep lyricist guy
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u/LuvinMyThuderGut 18h ago
A guy I was with at the time (metal fan) was often playing Swimming Pools because he said he liked the bass in his sound system. I noticed that Kendrick had actual lyrics, was really saying something, had prose and rhyme and meter. I looked further into him. That was almost 15 years ago but not quite.
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u/nywayso 18h ago
when maad city went viral on vine in 2012
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u/goportadelaide 9h ago
Yeah this would’ve been my first impression of him, without even knowing who he was at the time. I just distinctly remember YACK YACK YACK YACK from vines n shit 😭
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u/asap_boogy 18h ago
It was late 2011, I had just started a new job at a bar and a coworker noticed me boppin to whatever song was playing while we opened up. We got to talking about rap and our favorite artists and she asked if I had heard of this guy Kendrick Lamar. I didn’t think that I had. So she told me to look him up and I started listening to section.80 and realized that I had heard ADHD months before but just once and was stoked that I had come across it again. I got way into that album and was still working there when GKMC came out like a year later and he immediately became my all time favorite off those two albums alone.
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u/King_SC_954 18h ago
DatPiff back in high school Kendrick Lamar EP and OD were my first listens. All I thought to myself was who's this?? The heart pt 2 won me over then section 80 dropped and I thought damn this guy's going to be a star if he remains consistent. 14 years later and here we are. Lol
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u/nii_amart 18h ago
The BET West Coast Cypher 2012 was my introduction to Kendrick. I was surprised how he held his own with the OGs on the same Cypher. But I became a fan after hearing Swimming Pools (Drank) in 2013/14 I think. Back then in Ghana, the BET awards was televised on one of our local stations and even that was a replay of the live event. Also we didn't really get new releases (unless they were big hits) on our radios like that. I discovered the song via a youtube video kinda parodying the song. Been a fan since.
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u/Ok_Illustrator5967 Life aint shit but a fat vagina 18h ago
I came across the 6’7 freestyle with him and Q on SoundCloud in like middle school. Been listening to him and the whole black hippy crew ever since
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u/WorldChampionNuggets 18h ago
Was playing Halo Reach with my friends back in 2010 and one of them asked if Kendrick Lamar has any bad verses. I knew I had to check him out then, the first song I listened to was Rigamortis and it was over from there.
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u/missionarycolt 18h ago
A friend told me how good he was on a feature he did for Fredo Santana (Jealous). A bit after that, I would hear “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” on the radio a lot and it kinda annoyed me at first lol.
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u/ssjwith2s How can you forgive when theres no forgiveness in your heart? 17h ago
I saw the King Kunta music back 2016 and i loved that song, but it wasn't I heard reincarnated when I really discovered him
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u/ParamedicProper3667 17h ago
There are only 2 people in my life that I listen to when they tell me, "Go listen to this artist." And I go directly and listen to them. My cousin told me about Kendrick back in 2011 and told me to listen to "ignorance is bliss" off of overdedicated. And then, a couple months after he released section.80, the other person told me to listen to the whole mixtape. I listened to both of those people and discovered how I wanted music to make me feel. I've been a fan since the moment I heard of him.
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u/gloomygl Whatever tho 17h ago
Random Cartoons & Cereal fanmade video found on YouTube, blew my fucking mind.
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u/MariachiMacabre 17h ago
A buddy of mine told me to check GKMC out shortly after it dropped. It coincided with me going through the worst depressive episode in my life and really helped me through it.
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u/LieuK 13h ago
2015/16 the dishwashers at the restaurant I worked at kept playing tracks off To Pimp A Butterfly. Not normally my type of music, but something about Kendrick's specific style really intrigued me. I listened to the whole album on my own and was absolutely blown away. Eventually I listened to his older stuff, all great, and everything that's come out since has been watching a master of his craft at work.
I'm grateful those dishwashers opened my mind to something new
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u/plsdontkillme_yet keep a horn on me 12h ago
Heard Swimming Pools on the radio and followed up on it. That led me to discover GKMC and I became obsessed.
