At 9:30am on April 20th, Kendrick Lamar announced that he would be holding a surprise album signing for 3,000 fans at Best Buy in Compton, CA at 4pm. This would be the third time he has celebrated an album release with his fans at this location- the first two times being for the release of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City & To Pimp A Butterfly. Kendrick arrived 40 mins early and met with fans all the way until 10:30pm, with only one quick break to eat – his dedication and tenacity during the event were unlike anything anyone there had ever seen at a signing.

Several local news stations, press outlets, and radio stations were on site to capture the moment- George Pennacchio from ABC7 got an exclusive interview with The King himself, where he expressed the importance in doing this for his fans, saying, “If I see my favorite artist or someone that I admire, it would give me so much motivation being a 9-year-old or 10-year-old or 20-year-old kid. I just know what type of fire it would put inside their heart, to continue doing whatever they’re doing. Whether it’s furthering their education or playing sports.” Kendrick attracted an array of fans, from timid toddlers to passionate fans who have been listening to and finding inspiration in his music since day one. A mom stood in the multiple-hour line in the heat so that she could have her son, an overseas U.S. soldier, FaceTime with his biggest inspiration. Many fans left crying and in complete shock, just wanting to absorb that quick moment they got to share with their King. Lamar also took a moment to say ‘hey’ to all of his fans who were tuning in on his Instagram Live feed, where he briefly mentioned that more new music is coming.

Kung Fu Kenny remained all smiles as he met with over 2,500 loyal fans, signing 2,930 CDs during the seven-hour event.

Needless to say, Kendrick does have hustle though, ambition, flow, inside his DNA.

DAMN.

About Kendrick Lamar |

Kendrick Lamar is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton. He began to gain recognition in 2010, after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated. The following year, Lamar independently released his first studio album, Section.80, which included his debut single, "HiiiPoWeR". By that time, he had amassed a large Internet following and collaborated with several artists in the hip hop industry, including The Game, Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes.

His major label debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city, was released in 2012 by TDE, Aftermath and Interscope Records to critical success. It debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).  The record contained the top 40 singles "Swimming Pools (Drank)", "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe", and "Poetic Justice". Lamar won his first Grammy Award for "i", lead single from his critically-acclaimed third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). The album drew on free jazz, funk, soul, and spoken word, debuted atop the charts in the US and the UK, and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 58th ceremony. In 2016, Lamar released untitled unmastered., a collection of unreleased demos that originated during the recording sessions for Butterfly. He released his fourth album Damn in 2017; its lead single "Humble" topped the Billboard Hot 100.

DAMN. is the fourth studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar.  It was released on April 14, 2017, by Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.  The album features production from a variety of record producers, including executive producer from the Top Dawg Entertainment label-head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, Sounwave, DJ Dahi, Mike Will Made It and Ricci Riera; as well as production contributions from James Blake, Steve Lacy, BadBadNotGood, Greg Kurstin, The Alchemist and 9th Wonder, among others.

Damn received widespread critical acclaim and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, earning Lamar his third consecutive number one album in the United States. The album was supported by the lead single, "Humble". On May 4, 2017, Damn was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).