Kendrick Lamar Receives California State Senate Generational Icon Award

While Kanye West was in Chicago getting his honorary doctorate, Kendrick Lamar was in California receiving his own prestigious honor. The Compton rapper was the recipient of the 35th Senate District’s Generational Icon Award.

Fellow Compton native Senator Isadore Hall, III praised Kendrick for giving back to his community by donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to support music, sports, and after-school programs.

“In less than 10 years as a professional artist, Mr. Lamar has gone from a local Compton young boy to become a multi-platinum, Billboard chart-topping, two-time Grammy Award-winning musician, an incredible achievement for anyone 27 years old,” said Hall. “But Mr. Lamar has not let his recent fame get the best of him. … Mr. Lamar is a familiar face in the neighborhood, giving back to his community that raised him.”

With his fiancée Whitney Alford by his side, Kendrick humbly accepted the award.

“It’s definitely an honor to be right here in front of you guys,” he told the senators. “Being from the city of Compton, and knowing the parks that I played at, and the neighborhoods, I always thought how great the opportunity would be to give back to my community off what I do in music. In order to do that for my city all the way to a state standpoint and have these young kids look at me as some type of inspiration, it’s really an honor, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for honoring me today.”

During his visit to Sacramento, K-Dot also met with California governor Jerry Brown.

A great meeting w/ @kendricklamar & #California Governor @JerryBrownGov #caleaders #caleg #sd35 pic.twitter.com/QQdT0sXuOr

— Dr. Isadore Hall,III (@isadorehall) May 12, 2015