Rapper Kendrick Lamar Makes History Winning Pulitzer Prize For Music

NEW YORK (AP) - Rapper Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN." has won the Pulitzer Prize for music. It's the first non-classical or jazz work to win the award.

The Pulitzer board on Monday called the album a work that captures the complexity of African-American life.

Lamar has been praised and lauded for his deep lyrical content, remarkable live performances, and his profound mix of hip-hop, spoken word, jazz, soul, funk, poetry and African sounds.

His major-label albums "good kid, m.A.A.d city," "To Pimp a Butterfly" and "DAMN." became works of art, with Lamar writing songs about blackness, street life, police brutality, perseverance, survival and self-worth.

His piercing raps helped him become the voice of the generation, and easily ascend as the leader in hip-hop and cross over to audiences outside of rap, from rock to pop to jazz.

The New York Times and The New Yorker have won the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their reporting on Harvey Weinstein and sexual misconduct that galvanized the #MeToo movement.

American journalism's most prestigious awards were announced Monday at Columbia University.

In stories that appeared within days of each other in October, The Times and The New Yorker reported that Weinstein had faced allegations of sexual harassment and assault from multiple women in Hollywood going back decades. The movie producer's attorneys have said he denies any non-consensual sexual contact with anyone.

The stories' impact soon spread beyond Weinstein to allegations against other prominent men. And the #MeToo hashtag quickly became rallying cry for people to speak out about their own experiences of sexual harassment and assault.

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