Kendrick Lamar

May
14
Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, & Tamar Braxton Announce BET Awards Nominations

Chris Brown

BET called on some of its famous friends to announce the nominees for the BET Awards ’13 in downtown L.A. on Tuesday. Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, and Tamar Braxton were on hand, along with this year’s host Chris Tucker and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Charlie Wilson.

Kendrick, who scored eight nominations, read off half the nominees and kept going before he realized he was reading BET executive Stephen Hill’s speech, making for a funny moment.

A blond and tatted Breezy spoke about performing at the show and revealed that Aaliyah is featured on his new single, “They Don’t Know.”

A pregnant Tamar Braxton, who received two nominations including Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, announced that her album Love and War is due in September on Epic Records.

The BET Awards ’13 will air live from the Nokia Theatre in L.A. on June 30. Drake leads with 12 nominations including five in the coveted Video of the Year category. For a full list of nominees, click here.

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May
14
New Music: Solange f/ Kendrick Lamar – ‘Looks Good With Trouble (Remix)’

Looks Good With Trouble

Kendrick Lamar blesses Solange with a verse on the remix to “Looks Good With Trouble,” a cut off her EP True. K-Dot adds his velvety flow over the vibey Dev Hynes production, rapping lyrics from Common’s “The Light” (“ticka-ta, ticka-ta, ticka-ticka-tick-a”). The song is now available on iTunes.

Solange is featured on comedic rap trio The Lonely Island’s upcoming project The Wack Album and will perform at the Made in America Festival in Philadelphia this August.

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May
13
Video: Kendrick Lamar – ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar turns up at a funeral in the video for “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” the latest single off his debut good kid, m.A.A.d city. Dressed in all white, the Compton MC attends a church service. But the somber mood quickly turns celebratory when he gets in the limo, popping champagne with his friends as they head to the hills.

Comedian Mike Epps baptizes K-Dot in liquor and they strike funny poses in front of a white casket. But we’re unsure whose funeral it is until the end when the words “Death to Molly” are displayed on the screen.

Danny Brown expressed his feelings about the video’s message. “I hope this new KDot video do make people stop fucking wit #Molly,” tweeted the Detroit rapper.

Kendrick is currently on the “Verge Campus Tour” with DJ Steve Aoki and will kick off his “good kid, m.A.A.d city” world tour on May 22.

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May
11
Kendrick Lamar Plays Principal for the Day at Providence High School

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar is currently touring the country, but he took some time out of his busy schedule to visit with students at Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, Rhode Island, on Friday.

As part of the Get Schooled Celebrity Principals for the Day program, the Compton MC encouraged the nearly 1,000 students to stay in school and stay focused on their studies.

“Without education you don’t have anything,” said Kendrick, who was a 4.0 student at Centennial High School in L.A. and was the first in his family to graduate from high school. “My teachers were great positive influences in my life. My middle school English teacher was probably the reason I became a rapper. He used to encourage me to write poetry and would challenge me, which helped me improve my vocabulary and made me enjoy writing.”

The students earned a visit from K-Dot after winning the Get Schooled National Attendance Challenge. During an interview with one of the students, he told them that his current favorite song is James Blake’s “Retrograde.”

He was also joined by “106 and Park” co-hosts Shorty da Prince and Paigion while judging a Dougie dance-off between students. Before leaving, Kendrick jumped into the crowd for a photo opp.

Past Get Schooled Celebrity Principals for the Day have included Nicki Minaj, Ne-Yo, and Big Sean.

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May
9
Erykah Badu Interviews Kendrick Lamar

Erykah Badu and Kendrick Lamar

Erykah Badu wears many hats, but this time she played reporter for Interview magazine. Her assignment was to interview the hottest MC in the game, Kendrick Lamar.

While the Compton rapper waited for a flight at the airport in Denver, Ms. Badu asked him all sorts of questions ranging from his favorite cereal to whether he would let a girl paint his toenails.

He also shared his top 10 MCs (Jay-Z, Nas, Tupac, Snoop, B.I.G., Eminem, André 3000, Rakim, Kurupt, and DMX) and learned the definition of an “asshole-checker.”

Check out some of the highlights from their enlightening conversation below.

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May
3
Kendrick Lamar and Emeli Sandé Perform ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’

Emeli Sandé and Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar performed double duty last night. After providing the entertainment at the VEVO Digital Content NewFronts earlier in the day, the Compton rapper headlined a concert for Footaction at Galapagos Art Space in New York City.

He served up his good kid, m.A.A.d city crowd pleasers including “Poetic Justice” and “Backstreet Freestyle” before bringing Emeli Sandé on stage for his latest single “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe.” The British sensation debuted a soulful new intro to the song before joining K-Dot on the chorus. Here’s hoping a full remix is in the works.

In the meantime, Kendrick can be heard on the remix to Emeli’s hit single “Next to Me.”

Watch them own the stage below.

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May
2
Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, & Wu-Tang Clan Join Hot 97 Summer Jam XX Lineup

Chris Brown

Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, and Wu-Tang Clan are among the superstar acts who will heat up the stage at Summer Jam. Hot 97 has revealed the official lineup for its annual concert.

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May
1
New Music: Robin Thicke f/ 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar – ‘Give It to You’

Robin Thicke

Robin Thicke is sitting at No. 1 on the iTunes R&B chart with his T.I. and Pharrell-assisted single “Blurred Lines.” Now he calls on two more of hip-hop’s reigning MCs, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar, for “Give It to You.”

The R&B crooner seduces the ladies in a falsetto over the pulsing Dr. Luke production, while 2 Chainz and K-Dot fire off rapid rhymes.

The racy song is set to appear on Thicke’s upcoming sixth album Blurred Lines.

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