For this final blog post, I just want to recap some of the talented artists we have examined over this past months. We started with the outstanding work of Kendrick Lamar, then transitioned to the bass heavy trio of Migos. After studying Young Thug’s unique style, we then examined Cardi B, the up and coming female rapper. We discussed if Future still has a bright future, and how Post Malone may become the most popular artist. Last week we discussed how Lil Uzi Vert has changed the rap game, and this week, we will talk about a rapper who has not only done that, but aims to change society as well. This week will be discovering more about Chance the Rapper, who is not just a great rapper, but a great man.

Chancelor Jonathan Bennett was born on April 16th, 1993 (exactly 6 years before I was born) in the south side of Chicago. He was brought up in a middle class setting, with his father, Ken Williams-Bennett, who worked for the Chicago mayor, and later for Barack Obama as a senator. As a kid, Chance rapped under the name Chano, rather than the name he raps under today. His brother, Taylor, also attempted to start a rap career, although obviously, he never experienced the same success.

Chance’s childhood was not always great though. In his senior year at high school, Chance was suspended for 10 days due to marijuana possession. Although this was a setback in his school career, it actually helped boost his rapping career. During this 10 day period, Chance worked on and released his first mixtape, properly named ’10 day.’ Even with this being his first work, it actually gained some attention, enough that he was featured in an article with Complex in February of 2012. The article, “10 Chicago rappers to watch out for,” discussed how “Chance has one of the more distinct flows and voices of any new artist in the game.” With all this hype around Chance, one should remember that this was after just one mixtape.

With this sudden relevance, he soon caught the attention of Donald Glover, or known as in the rap game, Childish Gambino. Chance contributed to Gambino’s song “They Don’t Like Me” in 2012. After this, Chance opened for Gambino’s next tour, while at the same time, Chance was working on his second mixtape, ‘Acid Rap.’ This was released on April 30, 2013, and was released as a free download. This allowed it to spread fast, and it drowned in praise. With all his talent, label records went after him hard. There was only one problem (contrary to his song), he would rather go label-less, not relying on anyone else. With this, his next two projects were also released for free to his fans, in whcih he also collaborated with J. Cole, Busta Rhymes, and the Social Experiment (a group of musicians).

These collaborations continued in 2016, when Chance sang with Kanye West on the latter’s album, ‘The Life of Pablo.’ This same year in May, he dropped his third free mixtape, “Coloring Book.” This album featured popular artists such as Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, T-Pain and Justin Bieber. The most successful song was “No Problem,” which topped the R&B/Hip-Hop charts with the song featuring 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne.

At the same time while experiencing this great success, Chance was also worrying about his hometown. He attended the White House to meet with former President Barack Obama to discuss My Brother’s Keeper Challenge, creating equal opportunities for young people. In March 2017, he met with Chicago Governor Bruce Rauner to discuss more funding for public schools. After Rauner declined, Chance donated $1 million to the cause himself. He’s also been extremely pivotal in the #SaveChicago campaign, aiming to decrease violence in the city that has high murder rates. His philanthropic ways only increased after 2015 when he had his daughter Kensli, which made him want to have a safe surrounding for his daughter. Hopefully, his philanthropy will continue while his musical success also will thrive. I wish the best for one of the most inspirational people in the music industry.

Of all the rappers examined so far, Lil Uzi Vert may be the most polarizing rapper yet. Many people love him, but others can’t listen to him, due to his unique style and sound. Symere Woods, more commonly known as Lil Uzi Vert, was born and raised in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, PA.  Born in North Philly, he grew up in an area surrounded by crime, although he himself stayed out of this.

Although it seems like he has been around for while, Lil Uzi is actually only 23 years old, and was born on July 31st, 1994. Through his teens, Uzi listened to Marilyn Manson, and soon became a big fan of his work. Also listening to Kanye growing up, he contributes his style to these two, inspiring him to be the rapper he is today. It was not until high school though that Uzi realized that he wanted to become a rapper and started rapping, only after being persuaded by a friend. He should be thanking that friend every day because he has led him down the road to riches.

Lil Uzi Vert first turned some heads when being featured on local disk jockey DJ Diamond Kuts tracks. Through this small market, Uzi caught the attention of Don Cannon and others, who got him to sign with Generations Now and Atlantic Records. His first big hit was with fellow rappers Carnage, ASAP Ferg and Rich the Kid with the title, “WDYW.” It was originally a single he put out, but then quickly captured the attention of Carnage, who helped it gain even more attention.

After this success, he released his first commercial mixtape, ‘Luv is Rage’ in December of 2015. None of the songs were amazingly popular, but some gained a decent amount of exposure. He soon followed this with his next mixtape, ‘Lil Uzi Vert vs The World,’ which was released in early 2016. This gained the attention of many rap listeners. His most popular songs included “You Was Right,” “Money Longer,” and “P’s & Q’s.” The latter two cracked the Billboard Hot 100 and it really helped spread Lil Uzi’s name across the music industry.

His quick releases continued, debuting his fifth mixtape ‘Perfect Luv Tape’ in July of 2016. Not as successful as his previous mixtape, it still peaked at album #55, and continued his rise to being towards the top of the rap game. An essential point in his career was in December later that year, when he decided to collaborate with Migos. Under this collaboration they released the extremely successful single, “Bad and Boujee” which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 2017. It was the first time a song that featured Lil Uzi Vert has topped the charts. This fame put Uzi’s name in the minds of most people listening to rap today. Lil Uzi then blew away people with his next mixtape ‘Luv Is Rage 2,’ which was released in August of 2017. This included his most successful single song yet, “XO Tour Llif3,” which peaked at #1 on Billboard Hot 100, and stayed on the chart for an amazing 45 weeks. This was not his only successful song though. Other hits include “The Way Life Goes,” “Neon Guts,” “Sauce It Up,” “444+222,” and “Dark Queen.” To summarize, almost the whole album was responded to with positive reviews.

While it is true he experienced and will continue to experience success, Lil Uzi Vert certainly has a unique style. To many he is considered a “mumble rapper,” claiming that his lyrics aren’t clear and it doesn’t sound as though he is even singing. In some of his songs I would actually agree, but at the same time, in other songs he uses his voice in a way not many other rappers can. So while he has his haters, they are the minority, and his success will most likely continue into the future.

This post will be about none other than Post Malone, the rapper that surprised everyone with his quick rise to success. Although no one knew him a few years ago, he is know loved by many, and is referred to as one of the most successful rappers today. Austin Richard Post, more commonly known as Post Malone, was born on July 4th, 1995, the same day that we commemorate the independence of our country.

Growing up in Syracuse, New York, he was raised by his father, Rich and stepmother Jodie. Post was surrounded by music as a young child, as his dad was a disc jockey when he was younger, and he then introduced Post to many genres, some of which included rap, country and rock. He left Syracuse behind for the big state of Texas at the age of 9, due to his dad receiving a job with the Dallas Cowboys.

After playing Guitar Hero as a child, he soon became interested in learning guitar, which was his first step towards becoming the musician and singer he is today. His first experience with music was actually becoming a part of a heavy metal band. This transitioned to soft rock and then hip-hop. He started experimenting with FL Studio and Audacity, the latter of which he used to create his first mixtape Young and After Them Riches, at the age of 16 years old. He showed it to some of his classmates, and in turn was voted “Most Likely to Become Famous” as a senior in high school. He enrolled in his local community college, but soon dropped out, moving to Los Angeles, California. Soon after arriving, he formed a group named BLCKVRD, recording music together and soon loved into the same house in San Fernando. His stage name was made when he was 14 or 15, using a rap name generator that gave him the name Malone, adding it onto his last name post.

His career started when he wrote “White Iverson,”in reference to  which he recorded just two days after writing the song. The song garnered lots of attention, receiving praise from Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller, while the music video also received over 390 million views on Youtube. With this song gaining more attention, it caught the eyes of record labels as well, signing with Republic Records in August 2015. This same record label houses other big names such as Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, The Weekend, and Aminé. This same month, he actually performed at Kylie Jenner’s 18th birthday party, where he met legendary artist Kanye West, who enjoyed his music so much he featured him on his single “Fade.” He also met Justin Bieber, who he performed the opening act for Bieber’s concert. He followed this up by releasing his new single, “Go Flex” in April 2016. Over 6 months later on December 9th of 2016, he released his debut album, ‘Stoney.’ This featured “Congratulations,” which hit #8 on the billboard, as well as “I Fall Apart” and “Deja Vu” breaking the top 100. The album went double platinum, although Post himself said the album was mediocre.

After this album, he started working on his second album, Beerbongs & Bentleys, which is set to be released sometime in 2018, after being delayed. “Rockstar,” the first song from the album was released in September 2017, with this song staying at #1 for eight consecutive weeks. Many are awaiting the arrival of his new album, expecting something even better than his first.

What separates Post Malone from many of the other rappers and artists is his unique ability to mix musical styles and genres, making each his own and being successful with them all. While “I Fall Apart” is slower and more R&B, “Rockstar” and “Congratulations” goes more with hip-hop and rap. He called himself genre-less, knowing the unique abilities that he has. With his talents, many are expecting his success to continue throughout his career for a long time to come.

Future will be the focus of this week’s blog, and you have all probably heard of him before. Unknown to many is that his real name is actually Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, much longer and not quite as catchy as his stage name. Similar to several other rappers examined, Future grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, born on November 20, 1983. Although it seems he hasn’t been around too long, Future is one of the oldest rappers in the game at the age of 34 years old.

Growing up, Future doesn’t have the extremely rough upbringings that other rappers have experienced. Although this is true, his family was involved in street hustling, so he didn’t have the parents to look up to and want to strive to be. As a teenager he attended Columbia High School, and it was then when rapping become more of a reality to him. He joined the musical collective, “The Dungeon Family,” which includes some other rappers from Atlanta, such as Cee Lo Green, OutKast’s Big Boi and his cousin, Rico Wade, who was the one that inspired Future to take up rapping due to his impressive writing skills. It was also due to this that he gained the name Future.

Although he joined early on, Future’s first work was released in early 2010. Throughout 2011, he released three mix tapes called ‘1000’, ‘Dirty Sprite’ and ‘True Story.’ Although no one knows about these works, it did catch the attention of A1 Recordings, who signed him in September of 2011. After signing this deal, he released a mix tape ‘Streetz Calling,” which focused more on the pop genre than the rap he is known for now. At this same time, he collaborated with fellow rapper Gucci Mane to put out a collective album ‘Free Bricks.’ It was in April of 2012, when Future released his debut album ‘Pluto,’ which featured Drake and T.I in “Tony Montana” and “Magic,” respectively. “Magic” was the first song Future released to ever enter the Billboard hot 100. Later that same year, he was featured on Rihanna’s song “Loveeeeeee Song,” which Future wrote and produced.

Transitioning to 2013, Future released a successful mix tape ‘F.B.G.: The Movie’, which actually went platinum, featuring some artists signed to his label. This same year, he announced he was releasing his second album, ‘Future Hendrix,’ with his lead song “Karate Chop” being released in January 2013. After several months, in August, Future said he was changing the name of the album to ‘Honest.’ This caused much speculation, and it wasn’t released until over a year after the lead song, in April of 2014. This album featured collaborations with Kanye West, Rihanna, Drake, Jeremih and others.

After several other successful mix tapes, Future released his third album ‘DS2’ in July 2015, following it up with a collaborative mix tape with Drake. The album hit #1 on Billboard, which made him the first rapper in over a decade to have two #1 albums in a year. Less than six months later he released his fourth album “EVOL,” which also hit #1, making him the fastest to have three #1 albums since Glee in 2010. Before his fifth album, Future released several singles, which were certified gold or better. These include some of his greatest works such as, “F*** Up Some Commas (My personal favorite),” “Where Ya At,” “Jumpman,” “Low Life,” and “Mask Off.”

His fifth album, released in February 2017 was cleverly called ‘FUTURE.’ This album featured his hit “Mask off” as well as “Used to This,” which was very successful. While listeners took in his works from this album, he decided to surprise them by releasing his sixth album ‘HNDRXX’ just two weeks after his fifth album. Both albums went to number one consecutively, becoming the first artist to have two albums at number one at the same time.

With this much success, one must wonder what gives Future this much success. Personally, I believe it is his smooth flow, because no offense, but his lyrics are not the main focus of listeners. Defined as a mumble rapper, many people cannot understand what Future is exactly saying, but with his rhythm and flow, people still find it catchy. The auto tune matches his actual voice very well also, helping the harmonic feel of his music. At the age of 34, it’s fair to wonder how much longer Future can continue this success. With a net worth over $50 million, he may not need to continue the success, although it will be interesting to see how the future of Future plays out.

No one surprised more with their 2017 performance than Cardi B. Essentially unknown prior to that year, she soared to the top of the charts, playing significant roles in multiple songs inside of the top 10 on Billboard. As of today, she has 3 collaborations in the top 10, “Finesse” at #4, “No Limit” at #7, and “Motorsport” at #10, along with her hit songs “Bartier Cardi” at #16, and “Bodak Yellow” at #19. With all this recent success, many are wondering why she has flourished this year and where she has come from. Well, that’s why you’re here.

Cardi B, whose real name is actually Belcalis Almanzar, was born on October 11, 1992 in the Bronx. With a Trini mother and a Dominican father, her childhood was enveloped with her Caribbean culture. Her parents divorced, and this had her constantly traveling between the Bronx and Washington Heights. Even with this separation, she’s extremely close with her family, especially her sister Hennessy. With her mother a cashier and her father a cab driver, they worked long hours to maintain a healthy childhood for their children. Their hard work also helped teach Cardi B the lessons of being self dependent and smart choices.

After finishing high school, Cardi B did not have career plans, but she had high ambitions and wanted to make an impact with her life. She enrolled in Manhattan Community College, also working a part-time job. She started as a marketing expert in college, but after making only $250 per week, she decided that this was not her goal in life. So she dropped out at the age of 18, and trying to make money quick, soon became employed at New York dolls as an exotic dancer. Making $300 per eight hour shift, she received the money she couldn’t get from other jobs. She became a hit with the club-goers, and sustained this success throughout her five year career as a dancer. She quit at the age of 23, then transitioning to social media to call out adultery and domestic violence.

She then transitioned into an entertainer, meeting with personalities such as Patricia Fields and Charlagmagne the God. She ranged in a wide variety of activities, from modeling at New York Fashion Week, to appearing in a music video by Farruko, to co-hosting ‘Uncommon Sense’ a MTV2 show, and also making an appearance on Revolt TV. All this helped spread her name throughout the media, and her career looked to be rising.

In 2016, Cardi B released her first album “Gangsta B***h Vol. 1,” although few songs garnered much attention. The same can be said for “Gangsta B***h Vol. 2” released in January 2017. Foreva, her top song on the first mix tape sparked some interest, and it was enough for Atlantic Records to give her a shot. This could not have worked out better, as her first song with them blew expectations out of the water. “Bodak Yellow” hit #1 on the Billboard chart, the first female rapper to have a song at #1 in 19 years. Her music video for this hit has over 439 million views on YouTube, and This quick success made other stars want to add her to their songs, such as Bruno Mars and G Eazy. Another collaboration featured Nicki Minaj, her long time rival now believed to be friend, and Migos, the group which her Fiance Offset is a part of.

Cardi B may have shocked millions with her ascension to the tops of the chart, but it is easy to see why she has became popular so fast. Her quick lines and unique accent are something that no other female rapper possesses, although at points she sounds familiar to the aforementioned Nicki Minaj.  Her attitude to “be yourself” has been adored by many fans, and they find the now rap star inspirational. Although you may not have known her name a year ago, Cardi B will be a name you constantly here in the future, as she looks to remain atop her throne.

Jeffrey Lamar Williams is a famous rapper, but everyone else knows him as Young Thug. The hip hop star originated from Atlanta, Georgia and was born on August 16th , 1991. The twenty six year old had a rough upbringing, as many of the other rappers discussed have. Thugger, his rap nickname, was raised in the run down portion of the Jonesboro South projects. Not only was the area harsh, but Thugger was one of 11 children to be brought up in that household, him being the second youngest of them all. Surrounded by crime as a young child, his older brother was shot right in front of him. Another brother is currently in jail after being convicted of murder. His brothers weren’t the only ones that ran into trouble, as Young Thug was quite the problem child himself.

Young Thug stayed in school until sixth grade. What was the purpose of him cutting his schooling short? Well, as a sixth grader, Thugger was expelled due to him breaking his teachers arm. Yes, BREAKING HIS TEACHER’S ARM! He was then put into juvenile detention for four years, although this didn’t help his development either. As a teen, he started some bad habits, including gambling, enjoying the adrenaline rush and risk taking. This soon accelerated into drug addiction and violence, and his life started to spiral out of control. Luckily, the thing to get him through it was rap and music, and at the age of 17, the same time he became a father, his life turned around. He quickly realized his talent with rapping, and made this his life goal.

His first mix tape dropped in 2011, with the title “I Came From Nothing”, which caught the attention of fellow rapper Gucci Mane. Gucci soon signed Thugger onto his label, citing his unique work. This was followed by his second mix tape in 2013, “1017 Thug”, which received great reviews from Complex, a top rap opinion website. “Pichacho” was voted as the best song on the album, making its way into the “Rolling Stone” and also listed as one of the best songs of the year. He released a few other songs later that year, all of which also gained success. In 2014, Thugger’s career really took off, collaborating with Kanye West, Rich Homie and Chief Keef. Not only this, but his first album was released in March of that year, with the title “Carter 6.” This was based off of his admiration Lil Wayne and his hit album “Tha Carter.” In 2015, he released my favorite song of his, “Best Friend” on his album Slime Season.

It was 2016, when the world really started to hear about Young Thug. This was because of his album “Jeffrey”, which garnered attention from songs “Wyclef Jean”, “Guwop” and “Pick up the Phone.” One year later, he released another album called “Beautiful Thugger Girls,” which is when Young Thug caught people’s attention with his popular song, “Relationship.” His smooth flowing of his lyrics in this song truly represent the greatness of his music ability.

Like last week when mentioning Quavo, Thugger uses auto tune at a high rate as well. During his hit “Relationship,” Young Thug almost sounds like a robot at points. Yet, Thugger uses auto tune to transform his music into a masterpiece, rather than where some artists misuse auto tune. Personally, my favorite song of Young Thug’s career is Wyclef Jean, as although it is easily noticeable that a large amount of auto tune is being used, it really represents Young Thug as an artist. He truly has a unique, lackadaisical style that just works so well with his lyrics and melodies that he chooses. Interestingly, Thugger doesn’t even write his lyrics, but rather he draws shapes and designs to “write” his songs. Now the talented artist who came from nothing is worth $3 million, and hopefully his success keeps on coming.

Just like the name of one of their members, Migos used 2017 to take off and launch perhaps the most successful year since they established the group. Migos is an extremely interesting group to examine, as they not only perform together, but all three of them have also performed separately and collaborated with other rappers, showing the versatility they have. They released their new album Culture this past year on January 27th, and the success they received from that album has caused them to work on their next album, cleverly named Culture II, which will supposedly be released later this month.

It was not always easy for the now successful trio though, as they had a rough upbringing. In a surprising twist, all three are relatives, which is unknown to many. Quavo (Quavious Marshall) is actually the uncle of fellow member, Takeoff (Kirshnik Bell), even though Quavo is only four years older than his nephew. Offset (Kiari Cephus) is also the cousin of Quavo. Quavo is the oldest of the group at 26 years old, with Offset at 25 and Takeoff at 22. Quavo’s father passed away when he was just four years old, while Offset and Takeoff where also left without a father after their father’s left when they were young. This left the boys spending a lot of time together, with Quavo’s mother raising the three boys on her own much of the time. As children they all had different hobbies, as Takeoff loved wrestling, even having a ring in his backyard. Meanwhile, Quavo loved playing football and also watching marine documentaries, whereas Offset also enjoyed football, but his attitude ultimately caused him to stop, eventually being put in military school for an amount of time. Quavo began rapping in 8th grade, often made fun of by his fellow students. Offset came to the defense of his cousin, and with this, he soon also became interested in rapping. With Takeoff also participating in rap, they soon formed their first group in 2009, called Polo Club. Unfortunately, they enjoyed doing more than just rapping, becoming involved in the drug trade. Needing money for clothes and equipment, selling drugs seemed like the easiest way to make money fast. This was seen when their first song dropped as Bando, a word known as a house where drugs are sold.

While  Bando did catch the attention of some big name rappers such as Gucci Mane, it wasn’t until 2013 when they released their first top 100 song, Versace (#99 to be exact). With the collaboration involving superstar Drake, they soon also caught the attention of the world. Two years later, in July 2015, they released their first album, Yung Rich Nation. Sadly, when they released it, they were involved in plenty of trouble and drama. In March 2014, they exchanged gunfire with another vehicle. Just over a year later, Quavo, Offset and fellow rapper Rich the Kid were arrested with drug and gun charges. Quavo and Rich the Kid just received community service, but Offset received an eight month jail sentence due to a prior crime, not being released until December later that year.

Just a year after their run with the law, the group was experiencing their finest success. On October 28, 2016, their hit single “Bad and Boujee” was released, and with that, Migos climbed to the top of the charts. As earlier stated, Culture was released on January 27th of 2017, debuting as the #1 album, and going platinum just three months after the release. Now, although they have experienced lots of success, Migos music is not for everyone. Their heavy use of bass and “trap” music many times leads to aggressive sounding, sometimes head-banging music. Yet, many people love their music, me included. Some even call them, “the Beatles of this generation.”

