Kendrick Lamar’s Complete Discography
Image Credit: hat-94 on Deviant Art.
Kendrick Lamar, born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, is one of the greatest American rappers and a brilliant lyricist. From his humble beginnings in Compton, Lamar rose to stardom with hit after hit. He’s since won over 160 awards, including 13 Grammys. Following up some of the best albums out of the 2000’s, Kendrick had some big shoes to fill. Needless to say, he’s done quite well for himself.
Here is Kendrick Lamar’s complete discography, in chronological order, with information on every album and links to all the rapper’s can’t-miss music.
Albums/Mixtapes
- Y.H.N.I.C. (Hub City Threat Minor Of The Year) (2003)
- Training Day (2005)
- No Sleep ‘Til NYC (2007)
- C4 (2009)
- Kendrick Lamar (EP) (2009)
- Overly Dedicated (2010)
- Section.80 (2011)
- good kid m.A.A.d. city (2012)
- To Pimp A Butterfly (2015)
- untitled unmastered (2016)
- DAMN (2017)
- Black Panther: The Album (2018)
Singles
- “HiiiPower”
- “My People” featuring Jay Rock
- “The Recipe” featuring Dr.Dre
- “Swimming Pools (Drank)”
- “Backseat Freestyle”
- “Poetic Justice” featuring Drake
- “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”
- “i”
- “The Blacker the Berry”
- “King Kunta”
- “Alright”
- “These Walls” featuring Bilal, Anna Wise, and Thundercat
- “Untitled 07| levitate”
- “Humble”
- “Loyalty” featuring Rihanna
- “Love” featuring Zacari
- “All the Stars” featuring SZA
- “King’s Dead” featuring Jay Rock, Future, and James Blake
- “Don’t Don’t Do It” featuring N.E.R.D
- “Compton” featuring Dr. Dre
- “The Heart Part 4”
via GIPHY
Features
- “College Girls” by 8 Ounz
- “Hood Gone Love It” by Jay Rock
- “Star Life” by Lyn Charles
- “B-Boyz” by Birdman also featuring Mack Maine, Ace Hood, and DJ Khaled
- “Push Thru” by Talib Kweli also featuring Currensy
- “Fuckin’ Problems” by A$AP Rocky also featuring Drake and 2 Chainz
- “Let Us Move On” by Dido
- “Live in My Bed” by Frank Anthony
- “YOLO” by The Lonely Island also featuring Adam Levine
- “How Many Drinks?” by Miguel
- “We Up” by 50 Cent
- “Memories Back Then” by T.I. also featuring B.o.B, and Kris Stephens
- “Looks Good with Trouble” by Solange
- “Street Dreamin” by Bridget Kelly
- “Compton’s Finest” by H.O.P.E. Wright
- “Collard Greens” by Schoolboy Q
Features (cont’d.)
- “Fragile” by Tech N9ne also featuring iMayday! And Kendall Morgan
- “Forbidden Fruit” by J. Cole
- “Give it 2 U” by Robin Thicke
- “Jealous” by Fredo Santana
- “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons
- “Nosetalgia” by Pusha T
- “It’s On Again” by Alicia Keys
- “Buy the World” by Mike Will Made It also featuring Future, and Lil Wayne
- “That’s Me Right There” by Jasmine V
- “Never Catch Me” by Flying Lotus
- “Pay for it” by Jay Rock
- “Heaven Help Dem” by Jonathan Emile
- “Thuggin” by Glasses Malone
- “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift
- “Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You? (We Ain’t Neva Gonna Stop Remix)” by Funkadelic also featuring Ice Cube
- “Holy Key” by DJ Khaled also featuring Big Sean, and Betty Wright
- “The Greatest” by Sia
- “Freedom” by Beyonce
- “Really Doe” by Danny Brown also featuring Ab-Soul, and Earl Sweatshirt
- “Survive” by Mistah F.A.B. also featuring Crooked I, and Kobe Honeycutt
- “Don’t Wanna Know” by Maroon 5
- “Goosebumps” by Travis Scott
- “Perfect Pint” by Mike Will Made It also featuring Rae Sremmurd, and Gucci Mane
- “New Freezer” by Rich the Kid
- “Get Out of Your Own Way” by U2
- “Dedication” by Nipsey Hussle
- “Tints” by Anderson Paak
- “Hair Down” by SiR
- “Control” by Big Sean, also featuring Jay Electronica
- “God is Fair, Sexy Nasty” by Mac Miller
- “Mona Lisa” by Lil’ Wayne
Y.H.N.I.C. (Hub City Threat Minor Of The Year)
Released: 2003
Image Source: SoundCloud
Facts about Y.H.N.I.C. (Hub City Threat Minor Of The Year)
- Y.H.N.I.C. is Kendrick Lamar’s debut mixtape.
- During the release of this mixtape, Kendrick’s rap name was “K-Dot.”
- Kendrick built a shift off his mixtape on a local scale in Compton, California. Getting him in touch with a man named Anthony Tiffith, nickname Top Dawg, who repped Kendrick under his record label, Top Dog Entertainment.
- Today, Kendrick still represents Top Dog Entertainment as one of their main artists.
Listen:
Training Day
Released: June 1st, 2005
Facts about Training Day
- Kendrick released Training Day two weeks before his 18th birthday.
