THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

This is the first cultural biography of rap superstar and "master of storytelling" (The New Yorker) Kendrick Lamar and explores his meteoric rise to fame and his profound impact on a racially fraught America.

Kendrick Lamar is at the top of his game. The thirteen-time Grammy Award-winning rapper is just thirty years old but he's already produced and curated the soundtrack of the mega-hit film Black Panther, has been named one of TIME's 100 Influential People, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018. But what's so striking about the Compton-born lyricist, aside from his impressive accolades, is how he's effectively established himself as a formidable opponent of oppression, a force for change. Through his confessional poetics, his politically charged anthems, and his radical performances, Lamar has become a beacon of light for many people in America.

Written by veteran journalist and music critic Marcus J. Moore, The Butterfly Effect is the first biography of Kendrick Lamar. It's the definitive story of his first thirty years - his coming of age as an artist, his resurrection of two languishing genres, bebop and jazz, his profound impact on a racially fraught America, and his emergence as the bonafide King of Rap. Through his three certified platinum, major label albums - good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012), To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), and DAMN. (2017) - Lamar has charted a personal and societal awakening in America, and his story directly connects to the charged spirits of art and revolution.

The Butterfly Effect is the extraordinary, triumphant story of a modern lyrical prophet and an American icon who has given hope to those buckling under the weight of systemic oppression, reminding everyone that through it all - "we're gon' be alright."

Marcus J. Moore is an award-winning music journalist, senior editor, curator, and pop culture commentator, whose writing can be found on Pitchfork, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, The Nation, NPR, The Atlantic, BBC Music, and MTV among other sites and publications. He's created nationally syndicated playlists for Google, discussed new music live on FM radio, contributed to national podcasts, and guest-hosted live shows on Red Bull Radio. He also interviews musicians of all genres on TV, Facebook Live, and other Web platforms. In 2009, Moore launched his own site - DMV Spectrum - which covered music and entertainment in D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia.