Kendrick Lamar’s Net Worth Proves the Rapper Doesn’t Need to Be ‘Humble’

In just a decade, Kendrick Lamar has become rap royalty. His music catalog and net worth are proof.

Kendrick Lamar’s net worth is a whopping $75 million. After only a decade in the spotlight, this American rapper, producer and songwriter has been called the voice of his generation.

Lamar has sold 70 million records (and counting), and his shows are must-see events. At only 35 years old, he has a bright — and highly lucrative — future ahead of him.

Lamar’s Early Days in Compton

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Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born on June 17, 1987. Before his birth, his parents moved from Chicago to the Los Angeles area. Named after Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations (who later had a solo hit with “Keep On Truckin'” in 1974), Lamar was a good student who showed an early talent in writing poetry and stories.

Lamar grew up in Compton and saw plenty of violence in his neighborhood. He witnessed two murders by the time he was 10, and many of his friends were in gangs.

Inspiration for His Art

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While Lamar mostly steered clear of getting into trouble, these experiences left an indelible impact on him, which he channeled into his art.

He said of his childhood experiences, “You grow up inside these neighborhoods and these communities, and you have friends, friends that you love, friends that you grew up with since elementary. And you have their trust, and you have their loyalty. So it brings influence. So no matter how much of a leader I thought I was, I was always under the influence, period. Most of the time, when they were involved in these acts of destruction, I was right there.”

‘The New King of the West Coast’

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Lamar remained fixed on music throughout high school, and in 2004, the 16-year-old released his first mixtape under the name K-Dot. It was well received by the community and earned him a contract with the Top Dawg Entertainment label.

He began recording under his real name in 2010 and entered the Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with his mixtape, “Overly Dedicated.” A year later, he release his first full-length LP, “Section.80” which made it to No. 13 on the Billboard 200, and he was dubbed “The New King of the West Coast” by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog and the Game.

Help From Another Rap Legend

Kendrick Lamar performs at Bonnaroo in 2013

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In 2012, Lamar released his second studio album “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” for which he was nominated for his first four Grammys in 2014.

Dre, his hero, worked with him on that album. He said of their collaboration: “It came to a point where I had to really snap out of fan mode and become a professional because after we were introduced, he said he liked my music and I said that I’m a fan of his work. Then he said, ‘OK, now write to this, write a full song to this.’ Right after I said ‘Man, Dr. Dre, you’re the greatest’ and he was like, ‘Yeah man, you’re good too, you could be something … alright, now write to this beat.’ And that beat ended up being the first song I did with him and ended up on my album called ‘Compton.'”

Performing at 2022’s Super Bowl Half Time Show

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Rap took center stage at the halftime show for Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, only a few miles from Kendrick Lamar’s childhood home in Compton.

Lamar was one of the performers with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Eminem. And it was one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows of all time.

DAMN and a Pulitzer Prize

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The Pulitzer Prize Board honors distinguished musical compositions, but generally awards musicians and writers in the classical, jazz, operatic and musical theater genres. Very few musicians in popular music win the award — Bob Dylan, Hank Williams and Aretha Franklin are recent award winners.

In 2018, Kendrick Lamar added Pulitzer Prize winner to his resume when his album “DAMN” was awarded. His was the first non-classical or jazz work to win the prestigious award.

The Board said of the album, “[It is] a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”

A Multiple Award Winner

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Over his decade in the public eye, Lamar has won 161 awards of his nearly 400 nominations. This tally includes 14 Grammy awards, six Billboard Music awards and an ASCAP Vanguard Award for his composition work.

In 2018, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his work as a producer on the “Black Panther” soundtrack.

Lamar’s Multimedia Company

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In 2020, Lamar and longtime collaborator Dave Free (former president of Top Dawg Entertainment) launched a multimedia company, pdLang.

According to its press release, the company “is at service to creators and projects that selflessly speak with, and for, the shared experiences that connect us all.” The company is “not a ‘record label,’ a ‘movie studio’ or a ‘publishing house.’ This is something new.”

The new entertainment entity has so far collaborated with Calvin Klein on short films and is producing an untitled film by Matt Stone and Trey Parker of “South Park” fame.

On May 2, 2022, the company collaborated with Converse on “pgLang for Converse,” featuring two new sneaker designs.

Kendrick Lamar’s Real Estate Investments

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With a net worth of $75 million, Lamar has become one of the richest men in rap in a very short time. He is said to own investment properties all over Southern California.

Lamar bought his first home in Los Angeles in 2014 for just $523,500. He also purchased a six-bedroom house for $2.65 million, then a four-bedroom home for $9.7 million in Manhattan Beach, where he currently lives.

He said of his real estate investments, “I really like to buy property, whether it’s apartments, whether it’s buildings, whether it’s houses. I like to invest my money in different things, rather than buying things for the moment. Something that can last me a lifetime.”

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

pgLang / Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath Entertainment / Interscope Records / Wikipedia

On June 30, 2022, Lamar announced the physical release of the double album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” to roll out later in the summer. The digital release dropped in early June and was hailed as an instant classic.

The album spans 18 songs over 73 minutes and is considered another hip-hop work of art, adding to Lamar’s legacy as a living legend.

Live at Glastonbury, 2022

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Lamar appeared at the iconic Glastonbury festival in June 2022 and played a theatrical set filled with classics like “Humble” and “Savior” as well as tracks from his new album.

He wore and “bled” from a crown of thorns that was designed in a collaboration with Tiffany. It includes 8,000 micro pavé set diamonds that total 137 carats and weighs about 200 grams.

After Glastonbury, Lamar was spotted wearing it at the Louis Vuitton show during Fashion Week in Paris.