Even before 2016 arrives, Kendrick Lamar has already imprinted his name in music history. The Compton rapper leads the 2016 Grammy Award nominations with a total of 11 nominations, most of which tied to his well lauded album, "To Pimp a Butterfly."
Lamar's political album, "To Pimp a Butterfly," was nominated for "Album of the Year" contending with Taylor Swift's blockbuster album, "1989", and the Weeknd's inventive album, "Beauty Behind the Madness." Other nominees for the award include Alabama Shakes' "Sound & Color" and Chris Stapleton's "Traveller". It is noted, however, that the top candidates for this award as well as most of Grammy's bestowed honors are Lamar, Swift, and the Weeknd. Amazingly, Lamar leads the other two who only got 7 nominations each.
"To Pimp a Butterfly" is widely recognized for its earnest composition and lyrics that aim to address social issues prevailing nowadays, particularly racism. According to Time, during the Black Lives Matter movement, Lamar's record became the soundtrack used in protests to send citizens' muted shouts against police brutality and social discrimination. As such, "To Pimp a Butterfly" became a hit which earned its place in the Grammy's.
In any case whether Lamar bags all or some or none of the 11 nominations, his road to fame is already assured. His third album has already garnered a total of nine awards and being recognized as one of the year's most popular releases by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science, as cited by Realty Today.
These recognitions may very well make Lamar's wish come true. The rapper revealed that he hopes his songs will resound decades from now and remain as meaningful as they are these days.
"One thing I understood about myself and my music is it's not really a concept that I will want you to grasp one day-I want it to live forever," Lamar told TIME. "I want to continue to have something that's not microwavable in a world today where our attention span is pretty much lost. We need something that we can hold on to, so in doing that, I'm [going to] continue to make the music I want to make and say the things I want to say, whether you agree with it or not."
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