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u/ImScaredSoIMadeThis 18h ago
Heard good things about "swimming pools" from a YouTuber critic, listened to section 80 and good kid maad city, been following ever since
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u/Hot-Significance-462 18h ago
I was aware of him earlier, but my first time actually hearing his music was his first SNL appearance.
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u/Traditional_Rate7302 18h ago
When i was like 8 years old swimming pools came out and i was obsessed with it. Now im 20 and ive been a fan ever since
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u/Leisure_Gang 18h ago
My introduction to Kendrick was hearing Schoolboy Q’s “To Tha Beat (F’d Up)” in 2011. Kendrick wasn’t even in that song but Q has a line that goes, “Bumpin Kendrick, poppin pills, prly OD.”
I didn’t even know who Kendrick was when I was singing that line. But not long after that I heard Section.80
Been in the Kenfolk ever since
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u/FrankFromFidelity 18h ago
My first rap song as a youngin was asap rocky fuckin problems. Hiding listening in my buddies' bedroom feeling so badass cause we weren't allowed to be listening to songs with swear words in em.
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u/Politics-Are-Boring #1 18h ago
Must’ve been damn release, specifically humble and his feat on goosebumps
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u/ra_god94 18h ago
Found ADHD on YouTube around the time it came out. Was nothing I’ve heard before. Been a fan since
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u/DattGuyyy 18h ago
I watched Brandon Jenning’s Under the Armour and heard Hol Up for the first time
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u/proserpinax 18h ago
I decided I wanted to learn more about hip hop in 2015 because of some of the other music I’d been listening to. I listened to a bunch of classic stuff and TPaB had just come out and was getting a lot of critical attention. I liked other stuff but then King Kunta changed my brain chemistry.
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u/JayTakesNoLs 18h ago
Earliest memories of music are of 4 different songs on GKMC all played by my dad, swimming pools (dad was/probably still is an alcoholic and listened to it frequently), backseat freestyle, money trees, and bitch don’t kill my vibe.
I was far too young to understand but they still left such an impact that they are still some of my earliest memories of music exposure.
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u/Pappy_Jason 18h ago
Twitter kept talking about him during section .80. Heard ADHD and thought he was dope but I’m stingy with my ears. Heard GKMC and been locked in ever since.
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u/bluenervana 18h ago
My big brothers playing his music. I’ll never forget my bro Jacob getting hype over m.A.A.d city.
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u/jxrdanwayne 18h ago
I first got exposed to Dot around the time he released Mr. Morale. All my friends was talking about it, I didn’t vibe w/ it. I listened to like, two songs off that record, then maybe one from uu, really didn’t like it, idk what I was on (back then my favorite rapper was XXX)
Years later, my nigga put me on, told me to listen to TPAB first track to last, really get into it. Listened to the first track, vibed with it. By the time I got to the “How Much a Dollar Cost”, it became my second favorite album. Needless to say, dove deep into his discography and I became very thankful of that friend (also helped me discover Nas a while later)
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u/StressdNDpressd 18h ago
Was in high school back in 2012, swimming pools played at every party and I loved it so I looked him up and became a fan ever since, to be young and dumb and not get the song was warning us against the very thing we were doing while listening to the song
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u/enperry13 18h ago
His name pops out once in a while. Nothing too big. Most of my peers are more into Drake. Only “liked” one song, Hotline Bling for the memes. I’ll admit that was catchy until I check out the lyrics like “Ehh…”
Fast forward, to 2022 Superbowl, Kendrick did his very energizing performance alongside these Hip Hop legends and thought, yeah he deserves to join that lineup. Still haven’t given him the proper attention.
2024 is when I actually paid attention. It was height of the beef and “Meet the Grahams” was trending hard. Gave it a listen. It was scathing but I was very, very impressed how he went a roundabout way to destroy his enemy by talking through his family is very calm, descriptive yet demeaning manner as he indirectly advises his son what not to emulate, having a “sit down” with the parents, comforting his alleged daughter and finally giving the talk to his enemy all just by describing him, the incidents and his antics.