- Training Day is a nod to the film of the same name, starring Denzel Washington.
- In this mixtape, Kendrick raps to many old school beats such as “Who Shot Ya” by The Notorious B.I.G. and “Prototype” by Andre 3000.
Popular Songs from Training Day
- “Dreams”
- “Imagine”
- “Blame God”
Listen
No Sleep ‘Til NYC
Released: December 24, 2007
Facts about No Sleep ‘Til NYC
- Kendrick was steadily working with many up and coming artists, including Jay Rock, Ab-soul, and Schoolboy Q.
- Kendrick raps about a craving for materialistic things. In the song “Enjoy Life,” Kendrick remarks how he’s been craving a 10-karat gold ring since the age of ten years old.
- Kendrick’s flow reveals the complexity of the situations we overlook as everyday bystanders.
- This is Kendrick’s 3rd mixtape release.
Popular Songs from No Sleep ‘Til NYC
- “Enjoy Life”
- “Dead Presidents III”
Listen
C4
Released: January 30th, 2009
Facts about C4
- This mixtape was mainly inspired by Lil Wayne’s album, The Carter III. Kendrick freestyles over Lil Wayne’s instrumentals.
- Shortly after this mixtape release, he gave up his rap name “K-dot” for his new stage name, Kendrick Lamar.
- During an interview with Hard Knock TV in 2011, Kendrick referred to “Bitch I’m in the Club” from his C4 mixtape as his worst song ever made.
Popular Songs from C4
- “Best Rapper Under 25”
- “A Milli (Freestyle)”
Listen
Kendrick Lamar (EP)
Released: December 31, 2009
Facts about Kendrick Lamar EP
- This is the first project released under Kendrick’s birth name.
- This project was the game changer that made Kendrick find his own sound. Instead of freestyling over radio hits, Kendrick concentrates on his songwriting.
Popular songs from Kendrick Lamar EP
- “She Needs Me”
- “Faith”
- “P&P”
- “Let Me Be Me”
Listen
Overly Dedicated
Released: September 14, 2010
Facts about Overly Dedicated
- This is Kendrick’s final mixtape.
- These tracks pointed out Kendrick as an over-thinker to his audience. In “Growing Apart (To Get Closer),” Kendrick questions his devotion to God, and points out his own bias to all society feeling the same indifference to their faith.
Popular songs from Overly Dedicated
- “Opposites Attract (Tomorrow W/O Her)”
- “Growing Apart (To Get Closer)”
- “Cut You Off To Grow Closer”
Listen
Section.80
Released: July 2, 2011
Facts about Section.80
- This is Kendrick’s debut studio album.
- The album name is a combination of section.8, which refers to inner-city housing, and the decade in which Kendrick was born: 1980.
Popular Songs from Section.80
- “The Spiteful Chant”
- “Ronald Reagan Era (His Evils)”
- “HiiiPoWeR”
- “A.D.H.D”
Listen
good kid m.A.A.d. city
Released: October 22, 2012
Facts about good kid m.A.A.d. City
- Kendrick kept a diary after the release of this album so he didn’t forget his initial thoughts at the time.
- The handwriting on the album cover was done by Schoolboy Q.
- The skits within this album are Kendrick’s biological parents leaving voice messages.
Popular songs from good kid m.A.A.d. City
- “Bitch, don’t kill my vibe”
- “Money Trees”
- “m.A.A.d. City”
- “Swimming Pools (Drank)”
Listen
To Pimp A Butterfly
Released: March 15, 2015
Facts about To Pimp A Butterfly
- To Pimp A Butterfly was broadcasted to be released early, then removed, then re-released.
- Kendrick considered the song “U” the most difficult song for himself to write, since he poured his insecurities, selfishness, and failures into the lyrics.
Popular songs from To Pimp A Butterfly
- “King Kunta”
- “Alright”
- “i (Album Version)”
- “The Blacker the Berry”
Listen
untitled unmastered
Released: March 4, 2016
Facts about untitled unmastered
- Kendrick believed only his true fans would appreciate his unpolished work in an album.
- These tracks’ style of flow tend to swing. “untitled 02” is about Kendrick’s conflict within himself, between being raised in Compton and being an international rap superstar, while “untitled 04” highlights education as a guiding tunnel to avoid the conspiring whispers within ourselves.
Popular songs from untitled unmastered
- “Untitled 02”
- “Untitled 07”
Listen
DAMN.
Released: April 14, 2017
Facts about DAMN.
- DAMN. was originally going to be titled What Happens on Earth Stays on Earth.
- The beat for Kendrick’s number 1 song on the album, “HUMBLE” was initially made for Gucci Mane.
- Kendrick shot the music video for the song “Element” on his 32nd birthday.
Popular songs from DAMN.
- “ELEMENT”
- “DNA”
- “HUMBLE”
Listen
Black Panther: The Album
Released: February 9, 2018
Facts about Black Panther: The Album
- Kendrick is credited as a featured artist on five of the 14 tracks.
- Listeners will also notice Kendrick’s voice (uncredited) in almost every track.
Popular songs from Black Panther: The Album
- “King’s Dead”
- “All the Stars”
- “Pray For Me”
- “X”
Listen
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Released: May 13, 2022
Facts about Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
- This is Kendrick Lamar’s final album with label Top Dawg Entertainment.
Listen
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