Friday, March 29, 2024

Pulitzer First: Damn! Pulitzer Prize One-Ups Nobel Prize, Gives First Time Ever Popular Music Award to Kendrick Lamar

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Holy moly. The Pulitzer Prizes just did the Nobel Prize one better.

Last year, the Nobels gave Bob Dylan a Lifetime Achievement Award for his music. We thought that was a ‘first.”

Today the Pulitzer Prize committee rap and hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar a Pulitzer for his album, “Damn.”

How terrific is that? Forget that it’s hip hop or rap. Lamar’s win is exceptional in that no popular music has won the Pulitzer. The winners are usually jazz or classical musicians, or the journalists who write about them.

This is a BIG deal. Think of it– the Pulitzers never gave an award to — fill in the blank– dozens of different singer songwriters who’ve written about contemporary themes, from Nina Simone to Marvin Gaye to Paul Simon. And, of course, Dylan.

The award says:

“Recording released on April 14, 2017, a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”

Congrats, Kendrick!

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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