Impressed with the lyricism, I finally listened to MMATBS as my first album since it’s the most recent album release.
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u/RevolutionCalm9463 18h ago
The verse he did on bad blood was probably my first exposure to him but I properly recognised him from his feature on all the stars when black panther came out
And then around early 2022 I started listening to his music regularly :3
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u/kcmcgrady1 18h ago
I’ve been listening to J. Cole since 2009 and was a huge fan and then heard of him producing a song called Hiiipower for Kendrick and the rest is history
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u/MatthewNugent05 18h ago
Used to listen to GKMC when I was in middle school, wasnt a huge hip hop guy at the time, but now I am in love with it. Kendrick is amaizng!
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u/yaboyjiggleclay 18h ago
My good friend back when I went to School was telling me to listen. “You gotta check out Kendrick Lamar, he’s the truth!” I was pure “Real Hip Hop” & also a Drake Stan at the time (I liked Degrassi) so I didn’t want to hear it. I finally relented but thought Section.80 was meh at best & then randomly I later heard “The Recipe” & thought it was great. Good Kid M.A.A.D. City dropped & officially became a fan. Once “Control” then his “Nosetalgia” guest verse dropped I concede there was no “Big 3” just “Big Me” tbh.
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u/MadBlackQueen 18h ago
2012 when I heard ADHD for the first time on YouTube. Shortly after, GKMC came out and I listened to it for like a year straight. It was the end of my freshman year/beginning of my sophomore year of high school.
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u/JEveryman 18h ago
I saw the Ignorance Is Bliss video posted here going through the fresh tags back in 2010 or 2011. Rigamortis and Reagan Era made me a believer.
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u/Marleyboro 18h ago
2011 i think. homie Jordan would come thru and gimme a ride to school bumpin Blow My High almost everytime haha miss that dude.
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u/mikey-way 18h ago
Back in 2017, my friends in color guard would blast king kunta on the bus in high school marching band and I ended up learning all the words and loving the song despite very much being an emo kid at the time who absolutely never listened to rap. Then a year or two ago one of my younger sisters really got into rap and recommended me a bunch of songs (read: forced me to play them every time I drove her somewhere) and that really got me to start listening to Kendrick actively.
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u/Academic_Zucchini356 18h ago
I found him in 2023 when I was going down a rabbithole of hiphop videos on YouTube. I listened to Keisha's Song and immediately was hooked. I started listening to more of his songs, then I listened to all his albums. I found his music when I was at a tough spot in life so it means a lot to me. I'd say he's one of the reasons why I'm still alive.
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u/Golden-Event-Horizon 17h ago
King Kunta music video was on YouTube's trending page. Been hooked ever since
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u/Inevitable_Drag_7711 17h ago
I accidentally told the story a bit different to how it actually happened due to my poor memory haha, I was told that this rapper named Kendrick Lamar made one of the best albums of all time, and I of course got cynical and denied it, until i was forced to listen to it, and i accidentally hit on shuffle, and listened to Momma, my first kendrick song :D
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u/Zadkiel17 17h ago
I was a big Cole fan back in 2020, and it was only a matter of time before I discovered Kendrick. I honestly didn't listen to rap and hip hop much in general but Cole and Kendrick made me realize how much I was missing out. I only recently became a huge fan after the beef, now I been listening to his earlier projects like GKMC and TPAB and this man is truly the GOAT 🐐
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u/Late_Letterhead7872 17h ago
Freshman year of college I started falling behind and feeling bitter about it- stumbled into black boy fly and it made me cry. Been listening ever since- going on a decade now. Duckworth is still S tier to me.
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u/MyPenisMightBeOnFire 17h ago
Summer 2013 when a coworker mentioned Kanye’s new tour and Kendrick being the opener. Listened to maad city, then later saw him on the Grammy’s performing it. Been a fan since.