However, there’s a huge difference between the Beatles and Migos, and it’s easy to spot. Perhaps no group takes more advantage of auto tune, using it in every song, every verse, every line. While every member uses it, Quavo is essentially popular due to his artificially toned voice, starring in many hit songs while collaborating with numerous different artists. Sometimes sounding robotic, Migos shows that talent may not be the biggest measure of popularity (I mean, how did Gucci Gang get popular?), but rather the beat and production of the music.

Although Migos has many hit songs, I think one of their most recent collaborations represents their music the best. “Motorsport”, featuring Migos, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, spotlight the reasons why Migos is popular. Using a very simple background beat, they focus on the rhythm and flow of the song. Quavo starts it off strong, using auto tune to change the sound of his voice multiple times, with Offset then appearing, using his deep voice to change the mood. After Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, Takeoff wraps it up, perfectly setting up the last chorus by Quavo. Listening to their music, it is easy to tell that although as a group they are extremely talented, they do need each other to prosper. Their voices are fairly monotone, but together, they create something that surprisingly comes together quite well, and this is something that should continue for the A-Migos.

Throughout this blog, ten of the top current rappers or rap groups will be analyzed, also adding information about their background and the meaning of their music. This list will include:

1. Kendrick Lamar
2. Migos (and more specifically Quavo)
3. Young Thug
4. Cardi B
5. Future
6. Post Malone
7. Lil Uzi Vert
8. Chance the Rapper
9. Travis Scott
10. 21 Savage

This list is not listing the best 10 rappers today, although they are some of the most popular. Some others that could be included are Logic, XXXtentacion, Lil Pump, Frank Ocean, Kodak Black, Swae Lee, Vince Staples, Big Sean or ASAP Rocky, or even some slightly older rap legends like Drake, Kanye or Jay-Z. For now though, these 10 rappers will be the ones analyzed.

So let’s start with the rapper who had probably the most successful 2017, Kendrick Lamar. He’s starting off 2018 right too, headlining the first ever college football championship halftime show. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton, California on June 17th, 1987, celebrating his 30th birthday in 2017. As a child, Kendrick was a great student in school, writing many stories and poems, which eventually led to him writing his own song lyrics. While transitioning into his rap career, he took over the name K-dot, releasing his first viral mix tape at 16 years old. He continued to collaborate with other young rappers, most notably Schoolboy Q.

It wasn’t until Kendrick met the legendary rap producer Dr. Dre that his career finally took off. Dre signed Kendrick to his record label, and within a few years Kendrick released his first album, “good kid, M.A.A.D city”.  The top songs included Backseat Freestyle, M.A.A.D City, Swimming Pools and Poetic Justice. His provoking and inspiring lyrics quickly caught the attentions of millions, and Kendrick was soon mentioned along such names as Lil Wayne and Kanye West. With Kendrick’s lyrics bringing up topics about street violence and harsh realities of the rough neighborhoods, he was soon loved for bringing out the truth that many others are unable to see, or even imagine.

Kendrick continued to add to his impressive music with the album “To Pimp a Butterfly”. This included such hits as Alright, King Kunta, and The Blacker the Berry. Kendrick was nominated for an insane 11 Grammys from this record, including winning the best rap album of the year. Recently, Kendrick released DAMN., yet another impressive showing of his talents. Top hits included Humble, DNA and Loyalty, although they were not the only ones that caught the attention of listeners.

Kendrick is so successful not only because of his creative lyrics and enlightening topics, but also because of his smooth vocals. With his childhood of writing poetry, Kendrick infuses the lyrics, melody and his vocals perfectly to always incorporate a heavenly flow into his music. While nowadays many rappers use an insane amount of auto tune, Kendrick relies more on his natural voice and inflections to be able to incorporate his vocals into almost any beat. With mumble rappers becoming a larger trend in rap, Kendrick uses his strong words and pronunciation to empower individuals and his fans. And while some rappers use an excessive amount of relative English (the use of uh, oh, ah) to rhyme, Kendrick again relies on his creative style and lyrics to write his incredibly powerful songs.

With all of this taken into account, it is not maybe his most popular song, and not one of his more recent ones, but no song resembles Kendrick Lamar better than Backseat Freestyle. His ability to shift to different sounding voices shows off his versatility, being able to sync into any beat and different melodies. He smoothly transitions into these while yet still keeping a flow of music, never sounding out of rhythm. The one line in the chorus states, “All my life I want money and power, respect my mind or die from lead shower.” While some correlate this to a shower of bullets, it also stands for the lead coming from his pencil while writing his lyrics, killing the other rappers as Kendrick dominates the rap game. If all he wanted in life was money and power, Kendrick has certainly accomplished his dream.