Rapper Kendrick Lamar Wins Pulitzer Prize

COMPTON, CA -- Rapper and Compton native Kendrick Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Music Monday for his album "Damn," the first rap artist to ever win the accolade.

The prize has traditionally gone to classical, jazz or opera performances. But Pulitzer judges hailed Lamar's album as "a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life."

The 30-year-old Lamar has won 12 Grammy Awards in his career. "Damn" won earlier this year for best rap album, while the album's single "Humble" won for best rap performance, rap song and music video.

--Photo: Kendrick Lamar performs onstage with SZA during the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 13, 2018 in Indio, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella)