Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning album DAMN. has won the Pulitzer Prize for music, making history as the first non-classical or jazz artist to win the prize.
The Pulitzer board said Monday the album is a "virtuosic song collection" and said it captures "the modern African American life." He will win $15,000.
Lamar has been lauded for his deep lyrical content, politically charged live performances, and his profound mix of hip-hop, spoken word, jazz, soul, funk, poetry and African sounds. Since emerging on the music scene with the 2011 album Section.80, he has achieved the perfect mix of commercial appeal and critical respect.
The Pulitzer board has awarded special honors to Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington and Hank Williams, but a popular figure like Lamar has never won the prize for music. In 1997, Wynton Marsalis became the first jazz act to win the Pulitzer Prize for music.