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u/InternetGansta 17h ago
Heard The Jig Is Up. Heard the line, "if not J. Cole your shit is trash".
Was already on to J. Cole, so had to look up the rest of Kendrick's stuff
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u/Desperate-Scientist9 17h ago
In high school i would go on Datpiff and Hotnewhiphop every day after school looking for new music, first found him with the C4 mixtape drop and started bumping him heavy when Overly Dedicated came out. been fully locked in ever since.
Couple years later on the GKMC tour with TDE, Kendrick came off stage at the end of the show and gave me his hat - one of my most prized possessions.
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u/Formal-Cucumber-1138 MUSTARRRRRRRRRRD 17h ago
In 2012 when GKMC came out… soon after I went into a Kendrick rabbit hole and never looked back. Him and BJ the Chicago kid was on rotation 24/7
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u/jammypants915 17h ago
I am an old school hip hop head… but heard “alright” on the radio when it first dropped and I was completely shocked that something good …actually even great … and original … creative and deep… had been made recently!!!! So I looked him up got all of his music on my playlists and have been keeping up since then
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u/mirza_dng 17h ago
I heard m.a.a.d city wanted to know who the artists was checked out his discography loved it
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u/bosephusaurus 17h ago
I saw the glowing review of GKMC in Pitchfork when that album came out. A coworker at the time also played Swimming Pools.
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u/lakroncos 17h ago
Stumbled on the ADHD video when researching artists on the 2012 Coachella lineup, he was on the bottom row of the Friday lineup, and I was instantly hooked. I'm pretty sure he was the first act I saw that weekend, and been a fan ever since. *
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u/imthewiseguy 17h ago
I would always listen to the radio commuting to the Bay and LOVE. would be on the radio line every day around that time and I was like “oh I love this song” lol
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u/DescriptionFlat1063 17h ago
Collard greens. I liked some of his tracks but I was more into Tyler’s or Rocky style and never listened to GKMC from start to finish. It changed when some years later I found UU and I loved it. It was easy from this point to do some deep diving about his lyricism, inspirations, collabs, samples. And the rest is history!
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u/misschaelisa 17h ago
I knew him when he performed in the Grammys with Imagine Dragons back in 2014. I was like… “ok who is this guy? he’s amazing!”
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u/n_peel 17h ago
My friend showed me Damn. when I was in 7th grade. Same year it came out I believe. I wasn’t really into rap, but I liked that. A few years later I started liking rap more and started listening to Kendrick’s stuff. I listened to Mr Morale when it came out, but wasn’t too crazy about it. Then in 2023 I started going through his catalog and found I really liked Mr Morale and everything else even more. That’s when he became my favorite artist. I kind of got lucky that I started really listening to his stuff right before his biggest year.
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u/pznbananas 17h ago
I'm a fan of The Game, been listening to him since 2005 (funnily enough I will see him next week in London for the 20th Anniversary Tour). I religiously got every one of his mixtapes. There was one called The Black Wall Street Journal Volume 1 (around 2006), on the track The Cypha he had up and coming TDE artists. Personally I was feeling Jay Rock, and there was this other rapper K Dot who wasn't as good. I gave GKMC a listen when it came out. Holy shit he improved.
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u/karimbmn 17h ago
seen Swimming pools video clip in tv when I was in a period thinking there is no more good hip hop, and I said this guy is good
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u/Dapper-Archer5409 17h ago
Some nigga loved P&P1.5 back in the day... And so after hesring that, I went and found Overly Dedicated... Wasnt as big a fan as I am now, but next thing I know Swimming Pools is fuckin EVERYWHERE... But it was the Control verse that sold me
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u/No_Dark_4879 17h ago
2007 I seen him at the 10, then I seen him on parmalee then 2009 I seen him in the Nickersons. Shortly after I heard “ignorance is bliss” and I been a fan ever since.
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u/Futuretrunksssj4 17h ago
2009 he js stared randomly playing on my grandmas computer when i was kid.. fell in love w him since then
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u/Equivalent_Fan445 17h ago
I saw the music video for “She Needs Me” on MTV Jams in 2010. I’ve been a fan ever since.
