Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar makes history with the announcement that he won the distinguished 2018 Pulitzer Prize – Music for his 2017 album “DAMN.”
This is the first time in the prize’s history that it has been given to an artist outside of the classical or jazz genre.
“For distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
Awarded to “Damn.,” by Kendrick Lamar, recording released on April 14, 2017, a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism, that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”
Also nominated as finalists in this category were: “Quartet,” by Michael Gilbertson, premiered on February 2, 2017 at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York City, a masterwork in a traditional format, the string quartet, that is unconstrained by convention or musical vogues and possesses a rare capacity to stir the heart.
Second, “Sound from the Bench,” by Ted Hearne, recording released on March 24, 2017 by The Crossing, a five- movement cantata for chamber choir, electric guitar and percussion that raises oblique questions about the crosscurrents of power through excerpts from sources as diverse as Supreme Court rulings and ventriloquism textbooks.
