Claim: Kendrick Lamar used a pseudonym at the start of his career.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth -LRB- born June 17 , 1987 -RRB- is an American rapper and songwriter . Born and raised in Compton , California , he embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K-Dot , releasing a mixtape that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment -LRB- TDE -RRB- . He began to gain recognition in 2010 , after his first retail release , Overly Dedicated . The following year , Lamar independently released his first studio album , Section .80 , which included his debut single , `` HiiiPoWeR '' . By that time , he had amassed a large Internet following and collaborated with several artists in the hip hop industry , including The Game , Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes .   His major label debut , good kid , m.A.A.d city , was released in 2012 by TDE , Aftermath and Interscope Records to critical success . It debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America -LRB- RIAA -RRB- . The record contained the top 40 singles `` Swimming Pools -LRB- Drank -RRB- '' , `` Bitch , Do n't Kill My Vibe '' , and `` Poetic Justice '' . Lamar won his first Grammy Award for `` i '' , lead single from his critically acclaimed third album To Pimp a Butterfly -LRB- 2015 -RRB- . The album drew on free jazz , funk , soul , and spoken word , debuted atop the charts in the US and the UK , and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 58th ceremony . In 2016 , Lamar released untitled unmastered. , a collection of unreleased demos that originated during the recording sessions for Butterfly . He released his fourth album Damn in 2017 ; its lead single `` Humble '' topped the Billboard Hot 100 .   Lamar has received a number of accolades over the course of his career , including seven Grammy Awards . In early 2013 , MTV named Lamar the number one `` Hottest MC in the Game '' , on their annual list . Time named Lamar one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 . Aside from his solo career , Lamar is also known as a member of the West Coast hip hop supergroup Black Hippy , alongside his TDE label-mates and fellow South Los Angeles-based rappers Ab-Soul , Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q.