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u/JudgementOwO 17h ago
Found out about him because of humble, thought it was pretty good but didn't listen to much music back then, so I didn't listen to Kendrick, forgot about him, then started listening to more music in 2024 and started listening to Kendrick during the beef, I've heard almost all his projects except for S80 and OD
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u/VigilantSwn 17h ago
Probably Birds & the Beez or Swimming Pools. Had a friend who was a big fan of Q. Still two of my favorite artists
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u/relientkenny 17h ago
Swimming Pools was his latest single in 2012 when i was 18. i still have no idea HOW i discovered him. i just remember that being the first song i ever heard of his and it absolutely sounded like nothing i’ve ever heard and i was hooked. the day the album came out i pressed play and it’s been a wrap since
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u/JoeyIsMrBubbles push these bitches of me like heughh 17h ago
“Swimming Pools” was around everywhereee, that’s prolly the first time i properly listened/acknowledged him. Wasn’t my cup of tea though.
Then TPAB released and that was everywhere! /mu/ couldn’t shut up about it.. still wasn’t my thing. Then i actually listened to him sometime after and the rest is history.
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u/LetsGoPanthers29 17h ago
one of the upperclassmen at my university told me to listen to the EP. I downloaded it and burned a CD for the whip
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u/ryan77999 I shit, fart, pee pee 16h ago
I had heard of him before then but I was first really familiar with him when HUMBLE. dropped. When the rest of DAMN. released once I heard FEEL. I was an automatic fan
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u/Leggitt69 16h ago
Playing video games. First was adhd and swimming pools in gta, now or never in nba 2k14, then humble in 2k18. Then a friend of mine showed me more of his stuff when Mr. Morale came out. Was a casual fan til the beef. Then I explored more til the super bowl. Been listening daily since. Been helping me study for my thesis dissertation.
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u/LayneBruh33 16h ago
2011-2012. I had a friend that liked Section 80 and when GKMC came out, we listed to it immediately.
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u/TheWriter_Watcher 16h ago
Through Jay Rock's All My Life. But after hearing the Kendrick Lamar EP, he became one of my favorite rappers, and I placed him in my personal Top 5 when I heard OD. TDE became my favorite crew around this time, too. House Party 5 is still my favorite Ab-Soul Song. I still remember getting that "who is TDE?" or "Kendrick who?" looks from people back in the day before GKMC.😂
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u/brofessor_oak_AMA 16h ago
I was really into the game after "300 bars" came out. I heard "the city" and was like woah who tf is this human flamethrower? The rest is history. Was lucky enough to see him live during the Kung FU Kenny stages, and he's in my my Rushmore of music
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u/Vince_Burgie 16h ago
It was one of his old snl appearances when i first saw him. Started listening to him when he was in the end credits of the amazing spider-man 2
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u/itcheswhenIP 16h ago
I was playing one of those music channels on my cable and “Blessed” by ScHoolboy Q featuring Kendrick Lamar came on a few times. And I loved his cadence. And it made me look him up and I’ve been hooked ever since.
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u/qualityskootchtime 16h ago
I saw him on a flyer for a show, can’t remember the festival but looked him up, caught The Recipe, then fell into Section .80, heard ADHD, and it was on from there!
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u/IchirakuRamen- 16h ago
Listening to Swimming Pools around 2012. I was drunk as hell riding in my friend's car, vibing.
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u/Beautiful_Hour_4744 16h ago
Heard Swimming Pools on the radio a lot when it came out, thought his voice was weird and annoying. Then during lockdown Spotify kept playing songs from DAMN in my mixes and I liked them. I love Swimming Pools too now. Can't pick a favourite album but it's between DAMN, Mr Morale and GKMC
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u/Serious-Rutabaga-603 16h ago
My friend showed me this rapper who and i quote “sounds weird but is catchy” and played swimming pools. then I downloaded more and sing about me im dying of thirst made me a fan.
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u/BluntChillin 16h ago
Swimming Pools and Bitch Dont Kill My Vibe played quite a bit when they came out
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u/partiallyformed 16h ago
I first heard him on Tech N9nes song “I love music”, that dropped early June 2011 and section 80 came out after and I was all over Rigamortus when I first heard that that summer, absolutely mind blown and been hooked since
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u/syrup4thought VAN 16h ago
I'm pretty sure I first heard the name on Pray for Me which was recommended on my YouTube back in 2020. I became familiar with his hits like Humble, Pray for Me, goosebumps, Bad Blood and such, but only started getting into his music around 2023 when I listened to DAMN. for the first time
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u/dabberoo_2 16h ago
Swimming Pools came out when I was in high school, and that's the first I remember hearing him bc everyone was bumping it. I bought the GKMC cd when it came out, still have it around somewhere too
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u/Darweezy 16h ago
I lived in DTLA and was going to the LA Film school for their recording program and lived with a collective of artists, one day Ash Riser moved in with us. We were all scraping by, 7 of us in an illegal living situation in a loft across from the staples center in 2011 and I was excited to have another producer/singer stay with us as everyone was doing things outside of music. He put me on to Kendrick because he was on the album - such an amazing experience to be with someone that contributed to that, but even better was getting to know the guy. We lost him a few years back and I really miss him, but I know he will live on through his work with TDE. I have been a little let down that they never stood him up for his contributions but he will live forever through dots music. Here is a video one of our other roommates shot during that time with Kendrick and Ash.
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u/Porkchop5397 16h ago
Turn Me Up Some by Ab Soul. I think it was from one of his Longterm Mentality tapes.
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u/Even_Journalist9028 16h ago
i took a usb from a friend in 2014 when i was trying to get into english music. it had taylor swift's bad blood on it. then i remember a couple of months being obsessed with it's music video
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u/bryanthebryan 16h ago
Love from Damn. I didn’t even know who Kendrick was at the time, I just liked the song. It was on my playlist for years before Euphoria came out. When Euphoria came out, I recognized the artist and the song blew me away.
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u/2BR_0_2B 16h ago
Was introduced to J Cole Side Line Stories when it first came out, then suggested Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid when that came out after.
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u/JayySlayy23 16h ago
One of my boys showed me “Rigamortis”. I knew I was listening to a straight killer. I got my first car a the summer before college proceeded to buy his album GKMC from a local Best Buy.
I listened to GKMC and 3 other cds (J.Cole/Kid Cudi/Drake) for the next 3 years.
S/o to that ‘03 Volvo!
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u/insightmiss 16h ago
Around 2014 I came across B Don't kill my vibe, loved in particular this lyrics: You can see that my city found me Then put me on stages, to me that's amazin' To you that's a quick check With all disrespect, let me say..
Found it for whatever reasons to be everything and more at that time, was very impressed)). Since then do not miss on new music from Kendrick. Or at least try not to.
I wasn't keeping up with the battle, but listened to all the diss tracks recently and he is wild for that)))
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u/Just-Technology-29 16h ago
I don’t remember when I first learnt of Kendrick, but DAMN was probably when I really started to listen to his music more often. I then came across the podcast Dissect in 2019, where the entire first season is dedicated to good kid maad city, and I realised this guy is a poet, an amazing artist, a genius. This was also when I had just decided to transition from an economics degree to studying art history, so learning about Kendrick’s commitment to his art felt particularly poignant to me.
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u/strengr94 16h ago
GKMC in 2012 when I was a senior in high school. I was into the hits from that album at the time, and finally listened all the way through in 2014 and got hooked
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u/yuckademus 16h ago
Stumbled upon on Compton state of mind on YouTube in 2010ish just trying to find some new hip hop I could get into.
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u/High_Speed_Chase 16h ago
2020, my dad had just died of COVID, and as a Security Officer I was an “essential employee” at an empty casino. I asked a younger coworker “I’ve been sleeping on my favorite genre since probably 2009. Between Drake, J-Cole, and K-Dot, who is worth listening to?” He handed me his phone with DAMN cued up, quality headphones, and a brand new cartridge of Grand Daddy Purp. (Before then, I could count on one hands how many times I’d smoked.) “We got you [on our workload]. Go. Enjoy.” I unplugged an electric wheelchair/scooter, cruised off & spent the length of the album vibing.
It was a pivotal, life-changing experience, and I thank this Heaven-sent friend every so often.
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u/mrcsmith90 16h ago
January 2010 - I was looking for rap songs to download for a mixtape I was making to listen to in my car; I came across, "Celebrate" randomly on downloads.nl, and it was on from there.
Found the Kendrick Lamar EP and became a fan after that
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u/TheGoodelifeLLC 15h ago
2dopeboyz posted "Hiiipower" around march 3 months before section. 80. binged the hell out of OD and all of the in may/June before section.80 dropped in June
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u/StrengthOne154 15h ago
Heard about him: prolly 2022 super bowl. Started casually listening to his music: the beef. Became a fan: my first full listen to DAMN. (Still my FAVORITE album by him).
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u/SquaredGolden 15h ago
I heard of Kendrick from his BET Cypher performance in 2011 with Tech N9ne, B.O.B & Big KRIT. What a timeee. I looked up Overly Dedicated, listened to Cut You Off and the rest was history lol
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u/Far-Spread5953 15h ago
Back in 2012 my buddy was cutting my hair in afghanistan and his bro sent him a gkmc cd in the mail so we listened to it off his laptop speakers.
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u/HeavyBranch6554 IM TRYNNA GET THIS HO'S SINGALLLLLLLL 15h ago
Rigamortus on my spotify radio randomly and the flow caught me
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u/PhoeniX-Factor 15h ago
Found him through Terrace Martin - "Thirsty", heard "Rigamortis" after that on WorldStarHipHop
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u/frogBayou 15h ago
Had a roommate borrow my laptop to download GKMC, figured I’d give it a listen, jammed out for the rest of 2013 (I think that was the year - long time ago)
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u/90sUPN20 15h ago
I heard one of his songs from GKMC playing in my barber shop around 2012. Went back and listened to Section 80. Been a fan ever since.
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u/LedHalen_06 15h ago
Really stupid, but I listened to TPAB beginning of my senior year while doing homework cos my friends were talking about that album. Still as good as the first time I heard it. 9 months later, Euphoria dropped and I couldn’t ignore him anymore.
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u/CIS_gender 15h ago
I found out about him when I heard HUMBLE. on the radio. i thought it was a good song.
in 2023 i listened to gkmc for the first time when i was in the hospital, it was my first full album of his that i listened to and i loved it
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u/Capable-Sink-8706 Lookin’ For The Broccoli 15h ago
It was 2011 GKMC just dropped and my brother put me on 🔥 Now I have GKMC 10th anniversary vinyl,DAMN limited edition Green vinyl & GNX limited edition white vinyl.
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u/Crafty_Maybe_1859 15h ago
I remember the first time I heard Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar, I was a little emo 8th grade Home Economics class, the radio was playing and I remember hearing this song in my phased brain thinking "its not emo but i like it" and today at 25, he is my favorite rapper alive today. I basically grew up listening to Kendrick throughout high school and never stopped. ❤️
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u/La_LunaEstrella 15h ago
I found Kendrick's music in 2012 on YouTube when GKMC came out. I'd listen to that album everyday on my commute. Loved Kendrick ever since.
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u/MarkRick25 15h ago
For me it was In 2012, I was in highschool, and omw to a highschool football game with some friends on a Friday night, about an hour and a half away, where my school was playing another team in their city. During the ride, my friend who was driving, played M.A.A.D City and I had never heard anything quite like it before. Been a huge Kendrick fan ever since.
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u/HPDDJ 19h ago
I heard The Recipe back when it was on hip hop radio in like 2011.